What’s your emergency?

11 June 2024

What’s your emergency?

Dental emergencies are issues that require immediate attention where possible. These can happen at any time and for a variety of reasons. At the practice we do our very best to offer same day appointments for anyone calling in with concerning symptoms and we do have arrangements for out of hours treatment options because these things can at times when we are closed.

What is a dental emergency ?

There is a delicate balance between a common dental problem and a dental emergency. A dental emergency isa dental condition that requires intervention by a dentist sooner rather than later. It includes severe toothache that doesn’t respond to pain killers and interrupts sleep, injuries that loosen os knock out a tooth and prolonged bleeding after an extraction.

Knocked out teeth.

Hardly anything is more upsetting for a child or an adult than losing a tooth due to a slip.stumble or spotting accident. Regardless of the cause, a visit to your dentist should be a priority. Try to keep the knocked out tooth well protected and the best ways to do that is to keep it in the mouth, Either in the socket it came from or nestled between cheek and gum. If you prefer the tooth can be placed in a sealed container of milk. In both cases gently rinse off any dirt or grit first.

Toothache.

Pain is the most common reason that patients contact the practice and this can happen for a variety of reasons such as dental decay, infections, impacted wisdom teeth, broken teeth and facial injuries. All these types of emergencies can be assessed and treated and plans put it place for long term treatments within an on the day appointment or an out of hours appointment at the. Weekend or on a bank holiday. Needless to say that if your pain can be controlled with over the counter pain killers and sleep is not affected then please wait until normal opening hours.

Facial swelling.

Any painful tooth that causes facial swelling needs to be assessed as soon as possible. If the swelling impedes breathing, travels down the neck or closes the eye needs immediate intervention by your dents if possible but failing that a call to 111 or going directly to hospital is appropriate.

Cuts, splits and breaks.

Although the teeth are made from the toughest material in the body they are not impervious to damage and can break or chip. Until you can see a dentist avoid chewing and biting on the area and opt for a soft diet. Temporary filling kits can be bought at the pharmacy but still see your dentist as soon as you can.

We really hope that the worst case scenario never happens but if it does-

Try and keep calm.

Decide whether you need emergency treatment or whether the situation is manageable.

Call the practice for advice.