Emergency Dentistry 101
All injuries to your teeth, whether by a traumatic injury or by tooth decay need to be treated by a dentist as soon as possible. If you are dealing with tooth sensitivity, that is reason to see your emergency dentist as well. The risk with delaying emergency dental care is that you may allow a problem to become much worse, jeopardizing your teeth or even your health. From cosmetic appearance to pain management, emergency dental care is the difference between bad and good outcomes. Dentists who specialize in providing emergency dental care will take calls 24 hours a day and can see you in their office at any hour if the situation is urgent.
What an Emergency Dentist Does for You
Common emergency dentistry work includes:
Repairs to cosmetic appearance of teeth (natural teeth, veneers, implants, etc.)
Therapy for TMJ injuries and pain management
Impact injuries and trauma to the teeth and gums (loose teeth, knocked out teeth, etc.)
Root canals and extractions for teeth that are causing intense, unbearable pain
Repairs to damaged teeth (broken tooth, compromised dental fillings, etc.)
Treating infections and lesions such as dental abscesses
This list is only provides a broad overview, any acute dental issue can be addressed by an emergency dentist. There never is a reason to wait for help.
Quality Dental Care During an Emergency is Still Important
It is still important to find a great dentist when seeking emergency dental care. Preferably, you will have already selected a dentist you trust or have great references for before an emergency arises. If you usual family dentist that you really like and appreciate cannot provide emergency dentistry, you should take some time to look into finding a suitable emergency dentist near your home that you can trust to solve your problem on short notice with an attention to detail that will not just end up creating more problems for you in the future.
Shoddy emergency dental work may mean you have to get even more work in the future to correct the problems. Furthermore, you may experience even more pain, trauma, and higher costs as a result.
Emergency Dentists may be the Ones to Assuage your Fears of Seeing the Dentist
Digital X-Rays provided at a well-equipped emergency dentist’s office will make the imaging process go much smoother and faster for you, and a dentist who makes good use of nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, will make the whole business of having your mouth worked on seem like it is nothing scary at all.
If you have a phobia about dentists, and that phobia has actually contributed to your emergency medical problem because you postponed seeing your dentist when the problem was smaller, a positive visit with an emergency dentist may be just the thing you need to stop worrying and have a different outlook on dentists. They do not call it laughing gas for nothing; you may be surprised at just how routine and easy dental care can be. With the right emergency dentist, you may be left wondering what the fuss was all about, and maybe even feel a little silly for not going sooner.
CEREC technology (chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramics aka ceramic reconstruction) can be done while you wait. This technology allows the dentist to perform high quality indirect ceramic dental restrorations quickly so your permanent restoration is completed without having to resort to temporary measures. Of course, this cuts down on time devoted to your dental matters and on any discomfort since you are getting everything done in one visit.
Emergency dental care is not just rough improvised work done to get you through the night. Good emergency dentistry can not only provide high quality finished restorations, but also be the start of a better relationship with dentists and dental care.
N.M.D .is a blogger in the east valley who has a lot of dental knowledge that he wants to share with others. He wrote this blog on behalf of Vibrant Dentistry, the emergency dentist Mesa residents prefer.
