Suffering from a dental problem? You should call a dentist or visit the clinic immediately. But what will you do when you have a problem on a weekend or at the middle of the night? Go through this blogpost to know how you can deal with a severe dental complication during the odd hours.

How you will know when it is a dental emergency

You need to ask yourself these questions for a trip to the emergency dentist:

• Are you experiencing extreme pain? Severe bleeding and pain indicates there is a dental emergency.
• Have you lost a tooth? With quick treatment from the dentist, you may probably save a tooth.
• Are you suffering from loose teeth? Adults should not lose teeth as having a lose teeth without pain is indeed a serious concern.
• Do you suffer from any infection? A dental abscess or serious infection in the mouth may possibly be life-threatening, and the treatment should not be delayed. You might find swelling around your face.
• Do you bleed from your mouth? This indicates a sign of dental emergency.

So, any dental problem that requires immediate treatment to lessen the pain, stop bleeding or save a tooth is considered to be an emergency. 

If you are having any of these symptoms, then you should visit a dentist right away. 

What is not considered a dental emergency?

If you have a dental problem and you can wait for a few days to see your dentist, then this is not an emergency. For example, your cracked or chipped tooth is a dental emergency when the fracture becomes extremely painful that lead to trauma inside the mouth. When you have a chipped tooth, you can wait to visit your dentist.

Having a toothache can wait for the treatment till you do not have severe pain and symptoms of an abscess like high fever, swelling of your face or bumps on the gums. But when you have a lost filling or crown, you may possibly wait for a few days to visit a dentist. 

Common dental emergencies

If you experience any of these dental emergencies, then read further to know how you can deal with the problem till you see an emergency dentist in London.

• Knocked-out tooth – It is quite possible that the dentist can re-insert and preserve your tooth after it has been knocked-out. You need to pick up the tooth carefully by means of a crown and see that you do not touch the tooth root and rinse carefully. If you can, try to put back the tooth into the socket till you go to a dentist. You can even place the tooth in a small milk container and take it to the dentist for better chances of saving your tooth. 

• Abscessed tooth – Having a dental abscess is indeed severe and may be risky for your life. This happens when a pocket of pus in your tooth causes an infection. So, a tooth abscess can be the reason for your tooth sensitivity to hot and cold foods and drinks, fever, swelling in the face, severe toothache, pimple on the gums near your infected tooth and lymph nodes in the neck. Such emergency can cause an infection that might spread into the surrounding tissue, jaw and other body parts. Rinse mouth with saltwater to lessen the pain before you visit the dentist.

• Chipped or cracked tooth – When you have a serious fracture, you should clean mouth with warm water and put cold compress on the outer part of face. This can help to lessen the swelling and you can take acetaminophen for the pain but do not use numbing gel as it might cause damage to your gums.

How to prevent probable dental emergencies

You can stay away from dental emergencies by maintaining improved dental hygiene and go for routine check-ups from the dentist. He will then check for crowns, loose fillings and detect any signs of infection, gum disease and decay. If you need to extract a tooth during dental emergency, then you should follow aftercare instructions of your dentist in order to prevent any risks like infection or dry socket.

With a customised treatment plan, the dental problems can be treated before they might develop into an emergency. Search strings like, “emergency dentist near me” will enable you to find a good dentist in your area and get treated on time.