If you have had an accident that has resulted in trauma to your teeth or mouth, your first thought may be to contact accident and emergency services for urgent treatment. However, did you know that you can also get urgent care from your local dental practice?
Whether it is a knocked-out tooth, swollen gum or a severe toothache, if you experience a dental emergency in or outside of normal working hours, a dentist Sydney CBD will be able to provide you with urgent care.
What is considered a dental emergency?
When considering seeking urgent dental care, you should be able to identify whether your current dental issue is classified as a dental emergency. One of the most obvious ways to determine this is by pain.
Generally, for someone to require emergency dental treatment, they must be experiencing a strong pain that is unbearable most of the time and causes a lack of sleep or concentration. This pain can be a result of either a knocked-out or broken tooth or underlying decay. Tooth decay essentially is a result of plaque build-up, which turns sugars into acid. If not treated, tooth decay, also known as dental cavities, can cause long-lasting damage to your tooth; it can result in bad breath, sometimes an unpleasant taste in your mouth or tooth sensitivity when you consume foods that are either hot or cold. Other notable symptoms may be swelling of either your gums, cheeks or face or bleeding that does not seem to stop.
If you experience any of these symptoms, it is advised that you contact your local dental practice as soon as possible. If you contact the dental practice when they are closed, they may provide an emergency contact number or some advice for what to do during a dental emergency.
What to expect at an emergency dental appointment
If you can attend your local dental practice for an emergency dental appointment, a dental team will first assess your teeth to locate the cause of your dental issue and then treat it. If you also experience severe pain, you may be provided with temporary pain relief.
If, for example, you have a tooth abscess, the dental team will assess the affected area and remove the abscess during the emergency appointment. In most cases, they will remove the abscess by making a small incision in the affected area and draining out the pus. However, this is considered to be a temporary solution, and if this is the case, the dental team will invite you back to the practice for further treatment.
During your next appointment, the dental team may either perform a tooth extraction or a root canal treatment.
It is important to add that if you experience severe bleeding to the mouth or face or have life-threatening symptoms, it is advised that you visit the Accident and Emergency department for urgent medical care.
DISCLAIMER
Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.