When Does a Dental Condition Turn into Emergency Dental Care?

Everyone knows that dental problems can be very painful, incapacitating, and frightening if there has been an injury because of the extensive bleeding that may occur. What many do not realize is that dental conditions can turn into severe and possibly life-threatening health concerns. This applies especially to dental emergencies. Knowing what constitutes a need for emergency dental care will give you a solid platform on which to chart your course of action. The starting point will be to understand what a dental emergency is. A dental emergency is generally defined as any situation in which your life is at risk or when the pain is so severe as to cause additional physical ailments. This is a very general definition because the range of emergencies is so vast. Any condition that involves uncontrollable bleeding or trauma to the mouth is an emergency that will require a visit to an emergency dentist in San Jose or wherever you may live.

Dental Emergencies

Defining a dental emergency is not easy. Besides the wide range of possible conditions, individual health issues could turn a severe dental event into an emergency. For example, a bleeding gum injury may not be an emergency for many people but could be one for someone who suffers from blood clotting conditions that could cause the bleeding to turn excessive. A partial list of dental emergencies will include:

• Cracked or broken teeth
• Trauma that knocks out a tooth or teeth
• Severe persistent pain that cannot be controlled or relieved by regular pain medication
• Anything that causes exposure of the internal nerve chamber of a tooth
• Any dental infection of the gums or teeth
• Swelling or infection around new wisdom teeth
• Any lesion or growth in the mouth
• Replacing a lost crown or one that is causing problems

Do You Need Emergency Dental Care?

As already said, one person's dental problem could be another's emergency. As a thumb rule, you should obtain emergency dental care if you suffer from any of the problems listed above or feel that the dental condition is affecting your health in other ways. As with any health issue, it is best to be safe than sorry and obtain emergency care when you doubt the severity of a problem.

Dental emergencies can happen to anyone at any time, and treatment must be provided without delay. That is what the term emergency implies. Emergency rooms are not equipped to treat dental conditions. Hence, the options available are to either suffer until you can get an appointment with a dentist (while putting your health and safety at risk) or have access to a dental clinic that provides emergency dental care. This will mean that you and your family will be cared for if the need for an emergency dentist ever arises. If you have a dental emergency call our office at 408-725-1536.