How To Find A Dentist That Covers Emergency Dental Services
How To Find A Dentist That Covers Emergency Dental Services
Did you know that the CDC found that over 92.4 million hours of school or work were lost due to dental emergencies? Sadly, dental emergencies don’t wait for convenient times to strike.
This painful condition can happen at any time, whether caused by an injury or long-term infections. What’s worse, it often requires immediate attention to be treated properly.
The good news is that there are a variety of emergency dental services out there. In this guide, we’ll be going through how to find one. That way you can get the attention you need as soon as possible.
What Qualifies As a Dental Emergency?
Before you begin looking for emergency dental services the first thing you should do is make sure that what your experiencing qualifies as an emergency. There are two categories that dental emergencies fall into.
The first is when physical damage has occurred that’s visible to the teeth. The second is when the pain from an underlying condition (like an abscess or tooth infection) become too much to bear.
Here are some of the common reasons why people often seek emergency dental services:
- Blunt trauma that’s damaged the teeth or mouth area
- Knocked out tooth
- Fractured, chipped, or cracked tooth
- A tooth that feels loose or has been knocked out of alignment
- An impact that causes intense pain despite no damage being visible
- Wounds or sores around your cheeks, tongue, or lips (these can be painful even when not directly affecting your teeth)
- Infection in the root of your tooth
- A crown falling out
- A filling falling out
If you experience any of these conditions, or you just can’t handle the pain in your current condition, then seek medical services immediately.
Can You Go to the Emergency Room?
It’s important to remember that emergency rooms don’t have a dentist available on their staff. So, if you go in there with a busted tooth expecting them to fix it, then you’re going to be disappointed. Visit the more clinic dentistry in Huntington Beach.
That being said, there are situations where it’s appropriate to go to a regular emergency room. Let’s say you’re experiencing a dental emergency and you can’t find any dental services that are open.
There are some scenarios where a hospital is better than nothing. For example, any of the following symptoms warrant a trip to the emergency room:
- A serious amount of bleeding that will not stop
- Unbearable pain that normal painkillers don’t help with
- Severe trauma around your teeth in the mouth and face area
- Lots of swelling along the side of your face and down the side of your neck
If you experience these symptoms, then don’t wait for dental repair from a dentist. What you may be experiencing can be life-threatening if you don’t at least temporarily treat it.
In these scenarios, a trip to the hospital can save your life. Or, at the very least, they can provide you with medication to keep the pain at bay until you can see a professional dentist.
How to Find the Best Emergency Dental Services Near You
When you’re in a hurry looking for dental services you often aren’t too picky about what you’re looking for. Sadly, this can be a problem if you end up going with a provider that’s less than reputable.
In this section, we’ll be going over some tips for finding the best emergency dental services in your area. You can start with a quick Google search of the services in your area.
Go through a couple of them and make sure that they provide the service that you need. Ideally, they’ll also be open. Next, call them or go online and ask about the wait time.
The last thing you want is to be waiting for hours in an uncomfortable waiting room. So, if they’re swamped, then consider another practice. Now, do a quick check of the reviews.
This will give you a good sense of what the average patient experience was like. While a few negative reviews are understandable an overwhelming amount should be viewed as a clear red flag.
Lastly, check their pricing. Ideally, they’ll accept your dental insurance plan if you have one. If not, then they should be willing to accommodate whatever budget you’re on.
Make sure to check out this article for more things to consider when you hire an emergency dentist.
How to Ease Dental Pain While You Wait
In a perfect world, you might be able to see an emergency dentist san tan valley right away. However, this is rarely the case. Often you will need to wait hours or even days before you can see them.
The good news is that there are some at-home solutions you can try. First, a word about painkillers. If you’re experiencing bleeding, then make sure you avoid over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and aspirin.
Both of these painkillers will thin your blood which can make bleeding much worse. Instead, take acetaminophen which doesn’t thin your blood. On top of this, you can also try gargling salt and warm water.
Salt water does two things. First, it sanitizes the wound. Second, it draws liquid out from the gums which can reduce some of the irritation you’re experiencing.
You can also try rubbing citrus fruits, garlic paste or ginger paste along your gums.
All of these things kill bacteria and have anti-inflammatory properties. Just be aware that it might sting a lot depending on the nature of your injury or condition.
Appreciate Learning About Emergency Dental Services? Keep Reading
We hope this article helped you learn more about emergency dental services. Remember that the sooner you can get your emergency addressed, the better chance the dentist has of treating it.
So, consider traveling if there aren’t emergency services in your immediate area. It’s a pain, but it’s better than the consequences of waiting.
Did you appreciate this educational content? If so, then keep reading to find a variety of similar topics.