Emergency Situations
There are two main groups that qualify as “DENTAL EMERGENCY”:
• Accidental Injuries to the teeth and
• Acute Toothache, which is usually associated with infection of the teeth or gum.
Parent Section : Dental Emergency
Accidental injuries to the teeth
This can happen at any time and in any where. Children falling off their bikes and or diving into the swimming pools are amongst the most common causes of injury. And of course there are other random accidents that occur daily which will add them to the list. Depending on the extent of the force, teeth can either fracture or can be knocked out of their sockets or both.
A dentist should be alerted straight away for advice or treatment to be carried out.
Acute Toothache
“Acute toothache” can come from either teeth or from the gum.
From the Teeth
A chronic dental decay related problem could become acutely infected. This can come from a broken tooth/filling, unattended open cavity, a non vital (dead) pulp, or an undetected, failed, previously treated root canal tooth. The onset is sudden. The pain is severe and the tooth becomes very tender to touch. Rapid swelling in the neck/cheek area may also occur and this means an uncontrolled infection is now in progress. The pain will receive little relieve from medication bought at the Chemist.
You need to see a dentist urgently.
From the Gum
Acute GUM infection can also cause severe pain. The gum looks ulcerated and swollen, and the breath tasted foul. This condition happens to a person with low body resistance due to stress and poor oral hygiene, and it has an unpleasant descriptive name called the “TRENCH MOUTH”. This does not have the same urgency as the “Acute Toothache” described above.
However, this problem will not resolve quickly by itself without a course of treatment by your dentist.
Parent Section : Dental Emergency