Your Tooth Broke in Half, and It’s Black – When Do You Call an Emergency Dentist?
Having healthy teeth is as important as general body health since teeth play a vital role in the human body. Dental health entails taking care of the teeth, gums, and mouth to prevent complications such as tooth breakage and treat any existing dental problems. Failure to care for your dental health may become a cause of other health problems, and therefore it is important to visit a dentist for professional care often.
However, you may experience dental problems such as a cracked tooth, fractured tooth, or broken tooth, which are dental emergencies. In such emergency cases knowing what to do helps prevent further damage like tooth blackening and severe toothache.
This post will explain a dental emergency, common dental emergencies, how to deal with a broken tooth and when to call an emergency dentist in Edmonton.
Common Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies are severe damages on the dental set which require immediate treatment. They commonly occur due to accidents like being knocked out, biting hard things, or an underlying infection. Some of the common dental emergencies include:
Broken or Chipped Teeth
A broken or chipped tooth is extremely painful. It may be caused by biting hard things or using the teeth for wrong purposes like opening a bottle. After this happens to your tooth, it is important to visit an emergency dentist as soon as possible.
However, you can practice some home remedies for temporary pain relief. Such as including rinsing your mouth with warm saltwater and massaging the area that’s bleeding with a piece of gauze. Then put a cold compress on your face close to the chipped or broken tooth to relieve pain and reduce swelling.
After this, you can visit a dentist for emergency dental care.
Toothache
Dental pain is never a good sign. It indicates an existing dental issue like tooth decay. Some toothaches can be dealt with without seeking emergency treatment, but signs like swelling and sharp pain require immediate care.
With such a severe toothache, avoid using remedies like painkillers. They can burn tissues around the gum and affect the gum. Alternatively, you can use a cold compress to the side of your cheek with the tooth and then call an emergency dental clinic for emergency care.
Lost Filling or Crown
Fillings and crowns are used to fix damaged teeth to give them proper function and appearance. They could break, and when this happens, you should seek immediate dental treatment to avoid further infection or damage.
When waiting for emergency dental care, you can temporarily fix the damage using sugarless gum by fixing a piece of it into the cavity. You should not try to fix the affected tooth by yourself because it will cause more damage.
Knocked-out Tooth
A knocked-out tooth is a call for an emergency dentist. Before you get to the dental clinic, you can rinse off the tooth with salt water to clean off any dirt from the root. You should avoid scratching and scrubbing since it will cause damage to the tissues.
If the tooth is not badly injured, you could attempt to restore it in place without pushing it into the socket. If you cannot fix it back, you can preserve the tooth with salty water or salted milk, which helps preserve the tooth until you get emergency tooth restoration services.
Broken or Dislocated Jaw
A broken or dislocated jaw is damage to the joints that put together the skull and the lower jawbone. It can cause severe pain and therefore needs immediate treatment to relieve pain and prevent further complications.
It can be caused by physical accidents directed to the face. The sudden symptoms of a broken jaw are bleeding, pain and swelling. Experiencing pain can affect facial movements and even eating; therefore, you will need to seek emergency dental care as soon as possible.
How to Deal With a Broken Tooth as a Dental Emergency?
If you experience a dental emergency, you should contact an emergency dentist in Edmonton as soon as possible. Make sure you provide the dentist with enough details on your dental problem when you call. In case you find the dental office closed, you can visit any emergency room for treatment.
When the tooth breaks, you should gather the pieces and put them in a dry clean container, then carry them to the dentist, and the remaining part rinsed using warm water. If an injury caused the breaking, you should apply a cold compress on the cheek from the outer side of the affected tooth. After this first aid, call a dentist to schedule a same-day appointment.
When to Call an Emergency Dentist in Edmonton?
In the case of a dental emergency in Edmonton, you can contact Edmonton Smiles for emergency dental treatment. They are a local dental clinic in south Edmonton that offers accessible and affordable dental care. They have professional and qualified emergency dentists led by Dr. Molly Rodgers, committed to offering a dental care experience with minimal discomfort.
At Edmonton Smile’s emergency dental clinic, making an appointment is not a requirement for treatment. You can get services without an appointment. However, they advise clients to call before coming to the clinic to reduce waiting times.
Emergency Dental Services, we offer
Dr. Molly Rodgers and Associates Dental Clinic is open 24 hours on working days and Saturdays to offer emergency dental care even without an appointment. They offer emergency dental services such as:
- Broken or lost fillings
- Emergency tooth extraction
- Root canals treatment
- Pain and infection relief
- Chipped tooth treatment
- Loose crown fixing
- Infected filling
They also handle all dental problems, even those that are not emergencies. They have additional advantages such as:
- Bill payment through insurance services
- Patient choice-based anesthesia.
- Comprehensive Dental Services for patients of all ages.
- Laughing Gas for Any Service
They are located at 4214 66 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T6K 4A2, and you call them on (587) 410-5907 to book an appointment or make inquiries. You can also email them at [email protected].
Can You Go for Emergency Dental Care in an Emergency Room (ER)?
Patients can visit an ER for specific dental issues like an infected mouth abscess, continuous bleeding mouth, and unbearable serious pain spreading to other parts like the neck and jaw.
If a patient does not understand the cause of the tooth pain or has a problem staying conscious, they should not wait to get to the ER. They should visit a dentist for emergency dental services.
If you do not have tooth pain, an emergency visit to the ER can be avoided, and instead, you can visit a dentist for the same. It will save you the cost and time since services in the ER are costly and time-consuming.
Can You Call 111 For a Toothache?
Yes, you can dial 111 for the current telephone service introduced by the NHS. A number you should call only when you need quick medical treatment or medical advice and cannot wait to book an appointment with a dentist.
In case you experience a severe toothache and cannot access any dental emergency service, you can call the 111 services. They offer dental assessment services every working day between 6 pm-8 am and can help you find a dentist near you. They can also help book an emergency appointment for you.
How to Get an Emergency NHS Dentist Appointment?
If you cannot access an appointment with your dentist for reasons like off work hours or you can’t get an appointment on their schedule, there is no reason to panic. You can contact the NHS service 111 for an out-of-hours dental appointment. They will only ask for details of your dental problem, and then they make a same-day appointment for you.
Otherwise, you may opt to visit one of the NHS centers instead of calling 111 without booking an appointment, and you will get help from the service team. Sometimes on busy days, you could wait for some time to get served.
Take Away
A broken tooth is a dental emergency. A patient should report to a dentist immediately or after hours of first aid to prevent serious infection to the tooth and other areas like the gum and jaw.