We are all familiar with emergency rooms. For most of us, they have helped us to recover quickly at odd moments. However, finding an emergency dentist is sometimes not so simple. It’s something we don’t think about until we really need it. For this reason, we have prepared this article with all the information you need to act in case you have a dental emergency.
We also talk about how technology at the service of dentistry has meant that in recent years telemedicine has taken a giant leap forward. And TOP DOCTORS is betting very strongly to develop it. Telemedicine applied to dental emergencies in particular and dentistry in general has been a revolution in the world of dental health.
What are dental emergencies?
The first thing you need to know is how to differentiate a situation that you can solve in a normal dental office from one that really requires a dentist as soon as possible. The main dental emergencies are:
Dental trauma.
The main cause of emergency consultations are traumas, falls, blows, etc. Dental trauma should be treated as soon as possible since the time that elapses once the accident has occurred can be decisive in saving a tooth or losing it.
Generally these are children who have suffered an accident at home and have lost a tooth (dental avulsion). They can also be athletes, whether they are children or adults, who practice a risky or contact sport. The main situations that can occur as a result of trauma are:
- Loss of a tooth.
- Fractured teeth.
- Teeth displaced from their normal position.
- Wounds or injuries in the mouth, either in the teeth, gums, lips, tongue, etc.
- Pain in any oral structure after an accident even if there are no visible injuries.
Sudden onset pains
Pains that appear gradually and develop over time should be resolved at a previously scheduled check-up appointment. These pains can usually be relieved with painkillers until the appointment.
However, when the pain is acute and of sudden onset, the best thing to do is to go to an emergency dentist. Especially if this sudden pain is accompanied by other signs and symptoms such as:
- Increased volume: either lumps in the gum, cheeks, lips, tongue, etc.
- Erythema: Redness in any tissue of the mouth.
- Fever: It can be a general fever or even just a sensation of heat in a specific area.
Complications after dental treatment
Although this is not very common, it can always be the case that you experience some signs and symptoms following dental treatment that require immediate dental attention. For example, the appearance of bleeding that does not stop after a dental extraction or pain, fever or edema following dental fillings, implant surgeries, root canals, etc.
Deterioration of any dental treatment in progress.
The most common in these cases is the loss of dental fillings, dental caps or crowns, which cause great discomfort to the patient and need to be restored as soon as possible. At the same time, we must mention the damage of dental appliances that can injure the oral cavity such as a broken bracket or a loose wire.
How to find an emergency dentist?
If you have a dental emergency during business hours, it will not be very difficult to get the dental care you need. You can simply go to the hospital or a nearby dental clinic.
The situation becomes more complicated when accidents occur outside working hours: holidays, night hours, Sundays, etc.
Some dental clinics offer 24-hour services, but not all of them. Therefore, you should ask your dental clinic if they have this service in case you need it.
Most private health insurances with dental coverage offer this service. The Spanish social security can provide you with a list of all the health centers where you can find an emergency dentist. Just remember to ask for this information and keep it handy in case you need it.
In case you find yourself in a very serious emergency situation and cannot find a dentist on duty, the best thing to do is to go immediately to the emergency room of a hospital to receive the necessary medical attention.
For more information on how to deal with a dental emergency, we recommend reading this specialized article from the oral health portal Dentaly.
What to do if you have a dental emergency?
The most important thing is to remain calm. If it is trauma, inflammation or pain, you can choose to take an over-the-counter analgesic to relieve the pain while you go to the dentist.
In case of bleeding, apply pressure to the wound with gauze or a piece of cotton. This should slow the bleeding while you find an emergency dentist.
If it is a dental avulsion, that is, the tooth is completely out of place, what you should do is keep it moist because it is possible that your dentist can reimplant it and thus keep your natural tooth. How should you take care of it? You can put it in a container with milk, drinking water or physiological solution.
However, you are unlikely to have all of these things on hand, so you can simply put the tooth in your mouth to keep it moist with saliva. Put it in one of your cheeks until you can receive dental care. In this case, the sooner you are seen, the more likely it is that the tooth will be reimplanted.
When it comes to a dental treatment flaw, it may not be a nuisance right away. However, you should fix it as soon as possible: a fallen filling leaves the tooth weak and could fracture; a broken bracket, even if it has not injured the mouth, prevents orthodontic treatment from being effective.
In case you get hit and there is no visible injury or you do not feel pain, an emergency dentist is not necessary, but you should make an appointment with your dentist for a check-up as soon as possible. This will help you avoid future complications.
Telemedicine and its importance in dentistry
Telemedicine or eHealth is a branch recently implemented at TOP DOCTORS that implements the use of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies), to facilitate access to quality medical and dental care (teleodontology).
The emergence of telemedicine is greatly changing the way we receive health care. Mainly for those people with few resources or who live in isolated areas, since through a videoconference it is possible to carry out prevention, diagnosis of conditions or follow-up of a treatment.
One of the main advantages of teleodontology is that it allows the patient to receive an initial orientation as soon as possible, either through a chat, call or videoconference.
While your dentist cannot physically see you in the middle of an emergency, he or she can give you precise instructions that will allow you to alleviate discomfort and get the oral care you need as soon as possible.
Remember
- Dental emergencies are unavoidable, so the best thing you can do is to be prepared to deal with them effectively.
- Not all dentists offer emergency services, you should verify that your dentist does.
- In case of very serious emergencies such as bleeding that does not stop, you should go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
- Social security and private insurers have all the necessary information, ask for a list of places where you can find an emergency dentist.
- Being properly informed can help you solve your dental emergency quickly and without prolonging your pain.