What is dental emergency?

Dental Emergency Chart from ADA

Dental Emergency
Dental emergencies are potentially life threatening and require immediate treatment to stop ongoing tissue bleeding, alleviate severe pain or infection, and include, but aren't limited to:

· Uncontrolled bleeding
· Swelling in the mouth or around the head/neck region, potentially compromising the airway
· Trauma in the mouth or involving facial bones, potentially compromising the airway

Urgent Dental Care
Urgent care focuses on the management of conditions that require immediate attention to relieve severe pain and/or risk of infection and to alleviate the burden on hospital emergency departments. These will be treated as minimally invasively as possible.

· Severe toothache
· Third molar pain
· Abscess, or local oral infection resulting in localized pain and swelling.
· Tooth fracture resulting in pain or causing soft tissue trauma
· Dental trauma resulting in loose tooth 
· Dental treatment required prior to critical medical procedures

Q: What if I have a temporary crown?

A: Having a loose temporary crown in the mouth is not a dental emergency. However, if a temporary crown is broken or lost, please give us a call. Please be cautious not to chew anything crunchy or chewy on the temp and remember to gently thread the floss out to the side to lessen the chance of it becoming loose or coming off.

 

Author
Dr. Yohan Kim

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