EMERGENCY DENTISTRY

Emergency dentistry might be needed for a variety of reasons. Here are just a few of them:

• You have a toothache that has lasted for several days. It is not during normal office hours, but the pain has gotten drastically worse. It’s time to contact your emergency dentist. Severe, lasting pain could be a sign of advanced tooth decay, or possibly a dental abscess. When left untreated, dental abscesses can lead to permanent tooth loss and even damage the jawbone.

• You are playing a sport or roughhousing over the weekend and have a tooth knocked out. You should pursue emergency dentistry, pronto. The sooner you seek treatment for a lost or broken tooth, the better chance your dentist has of saving it. When possible, save the tooth that has been knocked out and put it in a glass of milk to take with you when you see the emergency dentist.

• You are eating dinner at a fancy restaurant when you lose a dental crown or filling. Call the emergency dentist. Not only can losing a crown be embarrassing, it can also be painful. While you are waiting to receive emergency dentistry care, you can use a piece of sugarless gum to fill the empty space.

In certain emergency situations, you may not be able to make it into the Silverstrom Group office. For instance, if your tooth gets knocked out while you are playing soccer on an outdoor field, you might need your dentist to come to you to provide immediate treatment.
In cases like these, it is important to call upon a dentist who is well trained, experienced, and equipped to provide treatment outside the dental office. Your dentist might not be able to access his normal diagnostic instruments, but he still must be able to provide an “on-site” differential diagnosis to identify your eventual treatment options as well as your prognosis. The dentists at Silverstrom Dental Group fit the bill.

If you have a dental emergency, try to stay calm. If you have lost a tooth, make every effort to find it and place it in a glass of milk until you can seek.