Is a broken tooth an emergency?

A broken tooth is not always an emergency. Often, you can wait for your next scheduled dental appointment for the treatment of a toothache or tooth sensitivity. An over-the-counter pain reliever will provide necessary relief until your dentist is available to see you. Sometimes it can be confusing as to what necessitates an emergency dental visit. A broken tooth often falls into this category, and reviewing the suggestions to follow, you can determine whether immediate emergency attention is indeed necessary.

Understanding What is a Dental Emergency

A dental emergency is a condition that necessitates immediate attention from a medical professional. In many situations, this involves calling your dentist and scheduling an urgent appointment. In other cases, it may be vital to go to your hospital emergency room or an urgent care facility. This will provide you with the vital immediate medical treatment while you wait to be seen by your dentist.

How Do You Know When to Seek Emergency Treatment?

A broken tooth usually warrants an urgent visit to your dentist. A broken tooth is actually one of the most common dental emergencies. It is quite common for people to suffer a broken tooth from participating in a contact sport, taking a fall, or even biting into hard food. While a broken tooth is indeed a serious matter, there are still types of a broken tooth that are considered non-emergencies.

A minor tooth fracture or a chipped tooth does not require an immediate trip to your dentist or an emergency room. There is no instant threat to your overall health or well-being. With either of these cases just schedule a regular dental appointment sooner versus later.

Emergency dental care is necessary for a major broken tooth. A serious fracture is when a large chunk of the tooth has broken off. This condition is often accompanied by some intense oral pain. In this situation, seeking out immediate medical attention is essential.

Knowing Where to Go for a Dental Emergency

You can get the necessary medical treatment whether there is a dentist present or not. Your dentist may set aside some time regularly to treat emergencies. Calling your dentist or another local dentist in your area is certainly worthwhile. There is a reasonably good chance the office might work your emergency in the very same day you broke the tooth.

Of course, a broken tooth never happens at a convenient time. A broken tooth accident might happen at night, on a busy weekend or even during a holiday. With these circumstances, call your dental office no matter the time. There is most often an emergency number that you can dial which will provide you pre-recorded instructions on how to oversee your dental emergency. There is always the option of going to the ER.