When your mouth is in pain and you’re in need of medical care as soon as possible, emergency dentistry may be your best option. But what exactly will that involve? There are many types of oral surgeries and procedures that can address the root cause of dental problems, depending on a whole range of factors you may be facing. Fortunately, many common procedures can be performed by a qualified specialist at a local dental clinic.
If you’re looking for a practitioner in your area, it helps to understand a few things first:
- The different types of emergency dentistry
- Who can benefit from them
- When you may need a given procedure
- Where to find help
Take a look at the most common reasons patients seek emergency dental care today.
When Do You Need Emergency Dental Surgery?
Emergency dental surgery is sometimes necessary when there is an infection in the mouth that requires immediate attention from a dentist or oral surgeon. Three common types of dental surgery involve:
- Abscesses (infected pockets around the teeth)
- Impacted wisdom teeth (teeth stuck in the jawbone)
- Biopsies (removal of suspicious tissue from inside the mouth)
Emergency dentistry can make all the difference when you’re facing dental pain and discomfort—whether it’s due to an infection, broken or cracked teeth, or something else entirely. However, whether you need surgery will depend on the location and severity of the issue you’re facing. Your treatment may involve draining fluid from an abscess, removing an impacted wisdom tooth, or extracting diseased tissue from the biopsy site.
Toothache Treatment
One of the most common types of emergency dentistry is treatment for a toothache. A toothache can be caused by many possible issues – typically, damage to a tooth or its surrounding tissue, such as an infection or one or more cavities. Have you experienced any events that might be causing you pain? The culprit could also be a broken or cracked tooth, as well as a loose filling.
Your dentist should be able to diagnose the cause of your toothache and provide the proper treatment for it. The procedure might include antibiotics, root canal therapy to remove infected tissue inside the tooth, or a filling or crown to repair the damaged tooth.
Root Canal Therapy as Restorative Surgery
According to the American Association of Endodontists, over 41,000 root canals are performed each day. This procedure is often necessary when an infection that begins in a tooth spreads into the dental pulp in the center of the tooth. It can be incredibly painful, requiring immediate treatment. However, despite the scary name, most root canal therapy can be performed easily and painlessly. In this endodontic procedure, a small hole is created in the tooth so that the infected dental pulp within can be removed. Oftentimes, so are the roots. But doing so does not harm your mouth. Instead, it will prevent the further spread of infection.
Tooth Extraction for Damaged or Decayed Teeth
Sometimes the need to have a tooth extracted becomes an emergency. This occurs when the tooth is damaged or decayed and can’t be treated with other methods. In other words, a dentist has determined it isn’t possible to save the affected tooth using a filling, crown, root canal therapy, or other procedures. Tooth extractions are usually done under local anesthesia, but you may need general anesthesia if more than one tooth needs to be extracted at once.
Contact Emergency Dentists at First Class Smiles in Des Plaines
Always remember that emergencies can happen at any time, so it’s important to make sure you know where to go for help should you ever need it! Consider finding a qualified dental practice near you that offers 24-hour emergency services so that you have peace-of-mind should any unexpected dental issues come up. That way you can rest assured knowing that help is just around the corner if needed. A specialist at First Class Smiles can examine you to determine the nature of your problem and let you know the best way to proceed.
Are you in need of emergency dental surgery? The oldest continuing dental practice in Des Plaines, First Class Smiles provides state-of-the-art treatments and expertise for only the best emergency dental care. Contact us online or call us at (847) 824-3536 to set up an appointment today!