Seeing an emergency dentist is typically not something that people plan on ever doing. In fact, most people live life without ever even considering that there is such a thing as a dental emergency until one happens and they need to find an emergency dentist. There is a popular myth that believes that taking excellent care of your teeth will offset any chance of having a need for emergency dental services. It is true that the better you take care of your teeth the less likely you are to have dental issues like gum diseases. At the same time, we also know that life happens. Whether it is age and weakness in the jaw, a disease that could not be prevented or an accident, more Americans are seeking out emergency dentists every day. The important thing to remember is that if you have a need for a dentist, and it is an emergency situation, you should treat it as such and hurry to get the help you need. The longer you delay, the more likely you are to cause long term damage to your mouth, teeth, and gums, and the more expensive treatment can get. A toothache, for example, may just be a tooth ache or it could be the sign of an infection that is in need of immediate dental assistance.
When you need an emergency dentist, going into the emergency room at your local hospital will not get you the care you need. The unfortunate thing is that few people know if their own dentist provides emergency dental care, much less know of an emergency dentist. So when a dental emergency occurs, they head in to see the local emergency room doctors. In a study conducted by the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, it was found that over a three-year period from 2006 to 2009, the number of people coming into an emergency room for dental emergencies increase by over 16%. The challenge with this is that there is an important distinction between medical providers. The highly skilled doctors at an emergency room are not trained to deal with dental problems. So while they will do their best to stop any bleeding, give you pain medication and make sure you feel better, the underlying problem may remain. For example, they may help with a toothache by giving you pain medication but the underlying infection will go untreated. An emergency dentist is trained as a dentist and hence will look for the problem causing the discomfort besides curing you of the immediate issue.
There are many reasons why a person comes into our emergency dentist office or make their way in for medical treatment at the local emergency room. The most common reason that causes a person to make their way in to see a dentist, emergency or otherwise, is a toothache. Other reasons, why people will come, see us include a lost filling, a tooth that has been knocked out, or a damaged (chipped or cracked) tooth. As an emergency dentist, we know that you cannot plan for these events and offer extended hours so that you can get the care you need when you need it.