Find Quick Relief with Our Emergency Dentistry

No matter how proactive you are, you may not always be able to avoid health problems. Some dental complications are emergencies because they catch you by surprise. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by such a situation, consider our emergency dental services at Drs. Rubinstein & Ducoff.

What Is Emergency Dentistry?

It is an area of dentistry that specializes in quick and immediate dental care for patients with dental emergencies. Dental emergencies feature oral problems with the following traits:

1. Urgent and pressing time
2. Severe and advanced
3. Threatening the health of other oral features
4. Symptoms that spread to other body parts like the head, neck, and shoulders

What Counts as a Dental Emergency?

Emergency dentistry in Providence, RI, administers treatment for different oral problems, including the following:

1. Knocked-out tooth – occurs when external impact dislodges a tooth from its socket. This oral problem is common for patients involved in high-contact sports like boxing and football.
2. Partially dislodged tooth – sometimes, the impact on your mouth is insufficient to knock out a tooth. However, it partially dislodges the tooth so it sinks inward, thrusts forward, or presses inwards. Partially dislodged teeth cause severe dental pain.
3. Broken or cracked tooth – oral fractures are quite common in emergency dentistry. A broken or cracked tooth may seem like a minor problem until you realize that it causes other oral complications like dental pain and heightened sensitivity.
4. Dental abscess – develops when tooth roots are infected. Once you develop a dental cavity and leave it untreated for long, it allows bacteria to travel through the root canal, resulting in abscessed teeth.
5. Severe toothache – is perhaps the most common oral problem in emergency dentistry. A severe toothache will stand in the way of a good night’s sleep and impact your eating patterns.

How Will You Know You Need Emergency Dentistry?

If you can identify any of the dental problems listed earlier, you should visit us for urgent dental care. However, the following symptoms typically indicate a need for emergency dentistry services:

1. Dental pain – emanating from the jaw and spreading to other oral features.
2. Pain on surrounding body parts – you may experience ear pain, a headache, or neck pain.
3. Tooth abscesses – a bump that develops at the base of the tooth. An abscess features a pocket filled with pus and other fluids. It is a dangerous condition because the bacteria can easily travel to other body parts through the bloodstream.
4. Prolonged bleeding – the mouth has a unique mechanism for controlling bleeding. Therefore, if you do not stop bleeding for a prolonged period, contact an emergency dentist immediately.
5. Hypersensitivity – if it is severe enough to prevent you from eating well, call a dentist for immediate treatment.
6. Missing tooth – regardless of your reason for tooth loss, you should talk to a dental expert about your missing tooth.

Benefits of Emergency Dentistry

Although it takes an urgent dental problem to fully appreciate the essence of emergency dentistry, consider the following benefits:

1. Curbing the spread of bacteria – lest it spreads throughout the body, resulting in complications like strokes.
2. Treating dental pain – instead of suppressing it with pain relievers.
3. Saving natural teeth – if you locate your dislodged tooth and preserve it well, your dentist can restore it within the first few hours after your injury.
4. Restoring oral functionality – often, when patients have dental emergencies, they have little to no functionality in their mouths. Emergency dentistry helps restore functionality so you can eat and speak normally.

Tips to Avoid Dental Emergencies

Even though emergency dentists are great at what they do, you should take a proactive role to minimize dental emergencies. Some tips include:

1. Wear a mouthguard – to protect your teeth and jaw.
2. Avoid eating hard foods – they risk cracking or breaking your natural teeth.
3. Keep your mouth clean – to avoid bacterial infections that cause cavities and dental decay.
4. Get dental sealants – they protect your back teeth from bacteria that cause dental cavities.
5. Seek treatment for dental problems early – as soon as you notice an anomaly like tooth sensitivity or a cavity, seek treatment. Delaying dental care allows oral problems to progress into emergency dental complications.