If your day is suddenly thrown off by an unexpected dental emergency, you may be left wondering if you should try and hurry to see a dentist, or if the problem can just wait a little bit. We know that it’s never fun to rearrange a busy schedule, but a dental emergency is just that: an emergency. Depending on what problem you’re dealing with, the sooner you get to a dentist, the better your chances of handling the issue with the minimal amount of time, stress, and money necessary.
Types of Dental Emergencies
First things first, it’s important to know when you actually have a dental emergency on your hand. Toothaches and loose, severely cracked, broken, or knocked-out teeth are all considered dental emergencies. Broken dentures, profuse oral bleeding, facial swelling, and a serious infection or painful abscess are additional situations requiring urgent care, as these could be life-threatening.
If you have a chipped tooth or a minor crack in your tooth that isn’t causing you pain, it’s still necessary to see the dentist, but it’s possible you can wait a day or two instead of going in for emergency care. But if you’re unsure about the severity of your chip or crack, it’s always better to be safe than sorry and head in as soon as possible.
When to See a Physician Instead of a Dentist
There are some situations where it may seem like you have a dental emergency on your hands, but it’s actually best to go to an urgent care or the emergency room in a hospital instead. These would be emergencies that affect other parts your face besides just your mouth, such as a fracture to your jaw or a severe cut to your mouth. If you’re unsure about who you should see, call our office at 803-462-4554 and we’ll be able to tell you if we can treat your condition or if you should see an emergency physician instead.
Emergency Dental Care in Columbia, SC
Dealing with a dental emergency right now? Contact Bethea Family Dentistry! We provide emergency dentistry at our Columbia dental practice. Otherwise, keep our contact information handy so you know exactly who to call and don’t waste any time if an urgent situation does happen to come up.
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