Is There Anything an Emergency Room Can Do for Toothache?
Toothache can be such a painful experience and absolutely should not be ignored. But how can you know when you should start to treat it as an emergency situation?
In this article, we’ll explain to you when, how and why you should book an emergency appointment with your dentist
We’re here to help you take care of your teeth.
What Are the Main Causes of Dental Problems?
Before knowing what kind of treatment you need and how urgently, it is important to know what kind of problems warrant a dental emergency. We can help you with this.
The following are all reasons you should seek dental advice and care as soon as you are able.
1. Bleeding from anywhere inside your mouth
If you are bleeding from inside your mouth, this could mean you have an oral infection or disease. This is really damaging for your teeth and your gums and can cause other medical issues such as further infections. This should be checked quickly to prevent further issues.
2. Breaking or chipping a tooth
Either of these unfortunate dental mishaps could potentially cause further problems, even with other teeth that currently seem to have no issue.
3. Losing a tooth
Like chipping or breaking one of your teeth losing a tooth as an adult could be problematic and you should book a dental appointment immediately.
4. Mouth sores, infections and abscesses
If you have a mouth sore, infection or abscess you could already be suffering from a terrible toothache or swelling that could spread and cause other infections. This is very important to get treated immediately as this kind of swelling and infection could start to affect your breathing.
Once you have this type of infection they do not go away as easily either so speedy treatment will be your best friend.
5. Chronic toothache that you cannot ignore
If you have a toothache so painful that you are unable to eat, sleep and function this is absolutely classed as a dental emergency. You should definitely seek immediate dental care as a toothache can lead to much worse infections and in some cases the loss of a tooth or even teeth.
6. If you have a loose crown that is causing severe pain
If you have a loose crown that is causing a lot of pain this could be a sign of something else. Check with us to find out if your loose crown is an emergency.
If you are at all unsure if your problem warrants an emergency appointment, it never hurts to call us and ask.
Should You Go to A&E with a Toothache?
Long story short, no, probably not.
2 million people went to A&E in the UK just in December 2022. The NHS is unfortunately underfunded and understaffed to no fault of the hardworking medical professionals.
These are medical professionals though not dental professionals. They will want to help you but the best-case scenario is that they might give you some painkillers. They cannot diagnose the problem and therefore cannot treat it.
Put your healthcare in the hands of healthcare professionals and your dental care in the hands of dental care professionals.
There are only a couple of times you should really consider going to the emergency room with a dental problem;
- If you have swelling on your face that is preventing you from breathing, seeing properly or opening your mouth to a width of more than two fingers.
- If any trauma that has caused your dental problems has also caused loss of consciousness, vomiting or double vision.
What Can A&E do for Dental problems?
There is not much A&E can do to solve your dental emergency, unfortunately. Of course, if your problem has gone beyond your teeth then they can help you with whatever infection or swelling your original dental problem may have caused.
Other than this a hospital cannot help you here.
When You Should Book an Emergency Dental Appointment
Knowing when you should book an emergency dental appointment for yourself is vital. If you do not whatever problem you have could become worse or spread. Here’s our guide, so you have the knowledge you need, to help us help you.
- If you are bleeding as a result of trauma.
- If you have continued to bleed for 20 minutes after extraction despite firm pressure with gauze.
- If you have a severely broken tooth.
- If a tooth has fallen out and caused pain.
- If there is swelling on your face reaching to your neck, your eye or the floor of your mouth.
- Finally, any toothache that stops you from eating and sleeping and cannot be controlled by regular painkillers.
Any of these problems require an emergency dental appointment and should be taken very seriously. Do not waste time and book your appointment as soon as possible.
How to Get an Emergency Dental Appointment
Thankfully, instead of having to waste endless hours in a waiting room at your local Accident and Emergency, you can book an emergency dental appointment from the comfort of your own home.
First, you need to determine what your problem is, so the dental care professionals can help you to determine whether urgent care is in fact needed. If you are advised to attend an emergency dental appointment, you should do your utmost to go to the first appointment you can get, to prevent further issues from being caused.
Next, contact us! Didsbury Dental Practice offers appointments from 9 am to 12 am, 7 days a week. Our phone lines are open 24/7 so do not worry. Whenever a dental disaster strikes you can call us and we’ll book you in as soon as possible and give any advice we can.
Don’t worry about being an existing patient at our practice either. Whether you are local to Didsbury or are just visiting we are here to help you with your dental needs. Just contact us by booking a consultation online or calling us at 0161 445 0005.
Please note this process is not the same at all practices, so please be sure to double-check how to contact your practice if we are too far away for you.
Finally, attend your appointment. Usually, you should be able to get an emergency dental appointment within a few days or even hours.
This appointment will be for the initial treatment of your dental problem and should stop it from worsening.
Your emergency appointment will usually be followed by more appointments over the next few days and weeks to make sure you are on track and getting better.
How to ease toothache while waiting for an appointment
Getting your emergency dental appointment is great but unless you are particularly lucky it is not going to be instantaneous.
We’ve put together a couple of tips we think might help.
Pain Management
In terms of managing your pain, your best choice is simple over-the-counter medications. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are both easily accessible and will do the best job of keeping your pain at bay whilst you wait for treatment.
You can also try using pain relief gel that can be found in supermarkets and pharmacies if you can put it on the area causing the pain.
Diet
You should do your best to eat soft food like scrambled eggs and yoghurt.
Try not to use the affected tooth whilst chewing, even if the food is soft, so as not to irritate it.
Cleaning
You can try rinsing your mouth with salt water if you feel it is necessary (this is not a suitable option for children).
Why You Should Choose Didsbury Dental Practice
Trying to go to an Accident and Emergency with a toothache will unfortunately not help you very much. We can provide you with much more specialised dental care and help to create a bespoke plan for your treatment so that you can heal as quickly and painlessly as possible.
We are much quicker than NHS practices and will not leave you waiting as long.
We are flexible and you can come to us once as a new patient for an emergency appointment and not have any strings attached.
We are completely transparent with our pricing to help you decide which treatment option is the right treatment option for you.
Just because the emergency room is not an option for emergency dental care does not mean that there is none out there. We are here to help. Click here or call 0161 445 0005 now to find out how we can help you.
