If you are suffering from a toothache, noticing blood in your saliva, or suffering from another common symptom of dental problems, you should always seek professional medical treatment from your dentist as soon as possible. However, some dental problems require immediate, emergency treatment to prevent serious complications.
Dental abscesses are some of the most common dental problems that require emergency treatment. Despite this, many people with dental abscesses will put off seeking emergency care for as long as possible, which frequently makes the problem far more serious. Here are three reasons why dental abscesses should always be the treatment by an emergency dentist as soon as possible:
They Can Be Extremely Painful
Any kind of dental complaint that causes significant, chronic pain should be treated as a dental emergency, and dental abscesses are no different. As the infection that causes a dental abscess spreads and the abscess grows, it can push on sensitive nerve clusters in the gums and mouth lining, causing pain that can often be excruciating.
The pain caused by a dental abscess can prevent you from sleeping, eating, drinking, or even speaking comfortably, and can have a severe impact on your day to day life. Dental abscesses will only get worse without prompt, professional treatment, so you should seek emergency treatment as soon as possible if you are suffering from any kind of long-lasting pain in your mouth.
They Can Cause Permanent Tooth Loss
As an abscess spreads and grows, the pressure it places on surrounding tissues can cause nearby teeth to become damaged or dislodged. A severe dental abscess can quickly cause the loss of several teeth if the swelling is allowed to spread unchecked. Since dental abscesses can also cause damage to the jaw bone, you may not be able to have these missing teeth replaced with implants.
Emergency dentists can use a variety of fast-acting treatments, such as corticosteroid injections, that will quickly reduce swelling and protect your teeth from further infection. The sooner you seek treatment for your abscess, the more likely you are to come out of the experience with all your teeth intact.
Dental abscesses can also grow remarkably quickly if the infection causing them is severe. It's worth considering seeing a 24-hour emergency specialist if you are suffering from an abscess during off-hours, as a few hours can make the difference between tooth retention and tooth loss.
They Can Be Deadly
If a dental abscess is not treated swiftly, the bacterial or viral infection causing it may spread to other tissues in the body, including vital organs such as the heart and liver. This can lead to a severe, systemic infection that causes life-threatening complications, including high fevers, sepsis, and organ failure.
The elderly and people with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable to these systemic infections, especially people with diabetes. Seeking emergency care as soon as you notice the signs of a dental abscess will minimize the chances of any severe complications.
For more information, reach out to a local emergency dental care clinic.
Every time you take a bite of food, you should be grateful for your healthy teeth! A tooth can lose its health and structure quickly once decay sets in. Luckily, if you visit your dentist for regular appointments, the decay should not get too serious before your dentist notices it and can do something about it. That "something" is applying a filling. On the other hand, if the decay progresses too long before it is caught, you may need a crown or even an extraction.
We want to keep our teeth, and we know you want to keep yours. That's why we created this website to teach you more about dentists and dental care. Enjoy!