Signs You Need to Make the Trip to the Emergency Dental Clinic

When you have tooth pain or issues, it seems like they tend to come when you normal family dentist is out of the office or on holiday. Though the pain may be awful, you probably battle with yourself on the choice to wait until your dentist is back in the office or to go into the emergency dental clinic. The problem is, there are times when waiting could make things worse or allow infection to spread and cause other issues with your health. Before that happens, consider the signs that point you to the emergency dental clinic rather than waiting for your family dentist.

Ongoing Swelling

When you notice swelling, or feel it, in your jawline and gum area you will probably grab a medication with anti-inflammatory properties. In some cases, these medications tend to work and the swelling goes down after a time. If you notice that the swelling has not gone down, or that it has increased, this could be a sign of a much bigger issue. You may have something like vitamin C deficiency or it  could be something worse, like gingivitis. If the swelling hasn't reduced, and the pain has increased, you may want to go ahead and make the trip to the emergency dental clinic.

Pus Drainage

If you have a toothache, and start to notice pus or other substances draining from the area, then take it as a sign to go to the emergency dental clinic. This kind of discharge, especially combined with pain, could be the sign of an abscess. An abscess can lead to infection spreading throughout your entire body. This spread of infection can cause major issues that go far beyond your dental health.  If you do need to wait, even for an emergency dental clinic to open or to have room for you, consider rinsing with salt water off and on until you can get into the dental clinic or your family dentist.

Pain with Broken Teeth

When you have a broken tooth, you may want to wait until your family dentist is back in the office. There are times where this may be okay, but there are signs you should look for that may make you go to the emergency dental clinic instead. As with most dental issues, you should take extreme pain as a sign that something more is going on. If you have a slight chip, you may not have tooth pain, but if you have a major crack or break and pain along with that break it could mean that you may have deeper issues that require a root canal.

These are only three signs to look for that should send you to the emergency dental clinic instead of waiting for your family dentist. If you aren't sure, and the pain is bad enough, go ahead and seek out emergency dental care as a precaution.


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