Dental Emergency: what should I do in a dental emergency  

Basically, any dental problem that requires immediate treatment in order to save a tooth, stop ongoing tissue bleeding or alleviate severe pain is considered a dental emergency. A severe infection or abscess in the mouth can be life-threatening and should be dealt with immediately.  A dental emergency can cause you to have a swollen face, being sensitive to hot and cold fluids and many other symptoms.  

When you have a dental emergency pain can be unbearable. You resort to all sorts of remedies. You may put over the counter gels on the area, but in 99% of the time, this will not help.  You see, the dental infection is inside the tooth and any gel you put on it, will not reach the infection. You may experience throbbing pain where there can severe inflammation inside the tooth.  Does antibiotics work? not always.  Again, the problem is inside the tooth and if the nerve has died inside, there is no more blood flow to the tooth.  No blood flow, no antibiotic effect.  You need  antibiotics to reach the site of infection and if there is not enough blood flow, there will not be any effect. That is the reason only a dentist can help in this situation.

Dental Emergency patients require special attention. At our office, once we receive the emergency call, we will accommodate the patient and will see them the same day.  We examine the patient, determine the cause and will arrive at a diagnosis. Once we know the reason, we can offer the patient different options of treatment. These can range from extraction, root canal, filling, crowns, denture repair or other issues.

If you think you have a dental emergency, you can visit us at either one of our locations in Gaithersburg, MD at 301-740-2686 or Lexington Park MD at 301-737-4747.

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