Emergency Dentistry Can Protect Your Long-Term Health

When you have a dental emergency, you may not be thinking about the future. What’s on your mind is the incredible pain you’re in right now and how to get it to stop. A visit to an emergency dentist, like Ridge View Dental in Ogden, Utah, can stop the pain and protect your long-term health.

What is a Dental Emergency?

You may be experiencing a dental emergency if you have:

• Lost a tooth

• Severe pain

• Shortness of breath

• Nausea

• Swelling or redness

If you have lost a tooth, make sure to keep it moist to have the best chance of reattachment. Without touching the root, insert the tooth back in its socket or hold it between your cheek and gums until you can be treated by an emergency dentist. You can also place the tooth in a glass of milk if emergency treatment is not immediately available.

What Can Happen Without Emergency Dental Treatment?

When you lose a permanent tooth, it’s important to replace the tooth, either by reattaching the original tooth or by getting a dental implant. If the tooth is not replaced, the jawbone will begin to deteriorate and collapse, causing the cheeks to look sunken and aged. Surrounding teeth will begin to shift with the excess space, affecting your bite and chewing. In addition, a missing tooth increases the risk of gum disease, infection, and additional tooth loss.

Severe pain in a tooth or the gums can be a sign of infection, which can lead to periodontitis or advanced gum disease. Periodontitis has been directly linked to:

• Dementia

• Pancreatic cancer

• Breast cancer

• Cardiac arrest

• Hypertension

• Stroke

• Liver and kidney failure

If you are experiencing a dental emergency, call us at Ridge View Dental right away. We will do everything we can to give you emergency treatment the same day.