Emergency Dentistry Mistakes That Patients Must Avoid
If you want a dental issue treated as fast as possible, the right professional to see is an emergency dentist. Notably, emergency dentistry entails providing urgent treatment for serious dental problems. Some of the issues that emergency dentists deal with include knocked-out teeth, painful cavities, chipped teeth, bleeding gums and abscesses. However, it is essential to understand that successful emergency treatment depends on what a patient does before treatment. This article highlights emergency dentistry mistakes that patients must avoid.
Avoid Taking Painkillers Containing Aspirin
Some dental emergencies can be excruciating and affect your quality of life. For example, tooth cavities and impacted wisdom teeth are two dental issues that cause significant pain. Notably, dentists often advise patients to take over-the-counter painkillers to help contain the discomfort. However, emergency dentists are also quick to advise patients to avoid any painkillers with aspirin as one of the ingredients. The reason is that aspirin is an anti-coagulant and causes blood to be thin, causing excessive bleeding issues if emergency treatment warrants surgery. Similarly, you should avoid taking aspirin if your gums or tongue is bleeding since you could lose a lot of blood before reaching an emergency dental clinic.
Going to an Emergency Room
Most dental emergencies are painful and uncomfortable; therefore, you might be tempted to visit a local hospital's emergency room. However, you might regret the mistake for the simple reason that dental emergencies are not life-threatening. Thus, ER doctors could make you wait as they attend to patients in serious conditions. Therefore, unless a dental emergency is accompanied by excessive bleeding or is caused by trauma to the head or neck, an ER is the last place you should visit. Your best bet at receiving timely treatment is an emergency dental clinic. In fact, doctors at an ER will refer you to an emergency dentist, meaning you would have wasted precious time.
Calling to Book an Appointment
It is good practice to have various professionals on speed dial. One such expert is a dentist. Notably, having their contacts means that you can call them at any time to inquire about an oral issue you might be experiencing. However, calling an emergency dentist to book an appointment does not make sense because it is impossible to schedule emergency treatment. In addition, most emergency dental clinics are walk-ins, meaning you are ushered to the treatment room when you walk into the facility.