Do I Need Emergency Dental Care If My Tooth Infection Spreads?

The very fact that you understand you have a tooth infection is evidence that you need dental care. Unfortunately, way too many people delay treatment for diseased and damaged teeth, allowing for complications that necessitate urgent care by an emergency dentist in Brantford. Besides, very few people understand the essence of emergency dental care, even though it exists in dental health.

What Is Emergency Dental Care?

At AVA Dentistry, we define emergency dental care as different treatment protocols and services that can attend to patients urgently. Ideally, the role of an emergency dentist near you is to offer quick treatment to prevent this father’s spread of infection or damage.

Technically, many dental problems you may have can be addressed in general dentistry at a Dental clinic in Brantford. However, when you have a pressing and rather urgent problem you need immediate medical attention, best offered in emergency dentistry.

When Do You Need Emergency Dental Care?

A dentist can offer various services for emergency dental care period some of the areas where you may require emergency dentistry are:

1. Severe dental pain – you will be surprised at the prevalence of toothache in emergency dentistry.
2. Damaged oral appliances – a broken, missing, or cracked oral appliance can necessitate urgent dental care. It applies to braces, dental fillings, veneers, dentures, and crowns.
3. Knocked-out tooth – patients can easily lose their natural teeth through traumatic experiences. Sometimes the tooth can be completely removed, or partially dislodged.

How Do You Know Your Tooth Infection Needs Emergency Dental Care?

The only sure way to know that you need emergency dental services is to visit a nearby dentist for a comprehensive dental exam. However, you can also consider the following signs of progressed, advanced, and spread oral infection:

1. Persistent bad breath
2. Severe dental pain and soreness
3. Swelling and tenderness of gums
4. Abscessed teeth – typically occur when the bacterial infection gathers at the base of the tooth root near the gum line, forming a pocket full of pus and other fluids.
5. Numbness and tingling sensations in your tooth and gums
6. Gum disease – sometimes, the bacteria in your tooth can travel to the soft tissues of your mouth, leading to periodontal disease.

What Treatments Can Address A Tooth Infection?

Your dentist will recommend different treatments for tooth infections. However, it depends on the severity of the infection based on how far it has spread in your oral cavity. Some of the options include Some of the treatment options include:

1. Dental filling – is a popular treatment for restoring an infected tooth, especially in cases where the damage is mild or moderate. Dental fillings seal teeth to prevent future reentry of bacteria.
2. Tooth extraction – is perhaps the most common treatment option for an infected tooth. A severely infected tooth is better off removed than saved. However, the dentist must evaluate the degree of infection before an extraction procedure.
3. Root canal therapy – is an endodontic procedure that treats the inside layers of a diseased tooth to maintain its structural integrity. When a dentist results for root canal therapy, it can prevent the need for tooth extraction.
4. Apicoectomy – is a surgery in endodontic dentistry that addresses an abscessed tooth.

What Happens if You Leave the Infected Tooth Untreated?

Bacteria is notorious for spreading when given a chance. Therefore, delaying treatment for your infected tooth will only realize more complications to your oral and general health. For one, you can be sure that the infection will spread through the mouth. Over time, the bacteria will seep into different body parts, including your heart and brain. Some of the potential complications of oral infections are:

1. Premature tooth loss – severe tooth decay will eventually result in tooth loss, naturally or through tooth extraction.
2. Periodontitis – is an advanced infection of the gums that has severe complications, including weak and wobbly teeth.
3. Heart complications – as the bacteria spread through the bloodstream, you may suffer heart-related problems, like strokes and heart attacks.