What is a dental emergency?
A dental emergency is any sudden and unexpected dental problem that requires prompt attention to prevent serious complications or permanent damage. These emergencies can be caused by accidents, injuries, infections, or existing dental problems that worsen suddenly.
Why be prepared for common dental emergencies?
Sometimes we do not foresee that we might have a decayed tooth that suddenly starts causing severe pain and swelling. Also, kids may fall breaking their front teeth while playing. Or a horrible accident leaves your jaw fractured and in excruciating pain. In such times person gets puzzled and does not know how to deal with the situation.
So here's why being prepared for dental emergencies is crucial:
- Minimizing Pain and Discomfort: Dental emergencies often cause significant pain and discomfort. Early intervention can help alleviate pain and prevent it from worsening.
- Preventing Infection: Untreated dental infections can spread to other parts of the body and lead to serious health problems. Prompt treatment with antibiotics can prevent such complications.
- Saving Teeth: Early intervention for certain emergencies like knocked-out teeth or broken teeth can significantly increase the chances of saving the tooth. Delaying treatment can lead to tooth loss.
- Reduced Cost: Early treatment is generally less expensive than addressing complications arising from neglect.
Common Dental Emergencies: Clinic Treatment and Home Care Tips
The fundamental reason for periodontal disease (pyorrhea/pyria/pyorrhoea) is inadequate dental hygiene and improper brushing habits. Smoking and tobacco chewing have an adverse effect on gums and periodontium. Improperly aligned teeth are susceptible to the same as they are difficult to clean. Systemic conditions like diabetes and osteoporosis can adversely affect your periodontium. Medications including steroids, antihypertensive and antianxiety drugs can also result in gum disease. During pregnancy, you must be extra conscious about the gums.
Gingivitis (Inflammation of gums)
The preliminary stage of gum infection caused by plaque and tartar is known as gingivitis. It causes swollen and red gums which bleed easily. Plaque that forms on our teeth turns into tartar and sticks under the gum line to collect more bacteria. If this tartar also known as calculus is not removed for a more extended period, it turns into gum disease. This tartar under the gum line invariably starts irritating the patient around the base of the teeth causing inflammation. This vulnerable situation of the gum line causes bleeding gums and swelling of the gum. If gingivitis is not treated at the right time it further leads to periodontitis which develops substantive issues like teeth and bone loss. Pyorrhea treatment can be easily done at Dr. Isha Orthodontic Dental Clinic and Cosmetic Centre by teeth cleaning techniques such as scaling. Our Periodontist (Pyorrhea treatment specialist) removes plaque and tartar from teeth with the help of a woodpecker scaler and generously provides a healthy and radiant smile to the patient.
Gingivectomy
Doctors at Dr. Isha Orthodontic Dental Clinic and Cosmetic Centre use surgical treatment gingivectomy to remove infected or excessively formed gum tissues. Our dentists remove and reshape loose and diseased gum tissues. In cases of medication-induced gingival hypertrophy, gums may cover the entire teeth surface and be painful while chewing food. This requires a gingivectomy where the excessive gum is removed surgically. Gingivectomy is also a part of cosmetic dentistry that graciously allows our dentists to get rid of overgrown gum tissue and enhance the appearance of the patient's gums. It is required in case of crown lengthening to increase the retention of the dental crown. It is a straightforward procedure and our doctors are highly skilled in carrying out the procedure with perfection.
Periodontitis/Pyorrhea
When a gum infection caused by plaque and calculus is not treated for a long period turns into serious gum disease and it starts destroying the bone that supports teeth. This serious form of gum infection is called periodontitis or pyorrhea. Periodontitis can lead to tooth and jaw bone loss. Periodontitis exhibits frequently typical symptoms like swollen gums, bright red or purplish gums which are tender and tend to easily bleed. If you notice blood while brushing or flossing your teeth, it is a symptom of pyorrhea as well. Constant bad breath, painful chewing, and loose teeth are considered major symptoms of periodontitis. If you are having any of these symptoms you should visit the dentists as soon as possible as further delay in treatment can lead to critical issues like bone and tooth loss. It can further put a strain on a patient's immune system.
Flap surgery
Our dentists perform flap surgery to professionally clean the root of a patient's teeth and repair bone damage caused by periodontitis. The entire treatment is implemented under the effect of local anaesthesia. Our dentists reflect a section of the patient's gum to clean the roots and surfaces of affected teeth, scrap off the granulation tissue and repair the bone damage. After the process is done, the gum flaps are suture back to their original position. While the surgery, the patient feels no pain. Periopack is given and the patient is prescribed antibiotics and pain killers. Flap surgery makes bone smooth and reshapes it in such a way that plaque retentiveness is lowered. Flap surgery makes the teeth and gums healthy, leading to better dental hygiene.
Bone grafting
Bone loss around teeth is like losing the base of your house. The house/tooth will not stand and will fall. Bone grafting is a blessing where the dentist tries to regrow the patient's lost bone due to trauma, failed treatment, pyorrhea, etc. Various bone grafts are available these days ranging from alloplasts to autografts. At Dr. Isha Orthodontic Dental Clinic and Cosmetic Centre, we have our specialists, Dr. Divya Agrawal (M.D.S Periodontics, GDC Jaipur) and Dr. Mili Gupta who are highly skilled and vicariously experienced in tissue handling and major surgeries. We use autografts (bone graft from the patient himself) and alloplasts (Bio Oss bone grafts), collagen plugs, GTR Membrane, etc. for an apt bone grafting. Bone grafting helps the patient in improving the favorable prognosis for bone graft surgery and increases tooth support. During a bone graft'surgery, our dentists reflect back the part of the gum and thoroughly scour the infected area. Once that is completed, our dentists place bone graft material which helps the patient's body to grow a new bone to enhance teeth support. Bone graft increases the chances of natural tooth retentiveness and repairs the extensive damage caused by gum disease. bone grafting represents the advanced surgical process our dentists use in the severe cases of gum disease.