Although the dentists at Porter Dental Health Clinic hope that you go your whole life without requiring emergency dental care, the reality is that accidents and injuries do happen from time to time. In these situations, it’s important to seek prompt care from a dentist you can trust. To ensure you are prepared, Dr. Lance Porter and Dr. Will Warren have written this helpful blog.
How Do You Know If It’s a Dental Emergency?
This is a fair question. Many times, Porter Dental Health Clinic receives calls from patients who say they are not sure whether what they are experiencing is a legitimate “emergency.” Certainly, differences exist between dental care that should be scheduled urgently (within the next week) and problems that can wait.
Generally, situations that involve jaw or bone fractures, extreme pain, uncontrolled bleeding, a noticeable infection or a lost or loose (adult) tooth are considered emergencies. Prompt care may be able to preserve the health of your teeth and gums. Common emergency dental procedures include dealing with puplitis, a dental abscess (a collection of pus that can rapidly infect the tooth) or profuse bleeding of the gums. In cases of dental avulsion (when a tooth falls out), it may be possible to put the tooth back in if it is done quickly enough.
What You Should Do If You Have a Dental Emergency
If you or a loved one has a dental emergency, please call Porter Dental Health Clinic immediately, even if it is outside our conventional hours. Our team will do our best to get you the emergency care you need; we can refer you elsewhere if our dentists are unavailable to help. This applies to both our existing patients and people who have not previously visited our office.
Furthermore, if you are still unsure whether your situation needs emergency treatment, please call so that you may describe your symptoms. Our team can then recommend whether you need to be treated immediately or whether it can wait until normal business hours in a day or two.
Make an Appointment
Whenever a dental emergency arises, please call (501) 624-2778 to receive quick care from Hot Springs, Arkansas’s best dental team. In the meantime, do not wait until a situation gets bad in your mouth to seek care. Establish a relationship with a reputable, highly trained dentist today by scheduling your next semiannual cleaning and examination. You can request an appointment directly online.
