By Arthur Kezian
If you've been dealing with a nagging mouth ache or a painful tooth -- and doing everything you can to avoid a trip to your emergency dentist's office in the process -- you're putting your entire smile in danger.
1. Nerve damage
It doesn't take much for even a minor tooth problem to turn into full-blown nerve damage. Even if you're not in blinding pain, you need an emergency dentist to assess the situation. That way, you don't have to worry about minor problems turning into major ones!
2. Permanent tooth damage
If your oxygen supply got cut off long enough, you'd expect to suffer some kind of permanent damage right? Well, your teeth are no different! After all, your teeth are living things that are attached to tissues and blood vessels that keep them strong and healthy. The longer your tooth has to go without full access to its tissues and blood vessels, the higher its chances of developing permanent damages.
3. A tooth that can't go back in your mouth
If one of your teeth gets knocked out, you've got to take immediate action to keep it from dying. In order to make sure that a dentist will be able to fix your tooth and put it back in your mouth, you'll have to place the tooth in a cup of milk until your dentist can take care of it. If you wait too long, the tooth can die -- meaning you'll have to get an implant instead.
4. An infection that spreads
Even relatively minor tooth injuries can turn into nasty infections. If you don't let your dentist tackle the problem ASAP, that infection can spread to other parts of your body -- leaving you feeling yucky all over.
5. More extensive damage
If you crack your tooth out at lunch, you might think that you can just keep eating and call your dentist later. However, each of those bites can lead to worse damage -- like a tooth that breaks completely.
6. Increased pain
Lots of dental emergencies start off as a dull ache that you can't seem to get rid of. As minor as it may seem, it's important to remember that dental pain doesn't just go away all by itself. The longer you wait to let a dentist take a look, the worse your pain is going to get!
Dr. Arthur A. Kezian DDS 443 N. Larchmont Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004 (323) 467-2777
-N.S.
