This is a short primer. For the full picture — government clinics vs A&E vs private dentists, fees and what to do step by step — see our complete Hong Kong dental emergency guide, or book an emergency appointment if you need help now.
It is believed that affected by the epidemic of COVID-19, everyone's lives have varying degrees of changes. In order to reduce risks, many people try to avoid unnecessary dental treatments. However, there are often some emergency situations such as toothache that require immediate treatment, otherwise it will lead to serious consequences. Twelve things worth knowing in advance covers the practical details most patients only discover mid-emergency.
A very common dental emergency is tooth abscess caused by bacterial infection and inflammation. These tooth abscesses are usually accompanied by pus and swelling of the gums. When the body’s immune system is weak, such as insufficient sleep or older age, inflammation may become more severe and the patient will feel more painful. Do not think that tooth abscess is just a mild dental problem. When bacteria get into the roots of the tooth and spread, it can cause serious chain reactions, causing infections of the face, neck and eyes. In more serious cases, bacteria may enter the blood, and you may need to be admitted to the hospital.
Depending on the severity of the tooth abscess, a professional dentist may help to drain pus for the patient to relieve discomfort, but more importantly, find out the main cause of the tooth abscess and acting appropriately to the situation. If the tooth is infected by bacteria due to tooth decay, tooth cracking, trauma, etc., then root canal treatment may be required to clear the necrotic nerves in the pulp to save the tooth. The later the treatment of tooth abscess, the more damage to the teeth and dental bone tissue, the lower the success rate of the root canal treatment. When the success rate of root canal treatment is too low, the dentist may suggest that the patient extract the tooth directly because it is not worth to do root canal treatment. However, when the inflammation is too severe, the effect of the anesthetic will be weakened, so you may need to take anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve the inflammation before you can perform tooth extractions.
On the other hand, there have been patients who simply thought that toothache was caused by a common dental problem, but only after the examination found that there were some unexpected and serious conditions that needed urgent treatment. For example, in many cases, patients are only suffering from pain of wisdom teeth, but after X-rays, dentists with rich clinical experience may find tumors in the alveolar bone. If it is not treated in time, even the initial tumor can develop very rapidly and cause serious damage to the alveolar bone, nearby teeth, nerves and jawbone. Then the restoration project will become extremely complicated and difficult. The risks of waiting out a toothache are the clearest illustration of why “wait until it hurts more” is poor advice.
If the patient does not have the habit of checking their teeth regularly, there is a chance that some serious problems will be accidentally discovered when the toothache has to go to the dentist. In many cases, most chronic diseases themselves may not bring immediate pain or discomfort to the patient, but it is like a time bomb in the body, which will cause irreversible damage to the body when it breaks out. The oral cavity is also a major part of our body. To maintain good health, maintaining oral hygiene is essential.
#emergencydentistry #toothache #reshapealveolarbone
