Emergency Tooth Extraction Information

Having a tooth extracted is not ideal, but it is sometimes necessary. If a tooth has taken too much damage, or is too infected, it can cause oral health issues and pain. If the reason for the tooth extraction becomes too severe, you will want to consider an emergency extraction.

What Is an Emergency Tooth Extraction?

An emergency tooth extraction is essentially a general extraction that is performed within a day or so. Most emergency tooth extractions simply involve the pulling of a tooth or teeth that are causing oral health issues that have become too severe to wait for a regularly scheduled appointment.

Why Would I Need an Emergency Tooth Extraction?

There are times when a patient needs a tooth or teeth extracted, but there is no massive rush. This simply requires the patient to set an appointment for as soon as the dentist is available. There are other times, though, in which a patient is unable to wait for the next availability a dentist has. When this is the case, an emergency extraction is required. One reason for an emergency extraction is a tooth being severely broken due to an accident. A patient may fall down some stairs or have some other accident occur that massively impacts the tooth. Because of this, the patient may be experiencing extreme pain. If this is the case, an emergency extraction will be required.

An emergency extraction also may be required because of oral health issues. For instance, a tooth may have become extremely infected, which is causing swelling, bad breath, pus and pain. If the infection is bad enough, it may not be advisable for the patient to wait for a regular appointment.

Finally, there may be crowding of the teeth. This crowding is often due to the eruption of wisdom teeth. While this generally isn’t an emergency, if a patient allows their wisdom teeth to cause damage for too long, an emergency extraction may be required.

Finding an Emergency Dentist

It is likely that your dentist won’t be able to drop everything because you are having an emergency. Because of this, you’ll want to seek out an emergency dentist. Most emergency dentists can be found online. From there, you can contact the emergency dentist to set an appointment. Emergency dentists will usually set an appointment for within 24 hours of when you call. They understand that a dental emergency is like any other medical emergency, and needs to be resolved as quickly as possible.

While you may have dental insurance that covers a variety of procedures, you will still want to check with your insurance company about whether the emergency dentist you are considering is in-network. If there are no emergency dentists in-network in your area, you will need to pay out of pocket. This is still much better than the alternative—further damage and pain. If you are having a dental emergency, contact an emergency dentist immediately to set an appointment. This could mean the difference between saving or losing a tooth or teeth.

If you're in need of tooth extraction and live or around the Lynnwood, WA area, contact Meadowdale Dental Clinic Today!

Interested in learning more about tooth extraction? Here's information on healing after a tooth extraction.