Having a dental emergency isn’t the most fun thing in the world that can happen to a person, but it’s what you do once it happens that matters the most. It’s easy to think that a dental emergency is not that big of a deal, but what happens in your mouth can affect the rest of your body if left untreated. Some dental emergencies are easy to overlook, but the longer you go without heading to an emergency dentist near you, the worse the situation could get. In some cases, leaving a dental emergency like a toothache can lead to an infection or worse.

Even if you think what you have wrong with you is only a minor issue, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by heading to the emergency dental clinic to check out.

What Qualifies as a Dental Emergency?

There are several types of dental emergencies, and often patients don’t think they are serious when they are.

For example, a crack or chip in a tooth is something that should be seen right away. Not only is cracking a tooth painful, but depending on how you crack or chip it, you could end up exposing a nerve or damaging the tooth, so it is in danger of falling out. The dentist will quickly repair the crack or chip and, if necessary, place a crown on the tooth to protect it from further damage. This is a much better option than losing a tooth.

Another common example is a sudden toothache for no reason. It’s normal to expect pain after an extraction or other dental procedure, but if you notice pain, swelling, or bleeding and don’t know why, this could be a sign of a serious unseen problem such as an infection. An infection can spread to your teeth and cause them to be pulled; worse yet, it can spread to other parts of your body, such as your heart, which can be deadly.