Needing emergency dental service can be such a pain in the neck. Well…in the jaw. Visiting dental offices in general is not exactly fun but it doesn’t have to be a dreaded activity. However, emergency dental services are a whole different story. Now, keep in mind, that having accidents can not be avoided. If something arbitrary has happened to you then there is nothing you could have done to change that. However, a few of the following tips may help you to either avoid or make emergency dental service a little easier to handle.
Regular Visits
As a general rule, you should be seeing your dentist every six months. Going twice a year will allow your dentist to get to know your teeth and help to add preventative care to your dental health. Another reason why regular visits to your dentist is a good idea is because if you do happen to have an emergency, then you know exactly where to go. If you aren’t going to a dentist regularly, they won’t know who you are when you call and you may have to wait a little longer than necessary. Having a good reputation at your dentist’s office will get you in as soon as possible to see him or her.
Insurance
This is a big one. No one wants to pay for dental care anyway and since you should be going twice a year to the dentist, you should probably have coverage. However, when an emergency occurs, the first thing that most people worry about is money. How on earth will you pay for it? Having insurance takes that worry away from you entirely. Another plug for the regular visits; in the event of an emergency, you’ll already know that your dentist office accepts your particular insurance.
Home Dental Care
Taking care of your teeth at home not only prevents gum disease and tooth decay but it can make your gums and teeth and jaw stronger so that it can withstand a lot more than other mouths might be able to. This means that if you hit your mouth on some accidentally, your teeth may stay intact and you won’t even need to worry about any of kind of procedure or implants, etc.
Knowledge
If you can tell what is an emergency and what is not, that is the best way to be prepared for one. Especially when it comes to your kids. Kids feed off of their parents emotions so if you freak out every time they come in from playing outside with a bloody mouth, they are going to panic to. Educate yourself on when an emergency trip to the dentist in necessary and when it is not. This will save you a lot of time and money. You could even just call up your dentist if you are not sure. However, if it’s the middle of the night and something happens, your dentist will likely not be available. On call dentists are not as common as regular physicians.
Not Procrastinating
This is probably the biggest mistake that people make. They know that something is wrong but they just wait and wait and even ignore it until they can’t take the pain any longer. Usually, by then, something that didn’t have to be a big deal is now an emergency. Teeth problems don’t tend to fix themselves. If you think you have a problem then you need to schedule an appointment to see your dentist. Don’t wait until you simply can’t bare it anymore. By then, it might be too late and you will just have to have the tooth removed and replaced which is way worse and more expensive than it could have been.
Simply following these tips will help you have a much better experience if something does happen. Of course, you could care for your teeth better than anyone in the world and falling off a trampoline and hitting your mouth on the corner of something is not going to protect your teeth from getting chipped. However, the other tips would help even if you had an accident so keep them all in mind for future reference. They may help you and your family not to dread a necessary emergency dental service.