Me and a friend were recently discussing a dental emergency we both had. Both of us had pretty severe tooth pain. We both went to see the dentist within the same period of time after the symptoms started. I don’t have a dentist and went to an emergency dentist. He gave me a root canal treatment and a dental crown. My friend just received a crown. Why the different treatments if we both had the same problem? Is it because she went to a regular dentist and I went to an emergency one? Did I get the right treatment?
Lindsey
Dear Lindsey,
I’m sorry you had a dental emergency. Those are quite painful and really can keep you from getting anything done. As the author John Green put it, “Pain demands to be felt.” I want to put your mind at ease about something. If the pain is gone after treatment, it is highly unlikely you received the wrong treatment.
The same symptoms in dental care can be from completely different problems. One example is tooth pain. Maybe one patient who has tooth pain is dealing with a dental infection, while the other person dealing with pain in the exact same area is dealing with a cracked tooth.
What concerns me is your “emergency dentist” didn’t seem to talk to you about what was going on with your pain. A good dentist will always explain what the problem is, your treatment options (all of them), as well as give his recommendation for treatment along with why. It doesn’t sound like that happened for you.
What Is an Emergency Dentist?
You used the terms emergency dentist versus regular dentist. An emergency dentist is simply a general dentist who doesn’t mind seeing non-established patients during emergencies. This is especially helpful to people who are new to the area and haven’t had time to locate and decide on a new dentist.
However, they’re not the only patients who end up going to a dentist only in an emergency. Many people with dental anxiety struggle with fear keeping them out of the dental chair. This puts them in the position of needing more emergency treatment.
If that is you, there’s a way to get help. Dental emergencies are always more painful and more expensive than preventative work. I’m going to recommend you look into a sedation dentist. Getting something, like oral conscious sedation, will allow you to get your dental work caught up in an anxiety-free/pain-free environment.
I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Emergency Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.