DENTAL EMERGENCY IN COVID-19: SKIP THE ER & CALL YOUR DENTIST

Where would you go it your tooth was suddenly broken or knocked out? Recent studies show that a growing number of people spend unnecessary time and money taking their dental emergencies to an ER instead of their dentist. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever to know where to go when your smile needs immediate help. Keep yourself safe from the coronavirus while getting the urgent dental care you need by avoiding the ER and calling your North Port dentist first.

Visiting Your Dentist Instead of the ER in COVID-19

Dental emergencies are often sudden and overwhelming, so it’s important to know where to go before one happens. If you need urgent dental care during the COVID-19 quarantine, keep in mind that:

• You’re less likely to get sick at your dentist’s office: While both ER and dental staff are working tirelessly to keep their offices clean, the best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is to limit your contact with other people. Fewer people will be visiting your dentist, so you’re less likely to encounter a potentially sick person when seeing them for care.
• You may get treatment faster at your dentist’s office: Since a wide variety of pressing medical issues that need immediate care are treated at an ER, an emergency room doctor may not be able to see you right away. Your dentist is only treating dental emergencies, so they may be able to see you much sooner.
• ERs are more crowded than ever: COVID-19 is very contagious and occasionally life-threatening, so there is a current influx of people seeking urgent health care at ERs. When you take your dental emergency to a dentist, you free up the valuable time, attention, and effort of medical staff who can treat these patients.
• Not all ERs can provide specialized dental care: Not every ER has a dentist on staff who can perform emergency dental care like tooth extractions, crown placements, or root canals.

When to See Your Emergency Dentist

Even during the COVID-19 quarantine, most dentists are still treating dental emergencies like:

• Broken teeth
• Knocked-out or partially dislodge teeth
• Intense toothaches
• Swelling in the mouth, jaw, or face

Hopefully, neither you nor your loved ones will experience a dental emergency during the COVID-19 quarantine. However, if you do, it’s important to know where to go to get the fastest, safest care for your smile.

About the Practice

At Shore Dental in North Port, FL, your safety always has been and will continue to be our number one priority. We have always adhered to the highest standards of infection control set forth by the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, these procedures have only gotten stronger to ensure you are as safe and comfortable as possible when getting the dental care you need. To learn more about what we’re doing to keep our practice clean and healthy, we invite you to contact us via our website or at (941) 257-0826.