What Constitutes a Dental Emergency during the Covid-19 Crisis
Tessa Brumder
With all the uncertainty, the Covid-19 crisis has thrown us; it's challenging to know when to seek help or when to try and manage any problems at home.
At Dove Holistic Dental Centre (DHDC), our patients are our priority, and the health of you and also others close to you come above most dental problems.
Due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus, we cannot see patients for "routine treatments" as per the direction of the chief dental officer of England. "Routine treatments", unfortunately, includes everything we do as a dental practice and so have no choice but to close our doors and only manage patients with "urgent dental emergencies."
So what is an urgent dental emergency?
We have been advised that the following constitutes a dental emergency:
Swelling: a swelling around a tooth, around the face, neck or eye? Please get in touch with us.
Bleeding: if you have recently have had a tooth out and the socket is bleeding, first apply pressure (use the spare bite pack if you still have this), and time this for 30 minutes. If it is still bleeding uncontrollably, then please get in touch with us.
Trauma: if you have had an injury and this has caused any loss of consciousness, head straight to your nearest A&E department. If you have a broken tooth that is causing pain that cannot be managed with painkillers, please get in touch with us
Pain: if you are experiencing dental pain, please give us a call so we can assess and advise the situation.
If any of the above is applicable, we are currently able to provide remote care and support for patients registered with us.
Non Urgent dental emergencies
Here are some examples of non-urgent treatment that we would ordinarily see as an emergency, but will now have to wait. We will book these appointments after the outbreak but bear in mind this crisis isn't under control, and your appointment may need to be rescheduled depending on circumstances.
Orthodontics: any orthodontic problems including Invisalign, broken brackets and wires, broken retainers and de-bonded fixed retainers will be required to wait until after the outbreak.
Broken/chipped tooth or fillings: if there is no pain from the tooth and it is just sharp then this will be required to wait until after the outbreak. You must do your best to keep the area clean in the meantime.
Gum irritations: this is non-urgent, and we can book this in for after the outbreak. Most gum irritations are caused by plaque. Ensure good oral hygiene at home and feel free to contact us for any oral hygiene advice during this period.
Loose or lost crowns, bridges or veneers: again we can sort this out for you after the outbreak.
Broken dentures: this again can be dealt with after the outbreak. Keep the dentures out if they no longer stay in or cause pain. If you have an old or spare set, then revert to using this in the interim period.
Once the current crisis is over, we will endeavour to see you as soon as possible and resume a full and normal service.
We understand this can be frustrating and would like to thank you all for your understanding and support during this difficult time.
Regardless of the above guidelines, if you have any queries or concerns, please feel free to contact us. We are on call to provide advice and prescriptions if needed.