Your teeth serves a dual purpose. One is to help you eat without major interruption. The other is to help enhance your smile. When you’re missing teeth, the deficiency can be obvious or hidden. Depending on the location of the neglected area, you can function for a while, but the empty space will accumulate infection causing discomfort. Here are some steps that yous should take when you have a dental emergency.

Contact Your Dentist

Most dentists see patients by appointment. However, if your situation is an emergency, you can contact your dentist if urgent care services are offered. If not, you can ask if any appointments were canceled. Your dentists may be kind enough to squeeze you in between appointments. You can also search for dental offices that offer urgent dental care. This type of service can reduce the risk of infection that could spread to other areas of your body.

Avoid Eating Damaging Foods

If you can’t make it to the dentist on an emergency basis, but you’re able to secure appointment within a day or two, try to avoid eating foods that can cause further damage to the affected area. If needed, chew on the opposite side of your mouth to reduce pain. During your examination your local dentist will also advise you about tooth implant and other services that can aid in the tooth replacement process.

Review Your Dental Insurance Coverage

Before contacting your dentist, contact your insurance company or review your policy to ensure that emergency services are covered and the percentage of coverage. By doing so, you can adjust your budget to cover the copay expenses. If you don’t have an emergency now, you can purchase a dental discount plan to help you cover out of pocket expenses. You can also ask your dentist if discount or financing services are offered to help you manage emergency dental expenses.

Exercise Preventative Care

No one anticipates tooth loss, but some situations happen accidentally. If your tooth loss is not due to injury, you can ask your dentist what steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of tooth loss particularly when it relates to dental care and health conditions. The more you educate yourself, the more cautious you will be when eating foods that contribute to tooth decay or engaging in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as smoking or drinking.

Don’t Delay Care

You may think that a missing tooth that can’t be seen is not as important as spaces that would be more visible when smiling. However, the ability to sustain healthy gums and proper teeth alignment is vital to your dental health. When you seek emergency care for your teeth, you can not only avoid additional tooth loss, but higher dental service expenses.