In recent months, news of the coronavirus has grown close and closer to home. Though we have been able to keep operations running as usual until now, the time has come for us to defer all dental elective treatments until April 20, 2020. The Centers for Disease Control, as well as the American Dental Association, have recently declared that dentists may only conduct certain emergency procedures. The ADA classifies “dental emergencies” as potentially life-threatening conditions that require immediate medical attention. The following are considered dental emergencies:
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Cellulitis or a diffuse soft-tissue bacterial infection with intra-oral or extra-oral swelling that may compromise the patient’s airway
- Trauma involving facial bones that can potentially compromise the patient’s airway
Furthermore, the ADA also defines what it considers “urgent dental care” as ” the management of conditions that require immediate attention to relieve severe pain and/or risk of infection and to alleviate the burden on hospital emergency departments.” Some examples of urgent dental care, as per recommendation by the ADA, are as follows:
- Severe dental pain from pulpal inflammation
- Pericoronitis or third-molar pain
- Surgical post-operative osteitis
- Abscesses, or localized bacterial infections causing localized pain and swelling
- Tooth fractures causing pain or soft tissue trauma
- Dental treatment required prior to critical medical procedures
- Final crown/bridge cementation if the temporary restoration is lost, broken or causing gingival irritation
- Biopsy of abnormal tissue
If you require an emergency procedure, please do not hesitate to give our team a call. In compliance with the ADA, we must first conduct a phone interview with you to evaluate your symptoms. This is a no-pressure phone call, as we are still your trustworthy, compassionate dental team, and we still care, above all else, about your health.
Contact the Dental Associates of Basking Ridge
Dental Associates of Basking Ridge is a compassionate, gentle, and professional state-of-the-art dental practice serving Basking Ridge, Morris & Somerset County. Our office is always ready to greet our patients with a smile, take the time to answer any questions, and provide the quality dental services our patients expect. Please contact us to schedule an appointment. We look forward to serving you!
