Glossary
Dental Emergency Glossary
Key terms for understanding dental emergencies — from the types of urgent conditions and how they are treated to what to do while getting to the dentist.
Knowing dental emergency terminology helps you act quickly and communicate clearly with your dental team when every minute counts. This glossary covers the most common urgent situations and the procedures used to address them.
- Abscessed Tooth
- A painful infection at the root of a tooth or in the space between the tooth and gum.
- Avulsed Tooth
- A tooth that has been completely knocked out of its socket.
- Broken or Chipped Tooth
- A tooth that has been fractured or damaged.
- Extruded Tooth
- A tooth that has been partially dislodged from its socket.
- Lost Filling or Crown
- A filling or crown that has fallen out or become loose.
- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Cuts or lacerations to the lips, cheeks, gums, or tongue.
- Toothache
- Pain in or around a tooth, often caused by infection or inflammation.
- Dental Splint
- A device used to stabilize a loosened or displaced tooth.
- Emergency Extraction
- Removal of a tooth that cannot be saved.
- Incision and Drainage
- A procedure to drain an abscess.
- Pain Management
- Using medication or other techniques to relieve pain.
- Reimplantation
- Placing an avulsed tooth back into its socket.
- Root Canal Therapy
- A procedure to remove infected or damaged tissue from inside a tooth.
- Cellulitis
- A serious bacterial infection of the skin and tissues.
- Dry Socket
- A painful condition that can occur after a tooth extraction when the blood clot is lost.
- Facial Swelling
- Swelling of the face or jaw, often due to infection or injury.
- Hematoma
- A collection of blood outside of a blood vessel.
- Ludwig's Angina
- A severe infection of the floor of the mouth.
- Trismus
- Limited jaw opening or lockjaw.
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