
How is dental trauma different from a dental emergency?
The word ‘trauma’ should say it all, an injury that is categorised as ‘dental trauma’ affects the teeth, the soft tissue of the mouth, and the jawbone in an obvious and generally very painful way. Whereas toothache or abscesses are uncomfortable and can sometimes constitute an emergency, they are not the same as dental trauma, which can sometimes be life-threatening if accompanied by other damage to the head and face. The most common type of dental trauma is a broken or twisted tooth, which is often the result of some kind of heavy impact to the mouth, the worst kind of injuries will bleed quite heavily – though not dangerously so – and will take several months, if not years, of treatment to ultimate healing. What kind of thing causes…