What Services Do Emergency Dental Cover in Australia?

Dental emergencies are overwhelming and stressful at the best of times. If you or a loved one experiences pain in the jaw, tooth, or damage to your teeth from an accident, it is important to seek emergency dental services immediately.

If you fail to do so, you may lose your natural tooth, expensive crown/ bridge, or increase the risk of gum disease and larger underlying issues.

Let's discuss what a dental emergency is and what you can expect emergency dental services to cover in Australia.

What Is a Dental Emergency?

Dental emergencies can range from severe toothache to life-threatening situations. Most people do not fully understand what is considered a dental emergency, but if you experience the following dental issues, you can count it as a dental emergency.

Broken/Fractured/Chipped Tooth

If you or a loved one fractures a tooth or experiences a broken tooth, it is a dental emergency. Timely dental treatment from an experienced dentist can save the tooth, provided you bring the dislodged tooth or tooth part with you.

It is highly recommended to rinse the mouth with warm salt water to help relieve the pain and clean the gums before going to an emergency dentist.

Missing/Lost Crown

It may not sound like an emergency, but losing a crown requires immediate dental treatment if you want to keep your crown. Even if you don't have your crown at hand, you still need timely emergency dental services to repair or replace it.

Severe Toothache

Severe toothaches should not be taken lightly. It may occur abruptly or slowly build up over time. You should not ignore severe toothache till your next dental check-up because it is usually a sign of a larger underlying issue that requires an immediate professional inspection.

Bleeding Gums/ Abscess

If your gums start to bleed, tend to bleed easily, or have an abscess, it is a dental emergency because these things could be a sign of a larger underlying issue.

Knocked-Out Tooth

If you or a loved one experiences an accident, fall, or forceful damage to the teeth, it is considered a dental emergency. It may be possible to save your tooth through immediate dental treatment if you store it in milk and bring it with you to your emergency dentist.

What Services Do Emergency Dental Cover in Australia?

Unfortunately, emergency dental in Australia does not cover comprehensive dental solutions to the mentioned dental emergencies. When you visit an emergency dentist, they will provide you with an initial examination and simple dental treatments that prevent your situation from getting worse.

However, you cannot expect them to perform dental surgery, extraction, root canal, or other specialised dental treatments on the spot. These services are not covered by emergency dental unless you have emergency dental insurance or extra insurance coverage from private health insurance.

Apart from your insurance documents, an emergency dentist will also need your complete medical history. Moreover, emergency dental services never include cosmetic dental treatments or solutions. You can expect them to provide emergency dental solutions like administering or prescribing appropriate medication to relieve pain or prevent the damage from going any further.

For example, if you have an exposed nerve causing severe pain, the emergency dentists will apply fluoride gels or desensitising medication to the affected area. It will reduce the pain and temporarily treat any gum disease from occurring.

Once they have treated you, they will usually recommend or even set an appointment with a trusted specialist, like those at Enhanced Dental Studios.

Conclusion

Dental emergencies require immediate examination and sufficient dental treatment, even if you don't immediately go through with the complete treatment. You must never ignore the mentioned dental emergencies and seek immediate help when they occur.

Despite not having specialised dental treatments covered with emergency dental in Australia, you will need a professional examination and available dental solutions no matter what.

Of course, it is always best to get decent dental coverage, including dental emergencies, from private insurance companies to make sure your smile is preserved no matter what unfortunate accidents occur.