First Steps in an Emergency: Examination, Radiograph, Treatment
The right procedure can only be chosen once the source of pain is certain.
The examination: what is asked and what is looked at
The first step is brief but decisive: when the pain began, whether it comes on its own or with cold, heat or sweet, how long it lasts after the stimulus, and whether it worsens at night. These answers largely show the stage.
Then the mouth is examined — suspect teeth tested with cold and light percussion, gums, cheek and tongue checked, swelling and mouth opening assessed. Your medicines, chronic conditions, allergies and any pregnancy are always asked, because they change what is used.
The radiograph: what the eye cannot see
The source is not always visible. Decay can advance beneath a filling, a fracture can run into the root, and periapical inflammation shows only on film. A digital image takes seconds and is magnified on screen.
Imaging can also change the scope of treatment — the position of an impacted wisdom tooth or extensive bone loss appears only this way. In pregnancy it can still be taken when needed, with a lead apron, thyroid collar and a narrow field.
Procedures that can be done the same night
- Anaesthesia and direct treatment of the source of pain
- Starting root canal treatment and relieving the pulp
- Draining an abscess and releasing the pressure
- Repairing a fractured tooth or smoothing a sharp edge
- Replacing a lost filling, crown or veneer
- Controlling bleeding and suturing where required
- Urgent extraction where indicated, with aftercare explained
Before You Arrive from Toros: What to Do in the First Hour
What you can do before setting out from Toros does not replace treatment, but it keeps the situation from worsening and buys you time.
Before leaving Toros
What you should do before setting out from Toros depends on your complaint, and detailed first-aid steps for each are on the relevant page. On the way from Emergency in Toros, using the wrong measure can make things worse, so it matters which page you read — applying heat to swelling spreads the infection, and placing a painkiller tablet on the tooth burns the gum.
- Toothache
- Dental abscess and facial swelling
- A broken or cracked tooth
- A knocked-out tooth
- Bleeding after an extraction
What calling achieves for Toros
Calling as you set out from Toros does two things: you receive first-aid guidance suited to your situation, and the radiograph and surgery are prepared while you travel. For patients coming from across Konyaalti, this arrangement noticeably shortens the wait.
What an Emergency Visit Covers for a Patient from Toros
For a patient attending as an emergency from Toros, the aim is to stop the pain and the infection; definitive work is left to a planned appointment.
Completed the same night for Toros
Examination and a radiograph, opening the canal to release pressure, draining an abscess, stopping bleeding, temporarily sealing a broken tooth, splinting a loose tooth and adjusting a poking orthodontic wire are all completed the same night for a patient from Toros as well.
Left to a later visit for Toros
For a patient from Emergency in Toros, completing the root filling, making a crown or onlay, the permanent restoration and the implant and prosthetic stages are done at planned appointments. If you are coming from Toros, these are combined according to your journey and given to you in writing, so you do not have to travel from Konyaalti repeatedly.
