How Do I Convince My Sister to See an Emergency Dentist?

Posted by ijaz

How Do I Convince My Sister to See an Emergency Dentist?

My sister has been without dental care for close to eight years. She moves around a lot and it is one of those things she just lets slip through the cracks. Recently, she’s been having some tooth pain and today I noticed her cheek is a bit swollen. I think she should see an emergency dentist. She feels I am overreacting. In all honesty, my sister had a rough life. She was adopted by my parents later in life and grew up in a group home being told to “suck it up” all the time. It is hard to get her to take care of herself. Can you give me any advice on how to convince her?

Alaya

Dear Alaya,

I am glad your sister has your family in her life now. I can tell you really care about her. One thing you can tell her is that people still die from untreated tooth infections and these things can flare up quite quickly. If her cheek is swollen that means her infection is spreading. Think about how close your jaw is to your lungs, heart, and even your brain. These can become life-threatening.

While some dentists will reserve emergency appointments for established patients, there are dentists who are willing to see non-established patients in a dental emergency situation such as your sister is in. She can just make some calls or check out some websites.

In these situations, they will get basic information from her, then do an x-ray and examination. Depending on the diagnosis they will either get her out of pain and write a prescription antibiotic to hold her over until they can see her and do the repair, or they will do the procedure right then. It all depends on how much time they have and she should be prepared for either eventuality. Chances are she will need a root canal treatment and dental crown.

Once she’s out of danger, it will be time for her to find a regular dentist to prevent these sort of emergencies from popping up. It is actually more affordable to have regular dental care which can catch these things early and minimize any invasive treatment than it is to do dental care by emergency.

This blog is brought to you by North Haven Dentist Dr. Asma Ijaz.