I thought I couldn’t treat myself at home, what is home emergency care?

Dental care at home is not the same as using painkillers or home remedies to treat yourself; it is generally reserved for those in dire need or patients who are housebound for some reason. In cases like this, a surgery that offers such a service will send out one of their dentists to the home of the patient, to provide what care they can out of the office. Unfortunately this does mean that they won’t be able to perform any kind of surgical treatment, such as root canals, but simple things like extractions or repair jobs can be dealt with away from the clinic. If you decide to phone the surgery because you are suffering a dental emergency, it’s not very likely that they will come out to visit you without extenuating circumstances or previous contact with you, but this type of care is very useful if you can’t get out of the house for some reason.

Who would need treatment at home?

There are lots of people in the UK who are housebound for one reason or another, and most clinics have a separate list for the patients who they know they will have to travel to see, which is why it helps to register with a surgery that offers an emergency service, as they will already have all of your details in the system – this is definitely worth considering for people that are not very mobile.

People with disabilities – Wheel-chair users or those that require full time care might not be able to get around very well, so it is much easier to send the dentist out to them instead of trying to organise transport or care for them at the surgery. Frequently, this is also a simpler option for the dentist, as they can visit many households in one day, and provide regular check-ups for their housebound patients.

Patients in care homes – People that live in care homes, whatever the reason, will also need dental care at some stage, and it’s a good idea to have their teeth checked over at regular intervals during their stay. Most dentists that offer visits to residents of care homes will carry out routine dental checks on as many of their patients as possible, perhaps spending a day there to make sure everyone in need of treatment is receiving it.

Nervous patients – In extreme cases of dental anxiety or agoraphobia, some surgeons will visit the patient at home, to save them the ordeal of trying to get to the clinic. This is particularly helpful with people who need immediate attention but are just too nervous to come in for treatment. This is only usually allowed after the patient has been assessed to some degree, and they have registered with the dentist, it’s not likely that someone will be sent to see you after one phone call to an emergency clinic that you have never visited before. In this way, home treatment differs from general emergency services, because if everyone expected to be treated at home, there wouldn’t be enough dentists to go around.

What can home care help with?

As mentioned above, surgical operations can’t be carried out at your house, not only do these procedures require complicated equipment, they also need to be performed in a sterile environment – not something that everyone has in their own homes. However, basic check-ups and dental repairs can be made available to patients with mobility issues.

Extractions – Decayed or damaged teeth are not necessarily an emergency, but they do need to be treated at some point, and a visiting dentist can remove them without too much trouble. Extractions are not considered particularly invasive or dangerous to the health of the patient, so it’s perfectly safe to perform them outside of the surgery. Dentists will normally assess the risks associated with this kind of treatment, but if the patient is generally healthy, there shouldn’t be any complications.

Fillings – Although fillings do require some dental tools, a lot of clinics have mobile units which are equipped with various utensils for aiding treatment of this kind. Tooth decay is fairly common among people in the UK, but small cavities are nothing to panic about, the dentist can drill away the rotten area and fill them with amalgam or composite bonding material. The process is not hugely invasive and can be carried out in the patient’s home, with the right equipment.

Tooth cleaning – Cleaning the teeth is regarded as a cosmetic treatment, and does not constitute an emergency, but for patients who suffer from illness or anxiety, it is not as easy to come by as it is for everyone else. This type of procedure would probably require a pre-booked appointment, as it doesn’t need to be treated in earnest, and some clinics even provide teeth whitening at home as well.

Denture repair and fitting – A large percentage of at-home patients are elderly and not able to travel to get to their appointments, and many of those people have some form of denture or a partial denture appliance. Dentures are a great way to replace missing teeth, but they do require some upkeep and sometimes they need replacing. This is a completely non-surgical treatment for most people, and because there is no need for anaesthetic or pain relief, it is safe to fit dentures in the patient’s home.

Tooth repair – In the same way as tooth cleaning, as long as the dentist has the appropriate equipment with them, they will be able to provide this treatment. Cracks or chips are often viewed as a dental emergency, because they can alter the way our teeth appear in an instant, but unless you are housebound or you have a crippling fear of the dentist, you are unlikely to be able to get this procedure outside of a professional surgery.

To learn more about regular home care and out of hour’s emergencies, call the Pearl Dental Clinic and speak to a member of the team today.