2020 has been a long year for most of us, and yet the holidays really snuck up! While many of us will not be enjoying our usual holiday travel, most of us can’t wait to welcome 2021. Things can only go up from here, right?
Whether you’re keeping to yourself for the holidays or choosing to venture out a little, there is one thing that can ruin your celebrations: a dental emergency.
Dental offices have been proven as among the safest businesses throughout the pandemic. Less than 1% of dentists having a confirmed or probable COVID infection. Some patients may still be putting off their regular check-ups. With the holidays coming, now is the time to take care of those potential issues you’ve been putting off.
Underlying Issues Get Worse with Time.
Has your dentist told you, “We’re going to keep an eye on that tooth?” Maybe more than once? There are times your dental team may notice the beginnings of a crack or cavity that’s not quite far enough along to treat, so we watch it.
To keep an eye on things, we have to keep seeing you! With the disruption to most people’s oral healthcare routine this year, your family may have gotten behind on your checkups. This means that those superficial cavities and small hairline fractures may have progressed since we last saw you. As a rule, tooth problems don’t tend to repair themselves.
Emergencies Tend to Strike at the Worst Time.
Call it Murphy’s Law. For some reason, it’s going to be that Jordan almond from your Christmas stocking or the chunk of ice from your New Year’s cocktail that finally cracks the tooth you’ve been ignoring. Many of our patients find themselves in sudden need of dental work while they’re out of town or while our office is closed for a long weekend.
Fortunately, both Christmas and New Year’s Eve fall at the end of the week this year, so we won’t close for a prolonged period. As comforting as it is to know that we have your back through the holiday season, no one wants to suffer through a single extra moment with tooth pain.
The best way to avoid that worst case scenario? Get in for a check soon and make sure everything is stable and healthy so that you can dive into your holidays secure in the knowledge that your teeth are in biting shape.
If you know you’ve been putting off treatment, do your best to schedule what you can. Even if your treatment plan needs to be split into phases, the way I see it, one tooth treated is one less tooth to cause you problems.
What to Do If Disaster Strikes
First of all, don’t panic. If you do find yourself in an emergency situation while the office is closed, we are always just a phone call away. Someone from our office will get back to you asap to get you fixed up and back to your celebrations.
We have also given some detailed advice for dental first aid, which you can find following the links: if a tooth gets knocked out; if a crown falls out; if you’re trying to decode a painful tooth.
Whatever your plans are for the holidays, we hope they are fantastic! That being said, it is still 2020, so an ounce of prevention may be a great idea. Because if something’s going to go wrong, well, this is the year.
Stay safe, and have a wonderful holiday season, Orlando!
