This study shows that patient-controlled sedation is a suitable alternative to operator-controlled sedation in the management of anxious dental patients.
Dental emergencies affect a large proportion of the population. While there is ample information in the literature on how to manage medical emergencies in dental practice, there is little information on common dental emergencies and how to manage them. In the UK, the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey reported 9% of dentate adults reporting pain at their clinical examination.1 The prevalence of non-pain related restorative dental emergencies is estimated to be higher, and will be a common presenting situation in the dental clinic. Often these unplanned events cause difficulties for dental practitioners, who are already constrained by time, to fit in these patients and manage them. Over and above this, the increasing life spans, retention of teeth into later life and finite life of dental restorations all add to the challenges encountered by the dental practitioner. Prompt and effective management of these conditions often leads to optimising patient experience, but also offers better outcomes. This two-part series provides an overview of the more common dental emergencies encountered by the dental practitioner and their management. Paper 1 focuses on the management of common tooth-related emergencies and includes non-odontogenic and odontogenic pain. Paper 2 focuses on the management of osseointegrated dental implant related emergencies.
Supra-erupted teeth often lead to occlusal instability that can result in a poor appearance and make subsequent restoration problematical. This case report discusses the options in the management of supra-erupted teeth and presents a novel approach. The use of a direct composite platform to intrude an upper premolar tooth using the Dahl concept is illustrated.
This is the second paper in a two-part series discussing the management of common restorative dental emergencies. The first paper focussed upon problems relating to conventional fixed and removable restorations, and this paper discusses the management of common dental implant related emergencies. With dental implant treatment becoming an increasingly popular method of replacing missing teeth, it is very likely that dentists working in general practice will routinely come across patients who have previously undergone this form of treatment, even if they themselves are not directly involved in placing or restoring dental implants. This paper is aimed at general dental practitioners (GDPs) who have some experience in managing dental implants, and those who want to gain further insight into how such situations may be managed.
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