Dental Emergency
O’Connor Dental Surgery will provide timely and appropriate emergency treatment to patients who present with urgent dental problems.
Definitions of Emergency treatment:
• Emergency treatment: Any dental treatment that is necessary to relieve severe pain, control bleeding, prevent infection, or save a tooth.
• Urgent dental problem: Any dental condition that causes severe pain, swelling, bleeding, or trauma, or that affects the patient’s ability to eat, speak, or breathe normally.
• Non-urgent dental problem: Any dental condition that does not cause severe pain, swelling, bleeding, or trauma, or that does not affect the patient’s ability to eat, speak, or breathe normally, but that requires professional attention within a reasonable time frame.
Policy: (subject to the availability of the dentist).
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will provide emergency treatment to any patient who presents with an urgent dental problem
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will triage all patients who request emergency treatment according to the severity and urgency of their dental problem, and allocate them an appropriate time slot for treatment.
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will prioritize patients who have life-threatening or potentially serious conditions, such as uncontrolled bleeding, severe infection, or trauma, over patients who have less severe or non-urgent conditions, such as toothache, broken filling, or chipped tooth
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will inform all patients who request emergency treatment of the estimated waiting time, treatment options, costs, and possible outcomes, and obtain their informed consent before proceeding with any treatment.
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will document all emergency treatment provided to patients in their dental records, and follow up with them as necessary to ensure their recovery and satisfaction.
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will refer patients who require further or specialist care to the appropriate service provider, and provide them with the necessary information and instructions.
• O’Connor Dental Surgery will review and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of our emergency treatment policy and procedures regularly, and make any improvements or changes as needed.