Cherelle Parker spent election night in the hospital with severe tooth pain. Here’s what to know about hospitalization for dental issues

Mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker secured the Democratic nomination for Philadelphia’s 100th mayor on Tuesday night but missed her victory party because of severe tooth pain that required an emergency room visit, the campaign said.

Parker had known since February that a prior root canal had become “faulty,” and she needed to get the tooth pulled. But she delayed the procedure to focus on her campaign, she said.

Last Friday, she underwent an emergency procedure to extract the tooth, then experienced serious pain on election day. She was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and has since been released.

Dental health issues account for about 2 million annual emergency room visits in America (out of about 131 million annual ER visits overall), and can present serious complications for patients.

Visiting an emergency room for a dental complaint is relatively rare. Parker was likely in serious pain, said David Tecosky, a Philadelphia dentist who edits the Philadelphia County Dental Society’s quarterly medical journal. (Tecosky does not treat Parker and cannot speak directly to her care.)

The vast majority of people who visit an ER for a dental complaint are treated and released without being admitted to the hospital. According to 2018 federal health care data, 93% of these “treat-and-release” dental ER visits are due to tooth loss, cavities, or gum and connective tissue issues.

Prompt treatment is key to avoiding further dental complications, Tecosky said, noting that he understands why patients might put off care. “Things do happen in life — there are other things that take priority,” he said. These can include child care demands, looking after an elderly relative, or in this case, a demanding mayoral campaign. (“I know [Parker] was super busy,” Tecosky said.)

He encourages his patients to seek preventative care, which starts with diagnosing existing dental problems. Patients with good dental health can get by with maintenance care, such as routine visits for teeth cleaning and checking for cavities every six months. Patients who suffer from gum disease or conditions like diabetes that elevate their risk for tooth decay need closer monitoring.

Even if a patient with a diagnosed dental issue isn’t feeling pain, Tecosky cautioned, it doesn’t mean their condition has gone away. He explained that once tooth decay breaks through into the pulp chamber — where the nerve and blood supply for the tooth is stored — it can cause infection.

“Infection can kill the nerve, and the pain goes away once the nerve dies,” he said.

The infection in a tooth can painlessly work its way to the bottom of the tooth, where it can then cause facial swelling and pain so severe “you can’t even think,” Tecosky said.

“The best bet is to do prevention and get the cavities when they’re small,” he said. “That way we don’t have to worry.”

Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.