Dental Emergency Services — Providing Fast and Effective Relief

Types of dental emergencies and their treatments

Tooth Abscess

To identify an abscess in your mouth, feel for any swollen, painful spots on or near the gum line and teeth roots. If a serious infection is left untreated, it can spread through other parts of your gums and body – so don’t wait to call your dentist! In addition to seeking professional help as soon as possible, you may also try swishing with water before applying cold ice directly onto the affected area for temporary relief.

Taking swift action will protect both your oral health and overall well-being from further deterioration.

Potential treatments

• Draining the abscess. The dentist will cut a little incision into the abscess to allow for pus expulsion and afterwards flush the region with saline. To help keep drainage going while reducing swelling, they may utilise a small rubber tube.
• Performing a root canal treatment. The dentist will begin by drilling down into the affected area of the enamel, extracting any damaged internal tissue (pulp) and draining away any pus built up inside small pockets in the gums around it. Once done, they’ll fill both the pulp chamber within the gum line as well as each individual root canal before sealing them off tightly – potentially capping off this newly reformed tooth with an additional crown if necessary.
• Extracting the affected tooth. If the affected tooth is too far gone, your dentist will have to extract it and drain any infection that has built up. This should effectively clear up the abscess once and for all.
• Prescribing antibiotics. Should the infection only be present in the abscessed area, antibiotics may not be necessary. However, if signs of contamination have spread to adjacent teeth or other parts of your jawline and head region, then an antibiotic prescription can help prevent it from worsening. 

Chipped or cracked tooth

If the fracture extends to the area of your tooth concealed by gum tissue, it could inflict harm on its root and disrupt nerves and blood vessels. Cleanse your mouth with warm water if needed. Alternatively, decrease any swelling using a cold compress or an ice pack snugly wrapped in a cloth against your face. If you think something might be seriously wrong inside of your mouth, contact a local dentist right away! This way, they can detect the issue promptly before anything more serious occurs.

Potential treatments

• Dental bonding or filling. If you have experienced a chipped tooth, your dentist has several options to restore it. For subtle repairs on visible teeth when smiling, they may choose bonding –an option that uses tooth-coloured composite resin to make the repair nearly invisible. Even smaller chips in the enamel can be mended with a simple filling!
• Dental crown. In cases of broken teeth or large amounts of decay, your dentist may opt to grind away a portion and protect the remaining tooth by placing a crown. This dental cap not only preserves the structure of your tooth but also enhances its appearance.
• Root canal therapy. If a tooth is chipped or broken wide enough to uncover the pulp, which is the core of your tooth, with nerves and vessels running through it, bacteria from your mouth can get in and cause infection. If you’re feeling pain at that spot on your teeth, noticing changes in colour or heightened sensitivity towards heat – chances are your pulp has been affected. Without removing such dead tissue right away, an infection could set in, leading to extraction as the only option left for dental treatment. Root canal therapy offers a solution by taking out this damaged material followed by cleaning and sealing off any remaining root canals afterwards.

Knocked-out tooth

If your tooth is out of alignment or completely knocked loose, it’s vital to take immediate action – emergency dental treatment is a must. Remember that once the tooth has been dislodged, its life expectancy decreases rapidly, and it could die within 60 minutes! To improve the chances of saving your tooth, don’t forget to find it immediately and place it in saline or milk until you are able to see a dentist as soon as possible.

If one of your teeth has been slightly dislodged, do not waste any time -rinse and delicately push it back into its socket. Time is of the essence in these scenarios; contact our dentist for an emergency appointment immediately to increase the possibility of saving your tooth!

Potential treatments

• If you’ve reinserted your tooth, the dentist will examine it and take an X-ray to ensure that its position is correct. They’ll then splint it with adjacent teeth in order to maintain its position for two weeks. Splinting serves as a temporary attachment mechanism that bolsters the tooth’s stability.
• If you’ve quickly rushed to the dentist after inserting your tooth into milk, they will numb the area and adjust it correctly. Afterwards, a dental X-ray will be taken in order to ensure that the tooth is properly aligned before splinting it for two weeks alongside its neighbouring teeth.

If you’ve lost a tooth, no need to worry! You can replace it easily with any of the following solutions:

• Denture. A denture is a removable prosthetic tooth that you remove and clean regularly.
• Bridge. A bridge is a permanent dental prosthetic that utilises special cement to adhere an artificial tooth between two adjacent natural teeth.
• Implant. An implant is a process that involves the insertion of a titanium screw in the jawbone, allowing it to set and heal for several months. Once healed, dental moulds can be taken to create custom false teeth to replace missing ones.

Get urgent dental care immediately before it gets too late

Experiencing emergency dental problems can be extremely troubling and unexpected, but don’t worry; emergency dental care is available. When you require urgent attention for a dental emergency, you should contact our emergency dentist as soon as possible. They will be able to provide a fast emergency dental appointment to help alleviate any unpleasant symptoms or pain you may be experiencing.

Call us to schedule your appointment with our dentist today! We are available whenever you need us, day or night.

Note: Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

References

Do You Need Emergency Dental Care?
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/dental-emergencies-and-sports-safety/do-you-need-emergency-dental-care

Handling Dental Emergencies
https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/handling-dental-emergencies#1