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Dental Emergency…Now what do I do?

What Should I Do When I Have A Dental Emergency?

Each and everyone of us has known someone who had to deal with a dental emergency at some  point in their life.  Perhaps it was an infection, broken tooth, or even trauma to the mouth.  In most cases, the patient’s first response is, “What do I do?”

Fortunately there is help for those who are suffering.  Your dentist is there to help.  As a dentist, we are specially trained, and experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of dental emergencies.  Many dentists I speak to block off times in there schedules to reserve for dental emergencies.  Below are some of the most common emergencies we treat on a daily basis.

Is A Tooth Ache A Dental Emergency?

Toothaches, by far, are at the top of the list.  Not a day goes by that an established patient in the practice, or a new patient, calls complaining of a tooth ache.  A typical toothache is described as a dull, throbbing pain, which radiates through the tooth, and up into the patient’s face and head.  Very often, patient’s try home remedies such as ice compresses, salt water rinses, and over the counter medications.  The problem with those remedies is that they only soothe the symptoms, not the problem.  Only a dentist can help you with a toothache.  Many patients experience temperature sensitivity with their teeth.  Extreme cold sensitivity could be a sign of a fractured tooth, cavity, or the beginning of  a tooth infection.  Sensitivity to hot liquids, or food, usually indicates a dying, or dead nerve in a tooth, which will need immediate attention.  Typically, toothaches can be treated by fixing the problem with the tooth, and restoring it  back to its original strength.  When a tooth becomes infected, simply taking antibiotics like you do for a sore throat simply will not work.  Without physically removing the source of the infection, tooth infections will reoccur.  When they do, they do with a vengeance.  In those cases, the infected nerve can be removed, the center of the tooth sterilized, and the tooth can be saved.  If the cavity or break is so severe that the tooth can’t be saved, an extraction would be performed to remove the source of the infection.

The Broken Tooth Dental Emergency

Emergency Dental Care - Broken Teeth

Broken teeth are very common occurrences in the dental office.  Trauma to the mouth is usually to blame.  Car accidents, sports injuries, slip and fall accidents contribute to many of the broken teeth we see.  But perhaps the biggest souce of broken teeth we treat is the teeth themselves.  Many patients have teeth that are heavily resored with filling materials, which could actually weaken the tooth.  These teeth are vulnerable to fracture, and highly unpredictable.  The good news is that this is preventable. Weak, highly restored, teeth can be made stronger, and fortified with a porcelain crown.  The crown will distribute the biting forces over the entire tooth, and acts a jacket ove the tooth, holding it together, preventing fracture.

If you have questions about any dental concern please give me a call so I can offer you my advice. You can reach me at 239-597-4944 and Ask for Dr Sullivan or visit Emergency Dentistry Of Naples

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