What to Do in a Dental Emergency

Dental emergencies can come out of nowhere.  A bad slip that lands you on your face, biting down on something you weren’t expecting, or some form of freak accident could cause you severe dental or oral distress.  When incidents like this happen you should seek a dental professional as soon as possible and in the meantime do what you can to try to mitigate the issue.  Here are some common dental emergencies and how to deal with them.

Pain or Bleeding

For toothaches call your dentist and explain the nature of the pain and any other symptoms you might be experiencing.  It is likely they’ll be able to give you some advice and that should be adhered to. 

If you find yourself bleeding from your gums, tongue, or lip, apply pressure with a clean cloth.  For swelling use an ice pack to try to keep it down.  The bleeding should stop relatively quickly but if it does not seek help at a hospital Emergency room.

Damaged Teeth

If a tooth is fully knocked out of your mouth pick it up and examine it.  If it appears clean and intact you can attempt to put it back in its socket.  If this is not possible for whatever reason gently rinse it with milk or water and place it in a container of cold milk and seek out dental assistance right away.  Within two hours – and preferably within ten minutes – the tooth has the potential to take root again.  After that the odds are decreased.

Broken teeth or dental work can usually be repaired.  For lost fillings you can safely secure the area by placing a piece of sugar free gum in the cavity until you can see dentist – which should be as soon as possible.

Dental emergencies can be stressful and scary but with the knowledge above you’ll know how to take action as you seek out dental help.  If you have a dental issue, emergency or not, contact Pickering Square Dental today.

What’s Causing Your Toothache?

There are a lot of different kinds of pain associated with toothaches.  Pain can be constant or intermittent, sharp or throbbing, and can be accompanied by other symptoms or be completely in isolation.  Whatever your pain toothaches are always unpleasant and are generally caused by one of a handful of issues.

Tooth Decay

Your toothache may be a direct result of holes in your teeth – cavities – caused by an acidic degradation of enamel.  If you get a toothache after eating something hot, cold, or sweet, this may be the cause.  See if the hurting tooth is visible in a mirror and you may be able to spot the decay.

Infection

One of the more painful forms of toothache is an infection between the gum and the tooth or right at the tooth’s root.  This is called an abscessed tooth and is the result of extreme tooth decay.  An abscessed tooth is often accompanied by other symptoms like pain when chewing, foul breath, gum swelling, fever, and many others. 

Gum Disease

Periodontitis – a more severe form of gingivitis – is caused when the inner layers of the gum pull away from the teeth and form spaces that can become infected by collected debris.  This can create pain which can lead to the feeling of a toothache.

Damage

Aches can be caused by injury to the teeth.  A fracture can create an issue in the nerve below the teeth causing severe pain.  Additionally a pre-existing filling may be damaged as well which can create issues of its own.

Other Causes

The other main cause for toothaches tends to be repetitive motions like grinding teeth or chewing gum.  This can create what feels like muscle pain when trying to move your jaw or bite down.  Also, you may feel a sharp tingling when drinking something too hot or too cold and that may be due to teeth sensitivity caused by some nerves being exposed at your gum line – switch to a toothpaste for sensitive teeth for some help with that.

Regardless of your type or cause of toothache there are some important things to keep in mind.  If your toothache is severe, lasts longer than 1 or 2 days, or is accompanied by a fever, earache, or pain when opening your mouth wide, see a dentist as soon as possible.  The toothache may be very serious and left unattended the cause could be detrimental to your health.  If you have a toothache and need a great dentist to take a look at it contact Pickering Square Dental today.  We’d be happy to help.