When Your Tooth Is Beginning To Hurt: Emergency Dental Care To Avoid Significant Pain

23 January 2017
Categories: Dentist, Blog

If you have a tooth that is starting to hurt for no apparent reason, it's important to get your tooth checked out right away. While it may be a cavity, this can also indicate that you have a budding infection inside your tooth. If your tooth is suddenly sensitive to hot or cold temperatures, this is also an indication that your tooth is not stable. When you need dental work but you ignore the problem, it will rarely go away on its own. To avoid an infection that gets into your jaw, you need to get a tooth that is causing you pain treated right away.

Your Tooth Is Broken or Chipped

While a chipped tooth isn't exactly an emergency, it's important to get a broken or chipped tooth fixed right away. A chipped tooth is more than a cosmetic problem. When you ignore a chipped tooth, this can lead to bite problems or lead to an abscess. Over time, trying to eat with a chipped tooth can also lead to decay. Your dentist uses a simple bonding material to fix a broken or chipped tooth, making it look and feel just like your regular tooth.

You Have an Abscessed Tooth

When you have decay in your mouth, bacteria can get inside to the center of your tooth. When the pulp in the middle of your tooth comes in contact with harmful bacteria, it can become infected. While tooth decay is the most common reason for a tooth abscess, it can also occur when you have significant gum disease, gingivitis, or a broken tooth. An abscessed tooth is often treated with antibiotics to get rid of the infection, and any decay or broken part of the tooth will be managed.

Signs of an Abscessed Tooth

An abscess is an infection, and you may notice a foul odor to your breath, a fever, and even swollen glands. Your gums may get red and swell, or you may find an open sore in your jaw that begins to drain into your mouth. If you have tooth pain and you are also feeling sick, you need to get treated as soon as possible. While the infection is in your mouth, you don't want it to travel to your bloodstream.

When you need emergency dental work, it's important to seek treatment right away. If you can't find an open dentist, you can go to the emergency room to be treated for an infection if your tooth is abscessed. Getting the pain under control and getting the infection treated are the goal when you go to the ER for help with tooth pain.

For more information, contact local professionals like Family First Dentistry LLC.

About Me

When I was a child and teenager, I always left the dentist's office with the great feeling of having no cavities. When I went away to college out-of-state, I had to switch to a new dentist in my area. It seemed like I was suddenly getting cavities and started wonder what my new dentist "was doing wrong". When I spoke to my mother about it, she reminded me that the reason I never had cavities when I was living it home was because she always made sure my siblings and I brushed and flossed daily and didn't eat too much sugar. I then realized that my late-night study sessions drinking sugary soda and my suddenly bad brushing habits were the true causes of my cavities. I have since learned a lot more about dental health I am eager to share with anyone who needs the advice!