Category Archives: Dental Emergency

Dental Emergency

Why Aren’t My Antibiotics Working?

I had what I thought was a sinus infection. My doctor just called me in an antibiotic because I get them all the time. However, I realized the next day that a tooth was seriously hurting. I figured the antibiotics would work either way, but they are not. The tooth felt better for a short period of time and then started hurting again. It hasn’t improved since. Are you supposed to take a different antibiotic for tooth infections than you would for a sinus infection?

Brandon

Dear Brandon,

Woman holding her jaw from a toothache

While I don’t know what type of antibiotic you used, that is not the main problem for why you are not healing. Antibiotics are used for tooth infections, but only to help get the infection under control. Antibiotics cannot cure an infected tooth. The only way to do that is for a dentist to remove the damaged pulp. Yours will begin to spread, which is why toothaches are considered dental emergencies.

There are two ways to do that. First, with a root canal treatment. This is the ideal option because it can save most of your tooth. The other way to deal with an infected tooth is to extract it. Once a tooth is extracted, it will need to be replaced.

If it is left as an open area, the other teeth will drift or tip into that spot, which will throw off your bite and lead to painful TMJ Disorder. Replacing the tooth, with a dental implant will protect your bite. It is also a very nice tooth replacement that will look, feel, and function just like your natural tooth structure.

Don’t put off getting this looked at by a dentist to get the right treatment. Tooth infections spread outside of the jaw. When lift untreated, they can become life threatening. People still die from tooth infections every year. Plus, the sooner you get in with your dentist, the better chance you have to save your tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.
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Dental Emergency

Porcelain Veneers Keep Coming Off

My dentist said that I needed porcelain veneers because my teeth were discolored, one was a bit crooked, and I would sometimes grind my teeth. The whole process has been a nightmare. They keep popping off, even if I’m eating something as simple as a banana. I would say not a week goes by when one of them doesn’t come off. It’s crazy embarrassing, especially because the only thing left is a small nub of a tooth under the veneer. He does glue them back on, but I usually have to wait a day or two to get in. I think he should consider it an emergency and glue it back in that day. Is this normal?

Penny

Dear Penny,

Crown versus veneer tooth preparation

No, this is not normal. It also sounds to me like your dentist provided you with dental crowns instead of porcelain veneers. Your teeth only have a minimum amount of surface of the front of the tooth removed for porcelain veneers. When you start talking about nubs, that sounds like dental crowns. You can see in the picture above the comparison of the two preparations.

Porcelain veneers are an advanced cosmetic procedure which requires significant post doctoral training to know how to do. Dental crowns, on the other hand, are taught to every dentist in dental school. Unfortunately, your dentist doesn’t even seem to know how to pull that off. My guess is (and please bear in mind that I haven’t examined you) that your dentist has over contoured these dental crowns and that is why they keep popping off.

If you’re grinding your teeth, you will need to wear a nightguard while you sleep to protect them, but that isn’t the problem with your crowns. When they are properly formed and bonded on they are secure. They certainly wouldn’t fall out from eating a banana. Yes, I agree with you that your dentist should fit you in the same day to bond that back on. Most dentists leave some room in their schedule for dental emergencies.

However, I think you need to have these crowns looked at by an expert cosmetic dentist. I’m concerned about the amount of crowns popping off. It may be you need these completely redone. If that is the case, don’t just ask for a refund. Ask for the dentist to pay to have this repaired by the dentist of your choice.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Porcelain Veneer Broke

I had porcelain veneers put on my teeth to cover my tetracycline stains. I’d actually gone to another dentist to have it done quite a few years ago. One of them has recently broken horizontally. I went to see my dentist and he fixed it with some glue, but it looks like an obvious fix and feels uncomfortable on my upper lip. He’s said it will be a couple of weeks before we he can get to my temporary crown. I was hoping to get this fixed faster, but he said it isn’t a dental emergency. Do you recommend I try to get in to see someone sooner or will everyone make me wait?

Stephanie

Dear Stephanie,

An image of a porcelain veneer being held up to a tooth.

There are a couple of issues here. While this situation isn’t your typical dental emergency, like an infected tooth, most cosmetic dentists would understand the importance of an aesthetic emergency. A second issue is his idea of giving you a dental crown. Why? Is something wrong with the tooth where it needs a crown? If not, then that would be a major overtreatment and completely unnecessary.

This can be repaired with another porcelain veneer. My guess is that your dentist does not have the training or skill to do porcelain veneers. They are an advanced cosmetic procedure. Instead of telling you that he is out of his depth and recommending a skilled cosmetic dentist, he is steering your toward a procedure that he is comfortable with. Every dentist knows how to do porcelain crowns.

My suggestion is that you go back to the original dentist who did your veneers and have him make you another one. If he is retired, then I would look for another cosmetic dentist in town who has training in porcelain veneers. Just make sure that they show you some examples of their work. They should have a smile gallery of cases they have done. If the results aren’t beautiful, then look for a different dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Should I Wait to Extract an Impacted Wisdom Tooth If It Isn’t Bothering Me?

I have four wisdom teeth. Two are impacted. The one on the top right is bothering me. The one on the bottom left does not. I’m having the one on the top right extracted. My dentist asked if I wanted to extract the other impacted tooth, but warned me the root went past the nerve. He said we could leave the root and that way there’d be less chance of a problem. I can’t decide what to do. That bottom tooth does not bother me so I wonder if I am borrowing trouble by removing it. Is there a standard for this situation?

Miles

Dear Miles,

An illustration with four examples of impacted wisdom teeth.

The most important rule of thumb is to take an impacted wisdom tooth out when you are young. When you are in your late teens to twenties, everything is relatively pliable. The older you get, the greater the risk of complications. By the time you are thirty years old, your risk of complications doubles. Then it doubles again every few years after that.

An impacted tooth almost always becomes a problem at some point. What you don’t want is to wait until there is a dental emergency to have to deal with it. You will have far less control over the circumstances at that point. Leaving the tooth root is not a bad idea. However, I am not in favor of leaving the entire root. I would suggest you just have him leave the root tip that is near the nerve. You’ll reduce the chances of having trouble with it if the root tip is small.

For dental procedures such as yours, where the patient can feel very anxious, I recommend using oral conscious sedation. This will allow you to get the needed work done in an anxiety free/pain free way. In fact, you will be so relaxed that you could sleep through the entire procedure if you wanted to.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Can You Get a Refund from a Dentist Who Messes Up?

I had a dental crown placed on a slightly crooked tooth. A few weeks later, my tooth became sensitive to both hot and cold. He assured me that was normal for the first few weeks. But, a few months later, I ended up in the E.R. from the pain. They told me I needed to see a dentist. I called a couple of dentists but had trouble getting in. Two days later my face swelled up. Luckily, when I called the next dentist and told them, they scheduled an emergency appointment for me. At the appointment they told me there was something called an open margin on my dental crown. Apparently, that led to a tooth infection and I now need a root canal treatment and a new crown. The second dentist said this is because the dental crown wasn’t placed properly.

Here is my problem. I called the first dentist and asked for my money back because I had to get a new grown and root canal treatment. I didn’t think they’d have a problem giving me my money back seeing as they messed up. Man, was I wrong. They told me I am responsible with what happens after they place the crown. But, if the crown was defective, how can that be my fault?

The second dentist showed me the x-ray and it is huge. Should my dentist have taken an x-ray after the crown to see the margin? If so, will that help me get a refund?

Presley

Dear Presley,

Man in pain, grabbing his cheek in need of emergency dental care.

I am sorry this happened to you. One of the things I suggest you do is get these x-rays from this second dentist. This will really help you. I don’t think a malpractice suit will be worth the money, but there are some things you can do.

1. Tell them you are going to go to the dental board. It will be serious for this dentist if the board gets involved and that may cause your dentist to think twice about not giving you back your money.
2. While you are not going to get enough from a malpractice suit, that does not mean that that you wouldn’t benefit from having an attorney write a letter to your dentist on official letterhead. Your dentist doesn’t need to know you’re not going to court and it could get him nervous.
3. I would see if your second dentist would be willing to talk to your first dentist. Sometimes a dentist will be willing to listen more to a peer than to a patient.

I am glad you got the emergency dental help you needed. In your place, I would switch to the second dentist permanently, especially if they’re willing to confront your first dentist about shoddy work.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Emergency Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Emergency Dentist Caused Massive Problems

I had a problem where my tooth number 19 became sensitive to cold. I didn’t have a regular dentist because I have a bit of a dental anxiety. Generally, my teeth stay healthy, but this time I could tell something was wrong. I looked online and there was a dentist who called himself an emergency dentist which meant he would see patients who didn’t have a regular dentist. I went in and he did a quick examine and some x-rays. He told me that one of my wisdom teeth is impacted and should probably be extracted, but if I wanted him to do a filling instead, that could fix it as well. I went ahead to have him do the filling. It was just a few days after that when everything blew up. I was in tremendous pain. I went back to the dentist and he adjusted the filling and told me to take over-the-counter pain meds. I mentioned the pain felt deeper and closer to tooth 19, but he said the only other option was to extract the tooth. I asked for a referral to an oral surgeon and went to have the tooth extracted. That seemed to help things and I was relieved. However, when the prescribed antibiotics and pain meds wore off, the pain returned. I could not understand that because there was not tooth left. Eventually, I ended up at the ER in so much pain I didn’t know what to do. They told me that I had an abscess on the tooth which I’d been telling the dentist all along was the problem. I called him and he just told me to give it time. Instead, I went back to the oral surgeon because I didn’t trust the dentist any longer. He said that he didn’t do root canals and I need an endodontist. So, I found an endodontist. I’m out a ton of money and time, not to mention all the pain I’ve been in. To be honest, I’m more likely to avoid the dentist than ever before because of this. Is there any way I can get at least some of this money back from my dentist for all these unnecessary procedures?

Dennis

Dear Dennis,

Man in pain, grabbing his cheek in need of emergency dental care.

What a horror story! I am so sorry this happened to you. I would consider this gross malpractice. Here is why:

1. The sensitivity to cold should have told your dentist right away that a root canal treatment was likely needed. If he didn’t like doing root canals, he could have simply refered you elsewhere.
2. The pain didn’t go away with the filling and he is just adjusting your bite? That was another symptom of the need for a root canal treatment.
3. You have an extraction and that doesn’t help the problem, should have told him he had the wrong tooth. Instead he tells you to “give it time.” Time for what? To develop a bigger infection and leave you with a dental emergency?

My suggestion is that you go to the dentist and ask him politely to pay for all the extra, unnecessary procedures. If you end up losing the tooth, he should pay for its replacement as well. If he refuses, you have a good malpractice case.

Help for Your Dental Anxiety

I want to make sure you are aware of dental sedation. This can allow you to get your dental work done without anxiety and without pain. There are different levels of sedation. My suggestion for you would be to use oral conscious sedation until you are comfortable at the dentist again. It is administered by a pill. However, it is so strong you will need someone to stay with you a ride to and from the dentist as well as stay with you for a few hours after your procedure until you are steady on your feet and lucid again.

Patients who use this say it changes their life. In fact, they are so relaxed that most people just sleep through their entire procedure. Give this a try, with a different dentist than the one who was such an incompetent disaster.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Can a Toothache Cause Chestpain?

My mother is in her 80s and absolutely hates going to the doctor and dentist. The other day when I went by to see her, she was chewing weirdly. When I asked her about it she said her tooth has been hurting. She said the pain comes and goes and that it makes her chest hurt sometimes. I went into a mild panic and she got snippy and told me to stop worrying that her chest hurts every time her tooth hurts and it is nothing. Ignoring the fact that I need to get her to see a dentist for her tooth, is chest pain a normal side effect of a toothache?

Selena

Dear Selena,

elderly woman smiling

Both Toothaches and Chest Pain Can Indicate a Heart Attack

I would like you to take your mother to the doctor right away. Chest pain should always be investigated. Although tooth pain is not one of the more common signs of a heart attack, it does occur in about 10% of cases. Rather than localized, this type of tooth pain seems to be more across the entirety of the jaw, though it often starts in the lower left.

Some additional signs of a heart attack are:

  • A squeezing feeling in your chest and/or arms
  • Nausea, heartburn, stomach pains
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness and Lightheadedness
  • Cold sweats

Dental Health and Cardiovascular Health are Linked

Your mother implied that she has had several toothaches, which makes me wonder about her oral health. When you take her to the dentist, have him look at her gum health. People with periodontal disease are more likely to suffer a heart attack or diabetes. Getting her heart checked is priority one. Then, if that is clear, then I’d like you to schedule a dental appointment for her as soon as possible. You should be able to get an emergency dental appointment.

If Dental Anxiety Keeps Her Away

You mentioned that your mother does not like doctors and dentists. It is possible that she, like many people, suffers from dental anxiety. If that is the case, then having her see a sedation dentist will make her much more likely to agree to regular treatments. It will enable her to have pain-free/anxiety-free dental appointments.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Dentist Won’t Remove My Tooth

I have been having a lot of dental work done. I recently had two root canals done. One of them has never felt quite right. I have a wisdom tooth that is infected and my dentist wants to remove it. I’m all for that. However, I also want to remove the tooth that had the root canal treatment. He won’t do it. I’m waiting until I can get both done. Is there anything I can say to convince him to take that tooth out?

Stacey

Dear Stacey,

A woman holding her jaw in pain

While I am sure you can find a dentist who would be willing to take out the extra tooth that you would like removed, I’m not sure you want to do that. If your dentist thought the tooth was infected, he would certainly take it out. After all, he would make more money taking out an extra tooth. So why is he saying no? The only reason I can think of is he has integrity and is not willing to take your money unnecessarily. In all honesty, I think that is something to be grateful for.

Please don’t put off getting that infected wisdom tooth removed. A tooth infection is serious and will spread. If you think about how close your jaw is to your heart, you do not want the infection reaching there. You are putting yourself in serious risk by holding out to try to convince him to do this other tooth.

If you still want to insist on having both removed, as I said earlier, I am sure you can find a dentist willing to take your money.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

My Husband is Being Tortured By Our Dentist

My husband had an accident that caused some damage to his chin and teeth, as well as gave him a concussion. We took him to the ER, then the dentist the next morning. The dentist said everything needed some time to calm down. When it did, one of his teeth started turning dark. Fortunately, he wasn’t in pain. Our dentist said she didn’t see anything and only felt dried blood. From there, she gave him a dental crown. Fast forward a couple of months and he was in severe pain. Our dentist then gave him an emergency root canal treatment. She prescribed him 5 days worth of antibiotics then finished up his root canal treatment a week later. Even after the root canal treatment, the pain continued. The dentist provided him with no pain relief medication. After another week she decided to root canal the tooth next to the one she previously treated. That also did nothing. My husband is in absolute agony and I feel like her lack of caring is border line torture. What should we do to get him the help he needs?

Lisa

Dear Lisa,

Man in pain, grabbing his cheek in need of emergency dental care.

Your husband has been through so much and I can tell how much you care about him. Your dentist has made a couple of big mistakes here. First, when the tooth first started to discolor, it needed a root canal treatment right then. I don’t know why your dentist didn’t do one. It makes no sense to me. The dried blood should have been a giant hint that the tooth was dead, even if the discoloration didn’t tell her that.

Next is the way she handled the root canal treatment itself. The way she provided only five days of antibiotics, but waited seven days to close the root canal tells me that she doesn’t understand how these infections work at all. By allowing the antibiotics to run out, she also allowed the infection to flair back up, then she closed the tooth. No wonder your husband was in pain. She never got rid of the infection and closed it up inside the tooth. Then, she did a useless treatment on the adjacent tooth.

Your husband is not being served well by this dentist. I highly recommend that you call an endodontist first thing in the morning. They are root canal specialists and can get this treated correctly. When you call, let them know what has happened so they can get him some antibiotics and pain relief while they get his appointment ready. I’m certain they’ll schedule him an emergency appointment.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

How to Know if a Tooth is Infected?

I am really confused and wondering if one dentist is incompetent or maybe one is just taking me for a ride? I went to the dentist and he told me I had a small cavity. He told me it would only need a small filling. We did the filling and then a few days later the tooth was very sensitive, especially to cold. I went back in and now he is telling me I need a root canal treatment. How can it go from small filling to root canal in such a short time? Is this tooth really infected or am I being taken for a ride?

Connie

Dear Connie,

toothache

I am suspicious of this and think you need a second opinion from someone who can examine you. If there is a tooth infection, an x-ray should show that pretty clearly. Sensitivity to cold could also be the result of a poorly done dental filling. I’m assuming you had a composite filling done. These can sometimes be tricky. If a dentist is used to placing silver fillings, he may not yet have the skills to place a composite filling yet.

One thing to notice is the senstivity. If it starts to happen even when you don’t have anything cold, that would be a concerning sign. In that case, I would get the root canal treatment. It is better to nip these things in the bud before an infection can spread.

If it is just the filling, just having that re-done by someone who understands the procedure for composites will solve the issue.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.