Category Archives: Dental Emergency

Dental Emergency

Am I a Baby or is Toothache an Emergency?

I feel like such a baby. My tooth really hurts. Like excruciating hurts. My dentist just said to schedule an appointment, but I can’t take this. Am I a baby or is this more of a see me now kind of thing?

Beth C. – New Hampshire

Beth,

If you’re in that much pain, your dentist needs to see you. If he’s unwilling to see you, which is what it sounds like, you need another dentist.

There is a solution.  My suggestions would be to see an emergency dentist. They’ll see you the same day, in most cases. They can get you out of pain , while you schedule a follow up appointment with your dentist or with a different dentist (which would be my suggestion).

Just don’t put it off out of frustration. You want to  make sure this is dealt with because it is likely a tooth infection.

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

Dental Emergency

Tooth Cracked

I bit into something and my tooth cracked. I’ve never even heard of such a thing.  What do I do?

Bronwyn P. – Georgia

Bronwyn,

This happens more frequently than you think.  You need to be seen fairly quickly to take care of this and hopefully save your tooth.

If you don’t already have a dentist you need to see an emergency dentist. They’re willing to take non-established patients, often even the same day.

There is an underlying problem that has caused your tooth to crack that will need to be addressed. Your body is interconnected. What affects your teeth will eventually affect your whole body. Be sure not to neglect this.

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

Dental Emergency

How can I treat full mouth pain?

I woke up with horrible pain radiating around my entire mouth. It’s pulsating up into my head too.  I have a huge audition today. One that can change my life. I can’t afford this pain, especially in my mouth and jaw.  I need some kind of remedy. Will an emergency dentist help?

LeeAnne S. – Florida

LeeAnne,

A lot of it depends on what kind of dental health you’ve had up until now.  If you’ve had poor dental health, then an emergency dentist might find something that is causing the problem.

If, however, you’ve had great dental health up until this point, then it is likely the stress of your audition is the cause of the pain.  In your anxiety, it’s possible that you’ve been clenching your jaw all night. This would cause the type of pain you’re experiencing.

If that is the case, you can take some anti-inflammatories to help you get through your audition.

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

Dental Emergency

Is a gum pimple a problem?

`My husband was messing with his mouth, saying it hurts. I looked at it and he has a pimple on his gums.  We popped it and got out all the goop, but it keeps coming back.  Is this something dental?

Helen M. – Washington

Helen,

Yes, this is something dental.  It sounds to me like he has a dental abscess. This can get serious and your husband needs to see an emergency dentist or get an emergency appointment with his existing detnist if he has one.

An abscess means his tooth is infected. That infection will spread.  It can become a serious issue quickly.  Your mouth is close to your brain and that is one of the LAST places you’d want an infection to spread to.

This isn’t something that can be fixed with just antibiotics.  The dentist will have to get in there and physically remove the infected tissue.

Don’t let him put off being seen.

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

Dental Emergency

Preventing dental emergencies in children

I saw on article on Facebook about a little girl in the UK who had to have 16 teeth pulled. It seemed like it was a kind of emergency situation. Is there a way to prevent this kind of thing from happnening, or was it a fluke situation?

Gillian A. – Baltimore, MD

Gillian,

This was a unique situation. In this particular case, the decay was caused by the mother allowing the child to have a bottle round the clock.  This will cause significant decay.

I’m not quite sure how it took the parents so long to notice something was wrong, because the article seems to indicate that the little girl was taking hours to eat her breakfast because of the pain. It must have been intollerable for the poor thing.

These kind of dental emergencies are easily prevented by taking a few simple steps:

First, begin taking your children for check up s as soon as their teeth come in.

Second, DO NOT let a child have a bottle as much as they want.  Especially don’t let them sleep with one.  The formula will pool around the teeth and gums and cause decay.

Finally, keep a look on their teeth to make sure nothing is going on with them.

These simple steps, can usually prevent a dental emergency in children.  Of course, there is always a losing battle with a light saber or a fight on the playground to worry about. But, short of that….

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

Dental Emergency

Is this a dental emergency?

My tooth has been hurting on and off for a while. Is this something I need to see a dentist about? It always goes away.

Dennie R. – New Mexico

Dennie,

This isn’t a dental emergency right now, but it can become one quickly. It’s possible that the nerve of your tooth is dying.  You may just have one of those diva teeth that like to drag out the problem. However, if it suddenly progresses quickly you’ll need help quickly.

I’d avoid the drama and go see your dentist as soon as you can.  He can do some tests to determine what needs to be done. This way you can stay pain free.

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

Dental Emergency

Can’t afford a dentist and now I have an emergency

I haven’t been able to afford a dentist in a while. Now I’ve got a loose tooth. I don’t recall getting hit, but it worries me that this tooth might fall out. What do I do?

Drew O. – Cleveland

Drew,

I’m sorry for the situation you’re in. I have a strong suspicion that your tooth is loose because of gum disease. If you don’t have tooth trauma, but have loose teeth, your gums are often the culprit.

I’m assuming you don’t have a dentist, however you need to get this looked at as soon as possible.

There are emergency dentists who will see you and understand your financial situation. Some of them have interest free payment plans. Others will just charge you what you can afford.

The key is to be honest with them. But, don’t put this off. This won’t be the only tooth you’ll lose.

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

Dental Emergency

Store bought fillings

About a year ago I saw some store bought fillings at the pharmacy. I filed it away for future reference. Last night, one of my fillings fell out. I’m trying to leave town to pick up my son from college and don’t have time for a dental appointment. Can I just use the stuff from the store?

Amanda L. – Iowa

Amanda,

If at all possible I’d call an emergency dentist and see if he can fit you in right now.  Sometimes they can.  If not, you can use the store bought filling, but not for more than a day or two at the most.

It doesn’t do what a real filling will do. Plus, there is an underlying issue that has caused your filling to fail. That needs to be dealt with or you could end up with a more serious situation.

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

Dental Emergency

Dentist doesn’t care about my broken crown

I had a temporary crown break. My dentist said it would be several days before he could see me and that this wasn’t considered an emergency. I called another dentist explaining the situation. He fit me in right away and said it most definitely is an emergency. How can there be such a difference in emergency standards?

Jean F. – Philadelphia

Jean,

Every dentist is different in what their dental emergency policy is. Some dentists will see you the same day, even if you’re not a patient of theirs. Others may not see even their own patients, unless they’ve lost a tooth.

The key is to discuss these policies with your dentist before there is an actual issue. That way you’re not taken by surprise when something does arise.

It sounds like you demand more individualized care from your dentist and your current dentist’s policy might not fit with your expectations.

This blog is brought to you by  Lake Forest Dentist Dr. Richard Cottrell.

Dental Emergency

Should I have brought my son in?

Yesterday my son got kicked in the mouth at school. It knocked out one of his teeth.  The school didn’t tell me about it until later, which really angered me.  I would have wanted to come up and check on him.  By the time I found out about it, he was fine, so I decided just to let it alone.  Now I’m sitting at home wondering if I should have brought my son in to the dentist to have him checked out?  Did I do the wrong thing?

Yvette L.- Seattle

Yvette,

I am assuming were talking about a baby tooth and not an adult tooth, right?  If it is a baby tooth and there doesn’t seem to be any trauma, then you’re probably fine.  It wouldn’t hurt to get him looked at, but it is certainly not a dental emergency. Little children’s teeth don’t really have roots, so there isn’t generally trauma when one gets banged out prematurely.

If it was an adult tooth, then he would have needed to be seen right away to have any chance of saving the tooth.  Those roots go deep. You would have wanted to keep it moist by putting it in a glass of milk or if that isn’t available, you could put it in your mouth by your cheek. 

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