Tag Archives: dental emergency

Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Bonding, Snap-On Smile

Will Snap-On Smile work for my son?

Hello,

My son is eight years old and he has chipped his tooth pretty badly. It’s almost broken in half. The dentist filled it, but it broke within a week. It doesn’t seem to hurt him since the roots are unharmed. We’ve been told that he isn’t old enough to have his tooth capped. Will the Snap-On Smile work for him?

– Maya from Indiana

Maya,
Snap-On Smile works well to temporarily give the appearance of a straight, white smile. In the particular case of your son, I’m not sure this is the way to go.

If his tooth is broken, then placing this Snap-On Smile appliance over his tooth is doing nothing to address the real problem. Direct dental bonding with porcelain or composite materials can fix this problem for your son. And it needs to be done correctly so that it does not interfere with his biting or chewing. Although, you will need to seek the talents of a true cosmetic dentist. Not just any family dentist will be able to do this kind of work well.

There are some other issues to choosing Snap-On Smile for your son. Not only will it feel bulky, a boy his age may lose it. Also, he has a combination of permanent and baby teeth. This means that fitting the appliance correctly will be difficult since his bite is changing so rapidly. The appliance itself may also get in the way of new teeth that are erupting.

The reason the repair you mentioned failed is likely due to the fact that it got in the way of his bite. When he is a bit older, he will have all his permanent teeth and this will be less of an issue. It is difficult to make anymore recommendations without actually seeing this particular case. Therefore, I highly recommend consulting with an expert cosmetic dentist to present your options to you.

The tooth will look and function normally if it is done correctly.

Best of luck to you.

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Related link: emergency dentist

Dental Emergency

How dangerous is an infected tooth?

So here’s the deal… I think I have a broken molar. It’s way in the back right next to the spot where my wisdom tooth used to be. I have very painful sensations in my cheek and jaw and up into my sinuses. Now the pain has radiated to my head, ear, and even into my neck. The best way to describe it is that the pain starts in my ear and moves all the way around into my neck.

Do you think this is a dental emergency? I don’t have dental insurance and don’t have the money for a tooth extraction? It may not be the tooth at all and maybe is more related to my sinuses. Can you tell me if I’m in any danger or give me an idea of what is going on?

– Cindy in Georgia

Cindy,

What you have described sounds very dangerous. It sounds like you have a tooth infection from the broken tooth. And now it is spreading which will continue if you don’t get it taken care of as soon as possible.

You may check with a local hospital or dental agency to see if they will help you out. Many areas will treat residents that need serious procedures done. Keep calling around and if you can’t find someone to help, just go to the emergency room. They will be able to help you temporarily.

Antibiotics is important to treat the infection. But most importantly you need to have the tooth taken out or repaired so the you don’t build up resistance to the antibiotic. If you only take the antibiotic and don’t take care of the tooth, you risk a more serious problem than you already have. The reason for this is that the medication will not get inside the infected tooth. What needs to be done is a tooth extraction or root canal treatment.

Act soon before it gets worse!

This post is sponsored by Gilbert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.

Related Links: Dental bonding; Sedation dentist

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain Veneer Came Off

It has been over 10 years now that I had porcelain veneers placed on my upper teeth. I really like them a lot, but recently one of them broke into two pieces and fell off. My dentist glued it back in place for a temporary fix. I’m so scared it’s going to break off again and it kind of hurts. I am supposed to wait for another five days before they get me back in. This seems like an emergency to me, but I was told it wasn’t since it is cosmetic in nature. Do you think all dentists feel this way? Do you think it best for the veneer to be replaced or should I have a crown done? Also, do you think my tooth will hold another veneer in place?

Thank you,

Cameron in Kentucky

Dear Cameron,

In an office that does a lot of cosmetic dentistry, I think that having a porcelain veneer fall off qualifies as an emergency. There are emergency dentists that will make cases like this top priority even if they are cosmetic.

You can have another porcelain veneer bonded to the same tooth. I would make sure you do consult with a cosmetic dentist that has done a lot of cosmetic work and truly understands the dental bonding technology. It will be important to remove all of the old bonding material to begin with a clean slate. As for a porcelain crown, I think this may not be the best option.

Keep in mind that you do not need to return to the original dentist that placed them originally. There are many great cosmetic dentists that are fully capable of assisting with your dental emergency.

Good luck.

This post was provided by Glibert dentist Vista Dorada Dental.