One of the most frustrating medical experiences is an emergency with your teeth. Teeth are delicate and require constant care and upkeep to ensure they remain healthy. Over time, however, you may experience an emergency with your teeth.
Common discomfort, while a cause for concern, is not necessarily an emergency issue. You just need to schedule an appointment with your dentist to identify and repair the cause of the discomfort. However, some more emergent issues will require immediate attention.
The following are some examples of what constitutes a dental emergency and requires care from your dentist as soon as possible.
Toothaches, unfortunately, can pop up out of nowhere. For many people, a toothache will subside after a short time. At that point, you would schedule the soonest appointment with your dentist to identify the cause of the toothache and treat it with over-the-counter pain medication and antibiotics.
However, some toothaches can be terribly painful and not go away for hours or days at a time. This severe toothache indicates you likely have a major infection in the tooth that requires immediate medical care.
You never want to have a loose permanent tooth. A permanent tooth can loosen in several ways. An injury or a direct hit to your mouth can loosen a tooth. A bad infection or excessive decay can also cause a tooth to come loose. Any problem that disrupts the connective tissue between the tooth and gum can cause a tooth to become loose.
As soon as you notice any sign of movement, see your dentist right away to find out if the tooth is restorable.
If you have experienced a toothache and it suddenly stops hurting, check to see if you have any feeling in the aching tooth. If your tooth does not have any feeling when you touch it, the infection that caused the tooth to hurt may have gotten to the root of the tooth. The lack of pain does not mean the tooth is better - it is actually far worse in most cases.
If you notice your face is swollen in your jaw area, this is often an indication of a severe tooth infection, particularly if it is accompanied by a bad toothache and even fever. You may also notice a bad taste in your mouth with this issue.
You may notice that your gums bleed from time to time, particularly when you brush and floss your teeth. This is normal and is part of having healthy gums. However, if your gums hurt or bleed excessively, it could mean you have gum disease. Gum disease deteriorates the gum tissue and can result in losing your permanent teeth.
If you have a bump on your gums that looks like a pimple and is sensitive to the touch, you probably have an abscess. This bump might also be accompanied by a discolored or painful tooth or a tooth that has damage. This painful infection can harm the surrounding teeth if you do not treat it right away.
If you have a sudden taste of metal in your mouth, you may have a broken or loose filling. A filling protects the tooth underneath from getting a further infection. Once it is compromised, the damaged tooth is vulnerable to bacteria and can be prone to even more decay and damage.
