Everyone dreads a dental emergency. But they don’t have to be as scary when you know what to do ahead of time. In general, a dental emergency means that you have a severe toothache, knocked-out tooth, or a deep crack in your tooth that’s causing pain.
If you aren’t sure if you’re experiencing a dental emergency, call our office anyways. Even if you don’t need urgent dental care, it’s still important for us to determine what’s causing your dental pain.
Here’s what you need to know about each type of dental emergency.
Severe Toothache
Don’t ignore a ! Pain is your body’s way of letting you know something is wrong.
Often a severe toothache indicates a deeper underlying problem. For example, you may have an infected tooth that needs an emergency root canal. That’s why it’s important that you call our office as soon as possible for a severe toothache.
While a mild toothache can wait a few days, a severe toothache needs immediate attention. During your emergency appointment, we’ll examine the inside of your mouth. We may also take X-rays to determine the source of your dental pain.
Armed with this information, our dentists will be able to create a custom treatment plan to restore your oral health.
Related: Why Does My Toothache Seem Worse at Night?
Deep Crack in Your Tooth
A deep crack in your tooth is very painful and requires immediate care. Once the crack extends to the tooth’s root, your only option will be to extract the tooth. That’s why it’s so important that you call our office at the first twinge of dental pain.
If we catch a crack in your tooth early we can treat it with a crown or root canal. The longer you wait to schedule an appointment, the crack will get larger until your tooth is no longer salvageable.
You may have a cracked tooth if you experience sensitivity to heat and cold. You may also feel pain and discomfort while chewing. Either of these symptoms requires a call to our office so we can diagnose the source of your pain.
Knocked-Out Tooth
It’s best to see one of our dentists within 30 minutes of . The sooner you call our office the better our chances of re-implanting the tooth in your mouth. Don’t wait to seek emergency dental care!
Follow these steps for a knocked-out tooth:
- Pick up the tooth by the crown (top), NOT by the root.
- Line your sink with a towel so you don’t drop your tooth down the drain by accident.
- Gently rinse any dirt off your tooth with water only. Do NOT use soap, scrub, or dry the tooth.
- If possible, place the tooth back in its socket. If not possible, submerge the tooth in a container of milk. You need to keep your tooth moist or it will fracture.
- Call our office to schedule an emergency appointment.
What is Not Considered a Dental Emergency?
There are many situations in which you can wait to see one of our dentists during our normal office hours. For example, if you lost your dental crown Saturday evening, you can wait until Monday morning to see the dentist.
Here are some other dental situations that aren’t considered emergencies:
- Lost filling or crown
- Mild toothache
- Small chip in a tooth
- Small crack in a tooth that isn’t causing pain
The above situations aren’t “emergencies” per se. But it’s still important that you schedule an appointment with our office as soon as possible. That way, one of our dentists will be able to diagnose and treat the source of your pain before it worsens.
Schedule an Appointment With Us
Have a dental emergency? Our emergency dentists in Novi, MI, will do everything in their power to restore your oral health. To schedule an emergency appointment, call the dental office of R. Peter Maly, DDS at (248) 347-3700.