Category: Blog

It’s important to understand what kinds of emergencies require dental intervention, and which ones will be OK without help. Accidents do happen all hours of the day, but it’s important to know which emergencies can wait and which ones are can wait until normal business hours.

Some types of mouth injuries including cracked, broken, chipped, or ruined teeth result in severe injury to the mouth. Depending on the type of injury be it a sports injury or a fall and where the chip/break/ruined tooth is located depends on if the injury can wait until normal dental business hours the next day.

However, if the entire tooth comes out or multiple teeth are knocked out, or the injury is in a prominent place immediate attention may be needed. If it’s a big enough crack or break is big enough then immediate care is better. Especially if there are sharp edges that can cut your tongue and lips around where the tooth is sliced.

Until you get the tooth looked at try to handle it as little as possible to inflict minimal damage. Bite down on a moistened piece of gauze or a tea bag if the whole tooth comes out. Try not to swallow the tooth if at all possible. You can apply cold, wet compresses to the gums where the tooth was till you get to the emergency room.  The office may be able to get you in if its during business hours as they often leave gaps between appointments for severe emergencies such as this.

If the office is closed, some offices provide an emergency line so go ahead and call to get treatment immediately in emergency cases. Staff at the emergency center can help minimize injuries till you can get further help.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”

Sometimes it’s hard to determine when to go see a dentist or when to just let discomfort or pain in a tooth wait till the next appointment. Usually, you won’t know exactly what’s wrong with that specific tooth until the dentist looks at it and gives you the report. However, if the pain ever turns into something unbearable, contact your emergency dentist right away to get the next available appointment.

Why Does My Tooth/Teeth Hurt?

It’s not possible to determine the reason a tooth hurts just by looking at it, but there could be many reasons your tooth is hurting, including bacterial infections, grinding your teeth (generally while asleep or stressed), gum disease, injuries, cracked/broken teeth, or cavities.

Other Conditions Can Cause Tooth Aches: Other conditions like tooth aches can be caused by pain that radiates through the mouth and jaw. Sinus infections and other sinus problems can also cause there to feel like there is a pain in your teeth, even though there may be nothing wrong with your teeth. In some cases, conditions like angina or a heart attack can also cause pain throughout the body, including in the mouth.

Dry sockets after you have your wisdom teeth out is extracted can occur, and cause it to make the teeth feel like they are in pain even if they are not. It’s the tissue underneath where the tooth was extracted from. Call an emergency dentist if you feel like you may have a dry socket before the condition gets worse.

Infections can cause drainage around the tooth. Signs of infections can include swelling in your face by the site of the infection and even low-grade fevers. Some dental infections may not cause these low-grade fevers, however, so don’t hesitate to call the dentist even if you don’t have a fever.

Injuries can cause teeth to be knocked lose or out. Tooth loss is considered an emergency, so don’t hesitate to call the after-hours line if you lose any of your teeth through any sort of injury from a sports injury to a car wreck or back.

Wisdom teeth being removed can also cause problems sometimes such as inflammation, gum pain, and even infections of the gum tissue or site around where the extracted tooth was. Antibiotics may be able to treat the infection and keep it from getting into other parts of the body. However, if you wait till the pain is unbearable, something like a root canal may be required to fix up the deeper rotting in the tooth and in the worst cases, it can require removal of the tooth.

If you have difficulty swallowing or breathing with swelling around the infection site you need to go see your dentist even sooner. Your dentist will want to get X-rays and examine the area to determine the best plan of treating your tooth.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”

Conducting a Dental Self-Examination at Home:

Start to conduct the examination when you are relaxed and have an hour’s worth or more of free time. A small mirror that you purchase at a drug store and a flashlight are necessary tools to have on hand. Begin with the last tooth on the left side of the lower jaw. Gently pull the check back away from the tooth and with the other hand shine the light on your back teeth. Use the mirror to see the teeth reflecting in it. Now check every tooth individually in your mouth checking for the following criteria:

• Is the tooth broken or does it have a filling?
• Is there anything noticeably black on the tooth?
• Is this tooth stained? Is there tartar or plaque buildup on the tooth?
• Is the tooth crooked? Is the tooth chipped/cracked or have a filling that is chipped/cracked?

Check every tooth along the bottom and the top of the mouth individually. For many, this may be the first time you have seen the inside of your mouth. Go slowly and inspect each tooth carefully and thoroughly.

In the end, you should be able to determine the basics about your teeth including how many teeth you have, the spaces between each tooth, if any stains appear (yellowing or discoloration), any tooth that has been worn away at (enamel missing or tooth filed/ground down), if there is plaque or tartar buildup on the teeth, if you see any tiny “pinpoint” holes in the teeth (possibly a cavity), and if the gums are a healthy, pleasant pink color.

If you found anything concerning or have pain or discomfort then it’s a time to see the dentist ensure you do not have any worse problems in there.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”