When Is A Toothache An Emergency?

Are you concerned about the minor toothache that bothers you now and then and whether you should seek attention from your dental professional? You are thinking correctly because a toothache appearing intermittently indicates the presence of a problem in your tooth or mouth.

If you visit your dentist, they will likely examine your mouth and teeth to identify the root cause of the toothache and suggest a treatment plan before the existing condition in your mouth starts to expand. However, if you overlook dental visits, you will soon confront a situation that might require you to seek emergency dental pain relief from a dentist nearby, paying higher prices for the treatment.

The intermittent toothache you currently experience will likely become more frequent. For example, one fine morning, you might notice the pain is severe and causing sensitivity in your mouth to temperatures but remains intermittent, subsiding for some time only to return more ferocity. In such cases, you will likely wonder whether you need to visit the emergency dentist in Sanborn to determine what’s wrong with your tooth.

While your thoughts started in the right direction, you committed an error like most people think dental visits are only essential when confronting a painful situation. Unfortunately, now that you are affected by a condition that makes you worry, your best option is to visit the emergency dentist nearby to determine whether you confront a dental emergency.

The Most Common Causes of Toothaches

Toothaches can emanate from many conditions. However, some common reasons for toothaches are:

• Cavity: Untreated cavities cause enamel erosion to attack the dentin and eventually reach the soft center of the tooth, the dental pulp. When the cavity expands to the dental pulp, you find it challenging to bite or chew when you have sweetened foods.

• Tooth infections: untreated cavities eventually cause infections in your tooth. When the nerves inside your tooth die, you will experience severe pain and discomfort, besides sensitivity and swelling of the gums near the infected site.

• Oral Trauma: if you impact your mouth in contact sports, accidents, or any other trauma resulting in a dental injury, the pain you experience in your jaw and gums resembles a toothache. Your tooth might also have cracked open a tooth needing repair before your mouth bacteria penetrate it to cause additional damage.

• Bruxism: severe and prolonged teeth grinding and jaw clenching can damage the ligaments and roots of your teeth, causing them to begin aching. You must see your dentist immediately if you think you grind your teeth to avoid damage and pain that undoubtedly start following you soon.

When Is a Toothache a Dental Emergency?

Not every toothache is considered a dental emergency. Unfortunately, if the situation bothers you for over 48 hours, causing pain, sensitivity, or pimples near your gums, it indicates you have an advanced cavity in an infected tooth.

Your condition worsens unless you receive treatment from the Sanborn dentist because, without treatment, your dental pulp can become infected and inflamed and die. Ultimately the tooth will require extraction or might fallout by itself because you ignored dental care during the initial stages of your toothache and allowed it to progress into an emergency.

Depending on the severity of your situation, the emergency dentist recommends root canal treatment to eradicate the dental infection in your tooth and provides an appropriate remedy to ensure the condition presents no further damage by giving antibiotics.

How to Prepare for Dental Emergencies?

If you want to prepare for emergencies, the best option is to have a list of emergency dentists in your locality working beyond office hours and weekends when most dental emergencies make their presence felt. Alternatively, you can ensure you are never affected by a dental emergency by maintaining frequent contact with your dentist and getting regular dental exams and cleanings.

During your appointment with your dentist, the professional can detect unusual conditions in your mouth to recommend strategies to prevent unnecessary complications. Following your dentist’s advice helps you remain prepared for emergencies you might confront when least expected.

Remaining prepared for dental emergencies doesn’t guarantee they will never occur because you have no control over accidents when playing sports or cycling around in the evening. Therefore you must also adopt preventive measures that can safeguard your teeth and mouth from impacts and avoid dental injuries that might expand into emergencies when left untreated for long.

Sanborn Dental Associates provide emergency services whenever you visit them with toothaches or other dental issues. They provide high-quality care to ensure you overcome the problem you confront besides recommending techniques to avoid dental emergencies by seeking early care for any dental situation.