What Counts As A Dental Emergency? Knowing The Signs Can Save Your Teeth

Don’t ignore these classic signs of a dental emergency, and give your mouth the best chance of a full recovery after an emergency strikes.

Knowing the signs could mean the difference between keeping your tooth, and requiring an extraction.

What Counts As A Dental Emergency?

Pain

Intense pain or tooth sensitivity that stops you from going about your normal activities is a reason to ring for an emergency appointment.

This is your mouth telling you there’s potential trouble around the corner, such as a severe dental infection or abscess, issues that need addressing with root canal therapy. (or you risk losing your tooth altogether).

Even if you can’t visibly see what’s causing the pain, you should make an appointment to have the area looked at.

If you’re experiencing pain after sustaining an injury but there’s no bleeding, it’s still worth calling a dentist for an emergency check-up. Injuries can often cause cracks, through which bacteria can eventually enter, and cause the tissues inside the tooth to die.

Lost Fillings and Crowns

Many people aren’t aware that the loss of a crown or filling is cause to make an emergency dentist appointment. This is because the tooth loses a significant amount of protection the moment the filling or crown is lost, giving bacteria an in to infect the tooth right away. What’s more, you’re opening yourself up to pain and intense sensitivity too.

Contact your dentist for an emergency appointment, and use toothpaste designed for sensitivity while you wait to get seen (and avoid food and drink that will exacerbate sensitivity).

Swelling

There are two types of swelling that warrant seeing a dentist right away

Firstly, if you notice swelling at the base of a tooth, accompanied by pain and a bad taste in your mouth, this is a dental abscess. An abscess is a collection of pus that can spread to neighbouring teeth, other parts of the mouth, and beyond into your system, so it needs immediate attention. In severe instances, a dental abscess can escalate quickly, causing life-threatening problems including a brain abscess, inflammation of the heart, and pneumonia (so it’s no exaggeration to call them an emergency!)

The second type of swelling is swelling in the jaw, caused by a blocked salivary gland. Whilst there isn’t a precise known cause of a blocked salivary gland, it’s thought that poor oral hygiene and a dry mouth are culprits. The pain can be intense, and in severe circumstances, the swelling can impede breathing (you should call 999 right away if this occurs)

Sudden Bleeding From An Area

Excessive or random bleeding from inside your mouth should be looked into as a matter or urgency.

It could be that you are suffering from an advanced form of gum disease called periodontitis, which can often go overlooked, as symptoms can be tame, until suddenly cause significant bleeding of the gums.

Your emergency dentist will perform cleaning to get rid of the blood inside your mouth, and you may need follow-up appointments to address the inflammation of the gums (caused by excess plaque and tartar along the gum line).

If you have sustained trauma and the bleeding is quite evidently due to this, you should also see an emergency dentist right away.

Loose Teeth

A loose tooth should be treated as a dental emergency, as it may be possible to save it from being taken out.  A loose tooth can be a sign of gum disease, which erodes your gums and jawbone, causing teeth to become loose in their sockets. Other causes of loose teeth include injuries and tooth wear.

In some cases, specialised treatment can be carried out to address loose teeth, such as cleaning away the plaque – this gives the gums a chance to begin healing. If tooth wear (clinically known as bruxism) is the reason for your teeth becoming loose, a custom mouth guard can be made to prevent further force from disrupting your gums and jaw.

Loose teeth can also be a symptom of oral cancer, so if you notice any unusual changes to the way your teeth bite together, it’s definitely worth getting checked out by an emergency dentist.