When it comes to teeth, you’ve probably heard all sorts of rules of thumb and old wives’ tales. One especially common one?
“Wait ‘til it hurts.”
Like other “old wives tales” and sayings however, this one is actually wrong. We would recommend that coming along for regular check ups and cleaning to ensure that unexpected toothaches will not occur.
HOWEVER, this is in an ideal world, and sometimes Toothache and Emergency issues happen regardless!
If your teeth/mouth or jaws hurt, you’ve got a dental emergency on your hands, end of story.
If you feel pain in your tooth, whether it’s sharp or dull, we suggest getting in touch with our emergency Armadale dentist for immediate advice and support.
Whatever you do, don’t insist on enduring the pain until it becomes an even worse problem!
Sore tooth? Call us now for immediate support! (03) 9509 1500
Which symptom pertains to a dental emergency?
- Are your gums bleeding and/or aching?
- Are you in pain? Or is there pain on biting?
- Have you chipped a tooth or lost a filling?
- Is there a “funky” taste in your mouth?
- Are there any infections? Do you have a temperature/fever?
- Sleeplessness, or waking from sleep with discomfort.
Any of these may be a dental emergency.
Dental emergencies are generally not life threatening, but on rare occasions they may indeed be quite dangerous or even debilitating to your health.
Unlike most of your body, all the nerves in your teeth are on the inside, protected by the outer layers, but tooth or gum problems may be occurring in areas of the teeth nearby these nerves, or indeed in those nerves.
Pain, discomfort or bad taste may indicate a problem, and what is more, a problem that may worsen if left untreated
As such, the symptoms above should be treated as a dental emergency.
Pain requires immediate attention to minimise the risk of serious complications or long-term issues – including tooth loss in the worst-case scenario.
How can an emergency dentist in Armadale help?
Simply put, you can’t afford to ignore the throbbing pain caused by toothache.
Swelling and foul tastes often follow… and in many cases, ignoring them can often lead to worse problems further down the line.
If you feel that sharp and throbbing pain in your tooth, don’t wait for it to get worse (or naively think that it will simply fade away).
Instead, see your Armadale dentist immediately.
This is especially important in cases of:
- Persistent pain for any length of time.
- Gum swelling, deep redness in the gums, bleeding or “funky” tastes
- Overt Jaw and face swelling
- Generally unwell
- Fever, ear pain and or mouth pain
Your Armadale dentist can diagnose the exact case of the pain, including…
Gum and tooth infection
Bacterial infections can often cause toothaches if they get inside your teeth or gums.
In some cases, infection can spread further – to stop the infection from getting worse, an emergency dental appointment may be needed.
Tooth decay and cavities
Is your tooth feeling sensitive?
In many cases, it’s a result of tooth decay that rots the hardened exterior, exposing the sensitive inside.
Trauma
Knock a tooth hard enough, and it will crack or chip. In many cases, this is accompanied by dental pain, either as a result of the nerves inside being exposed, or from the physical damage.
Broken or avulsed (entirely knocked out) teeth should be assessed and dealt with by our Armadale dentist as soon as possible after the trauma.
If pieces of tooth are knocked off in a trauma, they should be retrieved and kept in a solution like milk (or even saliva) until they can be assessed and perhaps rebonded by our dentist.
Sometimes a knock may appear to have not damaged a tooth, however, a knock can cause some internal damage that reveals itself years later.
It is good advice to take an X ray within days of a knock (or even straight away if possible) so that a “base-line” for the tooth can be established, and comparisons back to that day can be made.
In other words, if a knock causes internal damage that may take months to reveal itself, it can be diagnosed and measures taken to save this tooth.
Toothache solutions
Once your emergency dentist in Armadale has uncovered the cause of your toothache, they can prescribe a dental treatment that will reduce your pain and protect your teeth from additional problems.
Dental crowns, veneers and fillings
As we mentioned above, many cases of toothache are the result of tooth decay or damage. In many cases, pain arising from these cases can be treated by covering the damaged tooth with a crown, veneer or filling.
These form a physical barrier over your teeth, covering damage and protecting the sensitive nerves and dental pulp within:
- Fillings – cover the top of your teeth
- Crowns – completely cap the affected tooth
- Veneers – cover the front or back of a tooth
In addition to protecting you from a tooth infection, it can also dramatically reduce your pain, allowing you to comfortably eat and drink.
Endodontics
Otherwise known as root canal treatment, endodontics is a branch of dentistry that focuses on the dental pulp, with an eye towards treating tooth infection.
In cases of infection that’s reached the inside of the tooth, our Armadale dentist will remove infected pulp and nerves, cleaning the inside of your teeth before “sealing” the tooth.
Don’t worry – even without the nerve in the tooth after Root Canal Treatment, the tooth will work the same, and there will not be any numbness of any description.
Root Canal Treatment, in our opinion is a fabulous treatment that stops what is often a terrible toothache very quickly and allows the tooth to remain and keep working for you.
Compared to the alternative of tooth extraction, and you can see why we’re so fond of this treatment!
Gum treatments
Sometimes, your dental pain problem lies in your gums.
In addition to looking after your teeth, our team can also help with gum-related dental emergencies.
Our Armadale dentists can prescribe treatments and or medication to help the gum infection.
We’ll also offer advice on how to maintain your dental hygiene and keep your gums healthy once the infection subsides.
This is the real key to saving your teeth for life!
Young Female patient with open mouth examining dental inspection at dentist office.
Book an emergency dental appointment with our Armadale dentists
Our dentists in Armadale provide emergency dental appointments for patients who are experiencing a toothache or issue.
Give us a call at any point before 12pm on a business day, and we guarantee you’ll be seen by our dentist before the end of the day or “close of business”.
Whether the problem is acute and perhaps impossible to bear, or something simple such as a sharp edge of tooth that is uncomfortable, we will move heaven and earth to attend to you!
What’s more, we are available to answer your questions no matter the time.
Give us a call or send us an email after-hours or over the weekend – all messages will be rerouted to us, allowing us to answer your queries and provide support, no matter the hour.
Got a toothache? Don’t wait – book online now, or call (03) 9509 1500 to schedule an emergency appointment with our dentists in Armadale today.
