When it comes to dental emergencies the main constant seems to be that they always come at inopportune times. Maybe on a vacation, during a holiday, or right before travelling somewhere. So let’s use a believable example to talk about dental emergencies.
Let’s say you’re watching a movie and bite into a hard kernel of popcorn; suddenly you hear a crack! Maybe a part of your tooth broke off? Or was it a filling? It doesn’t hurt, and you forgot about it for a few months. But now the tooth is sensitive and hurts every time you drink some cold water. You waited a few days and now the tooth is hurting constantly!
This is a dental emergency.
Let’s first talk about the common causes of tooth ache or pain, and what situations qualify as a Dental Emergency!
- Having a crack or a big hole/cavity in a tooth will often cause the nerve inside the tooth to be infected and therefore cause tooth pain.
- In some cases, teeth that have large fillings can become sensitive to hot and cold and can cause the nerve to cause pain.
- Accidents and trauma to the front of the face can often lead to broken or fractured teeth which can be painful.
- Tooth pain can often be linked to facial swelling. This is a high risk situation since infections and swellings in the face area can often lead to life threatening emergencies if not treated in due time.
- Broken down teeth may also get infected from time to time and cause pain.
- Gum abscesses can also cause pain in the bone/jaws.
All of these situations are not pleasant for the patient. The best thing to do would be to call your dentist and request an appointment for a consultation.