Are you experiencing dental discomfort and wondering whether you should book an urgent appointment with your dentist? Dental emergencies are often unexpected, causing significant pain and discomfort. Whether it is a knocked-out tooth, a sudden toothache, or any other oral and dental problem, knowing when you should seek urgent dental care is essential.

In addition to possibly leading to more severe complications, like infections and tooth loss, delaying treatment for specific dental health issues could be costly in the long run. Despite how prevalent dental health issues are, many people do not know when to seek emergency dental treatment.

While not every dental problem requires urgent treatment, some issues could necessitate an urgent dental appointment. Examples of these dental issues include (but are not limited to) the following:

Fractured or Cracked Tooth

A chipped or cracked tooth warrants immediate attention from a dentist, making you seek urgent dental care. A chipped or cracked tooth occurs when something damages it, causing a crack or fracture on the enamel (outer surface of the tooth). The fracture could be so minor that it does not affect the tooth. Other times, it could be significant, causing a split in your tooth.

If you have a severe fracture or crack on your tooth, seeking immediate dental care is important to protect the tooth and prevent further complications. While you can develop a crack or fracture on any of your teeth, the upper front teeth and mandibular molars are more prone to cracks. Some of the common causes of a cracked or fractured tooth include:

  • Biting hard objects and foods, like nuts
  • Untreated cavity
  • Dental trauma to the facial area
  • Dental treatments, like root canal
  • Age
  • Bruxism (teeth grinding)

If you have a cracked or fractured tooth, scheduling a prompt appointment with your dentist is paramount for quick treatment. The severity of the crack will determine your appropriate treatment. Nonetheless, the dentist could recommend the following treatments for your cracked or fractured tooth:

  • Dental bonding
  • Dental contouring
  • Dental crown
  • Dental veneers
  • Root canal therapy
  • Tooth extraction

A Knocked-Out Tooth

Also known as an avulsed tooth, a knocked-out tooth is another issue that necessitates emergency dental care. The sooner you seek dental care from an emergency dentist, the higher the chances of successful restoration to save the tooth. An avulsed tooth is a tooth that is knocked out of its socket in the jawbone and often out of the mouth.

While any teeth can be knocked out, most avulsed teeth involve the front teeth, especially the incisors. You should immediately pick up the tooth and reinsert it in its socket when this happens to you. While at it, you should be careful not to scrub it or touch its roots. If it is impossible to reinsert the tooth into its socket, you should soak it in saline water to keep it moist before contacting your emergency dentist. Common causes of an avulsed tooth include the following:

  • Falls
  • Assaults
  • Traffic accidents
  • Injuries from contact sports, like hockey and rugby
  • Bicycle accidents

If you tried to save the tooth by reinserting it in its socket, once you visit your dentist, he/she will ensure it is in the ideal position in the mouth. To anchor the avulsed tooth in place, the dentist will place a splint on it. If your dentist has to reinsert the tooth in its socket, he/she will follow the same process.

If the avulsed tooth caused infection on the inner part of the tooth (pulp chamber) that houses the nerves and blood vessels, your dentist will recommend root canal therapy. Root canal therapy involves the removal of the infected materials of the pulp chamber and cleaning the canal to prevent reinfection.

If it is impossible to save the tooth, a dental implant and dental crown (artificial tooth) could help restore your teeth's functions and your smile aesthetics.

Severe Toothache

Severe or unbreakable toothache is a clear sign that you should schedule an emergency dental appointment with your dentist. Experiencing a throbbing and intense pain in your tooth could be a sign of an underlying dental health issue, like decay, impacted teeth, or periodontal disease. Ignoring a severe toothache could cause further complications, including abscesses and sometimes even tooth loss.

While Over-the-counter remedies, like painkillers, could help ease the pain, scheduling an urgent dental care appointment with your dentist is advisable to help pinpoint the root cause of your issue for precise treatment. X-ray images can help your dentist see the problems beneath your gums and the cause of the issue.

Depending on the severity of your unique condition and the cause, the dentist could recommend any of the following treatments:

  • Medications, including painkillers and antibiotics
  • Dental crowns
  • Dental fillings
  • Inlays and onlays
  • Extraction
  • Root canal therapy

Bleeding Gums

While gums can bleed occasionally whenever you brush your teeth, unexplained excessive bleeding is an alarming issue that could necessitate an urgent dental appointment. Bleeding gums could be an early sign of gingivitis (the first stage of gum disease). Other possible causes of bleeding gums include trauma, injury, or a dental treatment gone wrong.

Applying gauze pressure to the affected area can help control the bleeding before seeing a dentist. While your gums can bleed occasionally when you brush your teeth aggressively, when your gums bleed often and profusely, leaving your gums in pain, you should schedule an emergency dental appointment with your dentist.

If your gums bleed and ache, that could be a sign that you are progressing towards severe gum disease. In this case, the sooner you act, the higher the chances of reversing the gum disease and stopping the bleeding. Depending on the stage of your gum disease issue, your dentist could recommend the following treatments:

  • Deep cleaning (scaling and root planing)
  • Antibiotics (oral or topical)
  • Surgical treatments, like bone grafts, pocket reduction surgery, and gum grafts

Loose Tooth

While loose tooth issues are normal for children, experiencing loose permanent teeth as an adult is an issue you should worry about and consider consulting an emergency dentist. Several reasons could cause a loose tooth, but not all necessitate an urgent dental appointment. Common causes of loose teeth among most people include:

  • Teeth trauma — Any severe impact to the lower part of your head or jawline could make your teeth loose in their sockets, which necessitates an emergency intervention by a dentist
  • Gum disease — Gum disease causes inflammation in your gums and could affect the stability of your teeth and their sockets. That is particularly true if your gum disease has progressed to the severe stages (periodontitis), which affects the tissues and bone underneath your gumline, which anchors your teeth in place
  • Pregnancy — While it does not happen to everyone, being pregnant can make your teeth loose because of the increased levels of progesterone and estrogen. These hormones affect the ligaments and bones that keep your teeth in place

If you have a loose tooth, your dentist could recommend gum disease treatment or a splint to help stabilize the affected tooth. Contact an emergency dentist as soon as possible if you have a loose tooth for appropriate treatment.

Dental Abscess

Swelling in your neck and face, bad breath, and pain in your tooth could be signs of a dental abscess. A dental abscess is a pimple-like infection in the space between your gums and teeth or the tooth roots. When left unchecked, a dental abscess could damage tissues that anchor your teeth in place and spread to the surrounding healthy teeth.

Hence, scheduling an urgent dental care appointment with your dentist is paramount if you have noticed signs of a dental abscess. However, before you see a dentist, you can ease the discomfort caused by the abscess by gargling and rinsing your mouth with saline water several times daily. The treatment for a dental abscess will typically involve a minor surgery to cut the pocket of pus and drain it out.

However, for a severe or advanced dental abscess that has compromised your tooth roots beyond repair, tooth extraction could help fix the issue.

Halitosis (Bad Breath)

While occasional bad breath after munching on smelly foods, like ginger and onions, is not an issue to worry about, persistent bad breath that does not subside even after brushing your teeth is a reason to be alarmed. Some of the causes of persistent bad breath, also known as halitosis, include the following:

  • Gum disease
  • Oral infection
  • Tooth decay

While bad breath is not painful, ignoring this issue is not wise. If the underlying cause of the issue is gum disease, leaving it untreated could lead to further complications, including tooth loss. Once you schedule an urgent dental appointment with your dentist, he/she can diagnose the root cause of the problem and recommend appropriate treatment. Your dentist must address the underlying cause to fix the persistent bad breath issue.

Recurrent Jaw Pain or Locking Pain

Recurrent jaw pain or locking whenever you close or open your mouth could indicate TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder), which requires an immediate check-up by a dentist. If you have TMJ, performing basic mouth functions like talking, chewing, and biting could become challenging due to the restricted jaw movement, affecting the overall quality of your life.

Dentists recommend scheduling an emergency appointment if you have experienced TMJ symptoms to prevent the condition from worsening and impacting your daily activities. Common treatments your dentist could recommend to address your TMJ disorder include medication, physical therapy, and oral appliances.

Broken or Lost Crown or Filling

You should seek emergency care with your dentist when you lose or break your dental restoration, including a crown or filling. In addition to affecting your smile aesthetics, losing a dental crown or filling could expose your underlying tooth structure to debris and bacteria, increasing the risk of developing decay. Before your appointment with an emergency dentist, you should avoid chewing food with the affected side of your mouth and thoroughly rinse that area with warm saline water to keep bacteria at bay.

Unless your dental restoration is broken beyond repair, your dentist can fix it back in place. However, if you have lost your dental restoration, your dentist will replace it with a new one to prevent possible complications and restore your teeth's functions.

Non-Emergency Dental Issues You Ought to Know

Now that you know what qualifies as a dental emergency, you would want to know what non-emergency dental issues are. Non-emergency dental issues can wait for a check-up during the usual business hours. Common examples of these issues include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Broken braces
  • Cracked or chipped tooth
  • Minor soft tissue injury, including a sore or cut
  • Mild or dull toothache
  • An object stuck in the spaces between your teeth

While these issues are non-emergency, seeing your dentist as soon as possible is advisable for appropriate treatment. Like any other issues, when left unchecked, these issues could worsen or cause complications over time.

Why Should I Schedule an Appointment With an Emergency Dentist if I Have a Dental Emergency?

If you have a dental emergency, you should schedule an appointment with an emergency dentist instead of going to an emergency room for the following reasons:

  1. He/she is cost-friendly and can offer faster services
  2. You will receive specialized care from an expert
  3. He/she is well-equipped with specialized dental instruments and equipment
  4. He/she can take preventative measures to help prevent further complications

When choosing a family dentist for your loved one, you should opt for one that can offer emergency dental services because these issues are unexpected and can happen at any time. Having an emergency dentist you can rely on can give you peace of mind, knowing that your bothersome dental issue does not require you to wait for a check-up during regular business hours.

Find a Credible La Puente Emergency Dentist Near Me

If you are experiencing a dental emergency, seeking immediate care from a reliable dentist is crucial. Timely treatment can help restore your dental functions and prevent further complications, which could be costly.

At La Puente Advanced Dentistry, we comprehend the stress and urgency dental emergencies can cause. We invite you to call us at 626-626-7075, and our experienced and dedicated dental team will provide the efficient and compassionate care you need to restore your dental and oral health.