You wake up in the morning with a toothache, but you don’t know if you should call the dentist right away. How do you know if your pain is a dental emergency or not? If you wait too long, the problem may get worse. There are a few things to consider before you schedule an appointment with an Emergency Dentist In CA.
Not every toothache is considered an emergency, but many of them are. If the pain is so bad that you are unable to eat or drink normally, it is time to call your local dentist. How long does the pain last? A simple sensitive tooth will only hurt when a stimuli is touching it. For example, if your feel pain while eating ice cream but it subsides in a few moments, you are probably just experiencing tooth sensitivity. Brushing with a toothpaste made for sensitive teeth should provide relief. If you only feel pain in your jaw when you wake up in the morning, you may be grinding your teeth at night. While you should still talk to your dentist about these issues, you don’t need to schedule an appointment right away.
Other types of pain, however, do constitute an emergency and should not be ignored. If your tooth is unreasonably sensitive to cold and doesn’t get better when the cold item is removed, you might have deep decay that is exposing the nerve. Hot foods normally don’t bother sensitive teeth, but if the nerve is dying, anything warm will send you into excruciating pain. This is also an emergency. A broken or cracked tooth should be examined immediately to make sure there is no unseen damage to the root or nerve. If a tooth is completely knocked out, bring the tooth to the dentist within the hour to see if it can be reattached to the gum tissue.
Your dentist should be called whenever you are in pain, even if you don’t think it is an emergency. The dentists at Oceanview Dental handle complex emergencies on a regular basis and will squeeze you in immediately if needed. No matter the day or time, don’t delay phoning an Emergency Dentist In CA for any unexpected tooth crisis.