What is the most common dental emergency?
The most common dental emergency is dental pain. Pain is a very uncomfortable sensation that we experience either when we have cavities or after an accident. It's definitely something that we can take care of.
Dental pain can come from trauma after an accident, a fracture, dental bleeding, bleeding gums, or pain due to fractured teeth caused by cavities. Sometimes cavities are very large and cause fractures inside our mouth. It's not necessarily due to trauma, but because a big cavity breaks our teeth while we're eating or having lunch with family, and all of a sudden, you have a fracture of one of your teeth. That's a dental emergency. Swelling because of tooth abscesses or cellulitis is also common. Just keep in mind if you have swelling, please do not let it sit. As soon as your mouth or face swells up, try to find help.
When should I visit the emergency room for dental emergencies?
You need to visit the emergency room if you have difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, or if you feel chills, malaise, or fever, like your body doesn't feel good. You need to visit especially if you have difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, and blurred vision. This is if you have swelling causing these symptoms. If you feel like this and have these difficulties and can barely walk, you need to go straight to the emergency room.
If you have chronic conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or any other chronic condition that may worsen because of this, such as high blood pressure due to pain, you've got to go first to the emergency room so they can stabilize you. Then you can come to the office so we can take care of your mouth because we need to ensure your life is not threatened by this condition.
What should I do if a tooth falls out?
You should come straight to the emergency dental care office. If you have an avulsed tooth, say you fell and a tooth came out of your mouth, grab the tooth, place it in milk, and come straight to the office as soon as possible. This is very important. This way, we can use the tooth and there's a possibility to place it back inside your mouth. If you don't do that, those possibilities will decrease.
What should I do if I have dental pain?
If you have pain, but your other health conditions are clear and good, you can definitely come straight to the office and we will take care of the pain. If you need a root canal or an extraction, we will do it right away. We won't schedule a new appointment for you. We'll try to get it done that day so you can go home with no pain.
What to do if you have tooth pain with swelling?
The most common dental emergency is tooth pain. This pain could come with swelling of your face. You can have pain with or without swelling. If there is swelling, we can check if you need an abscess drainage at the moment or if it needs to be deferred after antibiotic treatment. If you have an abscess or tooth pain without inflammation, we can determine the cause.
Depending on the cause, that's the course of treatment that will be recommended. If there is a fracture and it happened within the first 24 hours, it depends. If the nerve is exposed, we might need to do a root canal. It depends on how old the tooth is. There are many variables that influence our decisions, but the most important thing is that we will take care of you and ensure you go home with no pain.
What should I do about wisdom teeth pain?
Another dental emergency is wisdom teeth pain or inflammation caused by wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth are the last teeth in the mouth, at the back, and sometimes they cause inflammation in the surrounding tissues because they don't erupt properly. These tissues get inflamed because food gets packed all the way to the back, making it difficult to clean and brush properly.
The bacteria in the mouth use this food to create inflammation that often becomes an acute infection. This sometimes causes pus collection and swelling in the face. We determine if drainage is needed at the moment or if tooth extraction is the solution. If the tooth is impacted to the point where we can't do the extraction, we will refer you to oral surgeons.
When would I need an emergency dental extraction?
It depends on the situation. If you come to the dentist with a nonrestorable tooth, meaning there's no possibility to restore it, then extraction is needed. Even if you are in pain, we can still do the extraction, but the tooth needs to be nonrestorable. That's when we can do an emergency dental extraction. It could be a tooth that is not a wisdom tooth, or it could be a wisdom tooth. It's considered an emergency dental extraction because by removing the tooth, we remove the cause of the pain.
When do you need an emergency root canal?
A root canal is needed once the caries have reached the nerve. When this happens, bacteria infiltrate the root canal system. Once this area is not closed anymore, we need to clean the root canal system properly and fill it from the inside out to prevent bacteria from re-entering. It is an emergency root canal because you are in pain, and only by addressing this can you be relieved from the pain. That's why it is considered a root canal or an emergency root canal.
Does Smiles by Yordanska see same-day appointments?
Yes, I do. We can do same-day root canals, extractions, fillings, cleanings—same-day everything.
Can I schedule late-hour appointments at Smiles by Yordanska?
Definitely. We are open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Our last appointment is accepted at 6:45 p.m.
Is Smiles by Yordanska open on weekends?
Of course. We are open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
If you’re looking for dental care you can trust, call us at (813) 993-0503 or email [email protected]. We’re here to help you have the smile you've always wanted!