It’s an unfortunate fact of life that bad things can happen to good teeth. When bad things happen to your teeth, you may be experiencing a dental emergency. You should treat a dental emergency as a true emergency. People don’t have to be dying to visit a hospital emergency room. They go because they’re in severe pain or they’re at risk of losing the function in some body part. When it comes to a dental emergency, time can equal teeth lost. Call Nashua Family Dentistry in Nashua, NH at once for an emergency appointment.
Types Of Dental Emergencies
Dental emergency situations usually involve severe dental pain, damage to teeth, and/or tooth loss. Let’s look at each of those in turn.
Pain
Dental pain is usually, but not always, caused by an underlying infection. Dental infections seldom clear up on their own and almost always get worse. The infection below the gum line can attack the ligaments that help to stabilize teeth and the underlying bone. Teeth can loosen or even fall out!
Severe pain that suddenly ends doesn’t mean that the problem is gone. It usually means that the tooth nerve has died and can’t send pain signals any more. The infection is still there and creating damage.
The worst thing you can do is to try to tough out dental pain. The longer the infection is present, the greater the risk of tooth loss. And replacing a missing teeth costs far, far more than an emergency appointment. Call Nashua Family Dentistry at at 603-546-7460 for an emergency appointment. Dr. James Kiehl will take immediate steps to get you out of pain and then address the underlying problem.
Tooth Damage
Damage to teeth can be caused by biting into something that’s too hard; dental decay; and the failure of a dental restoration like a filling or crown. Any failure of the tooth enamel or a restoration can open the inside of the tooth to disease-causing bacteria. The longer that path remains open, the greater the risk of infection setting in. Early intervention is vital to prevent further damage to the tooth and the tooth contents. Call our Nashua, NH office at 603-546-7460 for an appointment.
Again, maintaining an existing tooth is almost always less expensive than having to replace it. You’ll also save yourself a great deal of pain should infection set in.
Tooth Loss
Your permanent, adult teeth should stay firmly in their sockets as long as you live. A loose tooth or a tooth that falls out on its own signals a significant problem. However, teeth can also be knocked out due to impact from falls, accidents, and athletics.
If one of your teeth has been knocked out, be very careful not to touch the root. Rinse the tooth in clear water and then submerge it in a small container of milk. That helps keep the tooth alive for a while. Call our office day or night and we’ll give you further instructions.
How We Can Help
When you arrive at our office, Dr. Kiehl will take immediate steps to relieve your pain, if necessary. After conducting an examination, including X-rays and/or other imaging as needed, he’ll discuss your treatment options with you.
Dental infections that are due to gum disease can be treated with a combination of medication and procedures knowing as scaling and root planing. Damaged restorations of any kind can be replaced or repaired. And teeth that have been knocked out of their sockets can often be reinserted so they can re-root and remain a healthy tooth for a long time.
In any dental emergency, call Nashua Family Dentistry in Nashua, NH immediately at 603-546-7460 for an emergency appointment.