When Does a Toothache Become An Emergency?

Whether mild, moderate, or severe, tooth pain is always uncomfortable. Whatever the cause, toothaches always indicate something wrong. You should seek dental care regardless of the severity. When ignored or delayed treatment, there’s a high risk of complications like tooth loss, tooth mobility, jawbone disorders, and gum infections.

When experiencing a mild to moderate toothache, at least you can wait until working hours or until the dental office opens to seek treatment. Just make sure not to delay treatment for too long. However, if you have severe tooth pain, possibly one that disrupts your normal activities, you should seek immediate dental care from our emergency dentist in Quincy, MA.

The dentist will treat you to alleviate the pain and address the underlying condition to prevent further complications. Since you might be confused about when to seek emergency dental care for a toothache, here are some signs to watch out for:

Common Toothache Emergency

• Persistent pain

If you have a recurrent toothache that doesn’t go away after or increases after medication, you should seek immediate dental care. In most cases, it’s often a sign of serious oral issues like severe tooth decay or an abscessed tooth.

The emergency dentist will evaluate your condition and identify the underlying cause to provide treatment. Common treatments to address tooth problems associated with severe toothache include dental fillings, root canal therapy, and dental crowns.

• Severe tooth sensitivity

If you experience severe sensitivity to severe temperatures like heat or cold, you can seek emergency dental care. You can also experience sensitivity to sugar. In most cases, severe sensitivity is associated with severe tooth decay, faulty restoration, or exposed tooth nerves.

• Pain when pressure is applied

If you feel severe pain when chewing, brushing, or touching your tooth, it might signify severe decay or faulty restorations. Regardless of the cause, the issue still requires immediate treatment. The dentist will diagnose the underlying condition, provide relief, and provide the necessary restorations to prevent the condition from worsening.

• Bleeding and swelling gums

If you have swollen gums or cheeks, it might signify gum infection or periodontal disease. You should seek emergency care, especially if a toothache and bleeding accompany the swelling. If not treated, oral infections lead to serious health problems like jawbone disorders, diabetes, respiratory issues, and cardiovascular symptoms. Regardless of what is causing the problem, you still need to seek immediate treatment.

• Weird taste in the mouth or bad breath

Generally, a bad breath or taste in the mouth can happen after eating strong-scented food items like garlic and onion or poor dental hygiene. However, if you had breath or taste is persistent and isn’t caused by these factors, you should seek immediate dental care. In most cases, bad breath or taste in the mouth can result from severe tooth decay, tooth abscess, gum disease, or oral cancer.

• Swollen jaw

Swelling around the jaw and neck areas around a painful tooth often signifies an infection spreading to other body parts. That’s a serious health problem, and you should address it as soon as possible. In a worse scenario, the infection can affect vital parts of the body like the brain, respiratory system, and cardiovascular system.

• Toothache from dental trauma

While the natural tooth is very strong, it can easily chip, break, loosen, or fall out during sports accidents, car accidents, a bad fall, or simply biting on hard items. In most cases, dental trauma is accompanied by severe discomforts and other symptoms like swelling and bleeding. Whatever the case, you should always seek emergency dental care.

When a Toothache isn’t an Emergency

You might not need emergency care if you only have a mild or inconsistent toothache. In these cases, a toothache can wait as long as you can. If you’re unsure if you have a dental emergency, it’s best to seek treatment. Contact Quincy Dental Associates to speak with our dentist in Quincy, MA.