How to know if you have a dental emergency

Emergency Dentist performing Dental check-up on a girl Patient

A dental emergency occurs unexpectedly and requires the immediate attention of a dentist. Some common dental emergencies include severe toothache, swelling or bleeding of the gums, broken or chipped teeth or crowns, and tooth loss.

Barring any traumatic incident that would have you end up in the emergency room, dental emergencies can occur while you’re at home or work.

Signs of a Dental Emergency

Here are signs that you need to call your dentist as soon as possible:

  • Persistent and severe tooth pain
  • A darkening tooth or a tooth changing color
  • A bump or bumps in the gum area, surrounding a painful tooth
  • Bleeding or swelling of the gums
  • Lingering sensitivity to hot or cold food or drinks

All these symptoms can be a result of infected dental pulp. The bacteria could enter the inside of the tooth through decay, a break in the tooth, or dental crown. When bacteria invade the pulp, it causes an infection that can spread to the root of the tooth.

Your Tooth Hurts A Lot – Now What?

Usually, infected dental pulp is treated with an emergency root canal. A dentist can perform an emergency root canal in their office. There is no reason to delay getting one, as the infection can spread to other parts of the body.

The goal of an emergency root canal is to save the tooth. During the procedure, the dentist will clean out the tooth by removing the infected pulp and nerve. The dentist will shape the tooth pulp chamber and root canal, and fill the space with gutta-percha, which is a rubber-like material. The dentist will then seal it in place with a special adhesive to prevent bacteria from causing problems again. As the tooth heals, the dentist will replace the temporary filling with a permanent one and place a crown over the tooth to restore it to full function.

An infected tooth can undermine your oral and overall health. Before root canal therapy, the only way to prevent the infection from spreading was to pull out the damaged or infected teeth. Root canal therapy allows you to hold on to your natural teeth longer.

Emergency Root Canal in Eugene, OR

If you have a dental emergency, please call 360 Dental as soon as possible. Dr. Ari Binder is a family dentist highly trained and experienced in performing root canal therapy. Dr. Binder has had great success with this treatment and our patients trust him with maintaining and preserving their natural teeth through various general, cosmetic, and restorative dental procedures.

We will do our best to get you an appointment as soon as possible for a root canal. For any questions or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Binder, call us today at (541) 689-1645 or use our convenient appointment request form. The friendly 360 Dental team looks forward to serving you.