When you are having a severe toothache you may need to seek out emergency dental care. While just having a toothache can be treated at home until your next dental appointment, a toothache that causes excruciating pain or has become infected will require the care of an emergency dentist.
Sometimes it is hard to know what to do about a toothache. We will discuss how to tell when you need an emergency dental appointment, what you can do to treat a toothache at home, and how to prevent toothaches in the future.
Should I See an Emergency Dentist for a Severe Toothache?
A minor toothache can be caused by many things, some of which aren’t even related to your teeth. A minor toothache should indicate that you need to schedule an appointment with your local dentist. Then you can treat the toothache at home with over-the-counter painkillers until your appointment.
What makes a toothache considered severe enough to need to see an emergency dentist is extreme pain or infection.
If you have throbbing pain that is persistent or you are unable to control the pain with over-the-counter medicines, then you will need to seek emergency dental care.
If you suspect that the tooth is infected call an emergency dentist immediately. Signs that your tooth is infected include blood or pus around the area, swelling, fever, or, intense prolonged throbbing pain.
Treating a Minor Toothache at Home
According to the Mayo Clinic, it is best to treat a toothache by rinsing your mouth with lukewarm water, flossing, and taking an over-the-counter pain medicine if needed. You should also stick to soft, non-abrasive foods that aren’t sticky until you can get proper dental care for the problem.
While you can treat the symptoms of a minor toothache at home and usually find a good amount of comfort, it is still important to go ahead and schedule an appointment with your dentist.
Treating symptoms will not address the underlying cause of the problem and your toothache will return. When it returns it is likely to be more severe and could then need emergency treatment.
If you experience tooth pain shortly after another dental procedure such as receiving crowns or veneers or whitening, you should contact your dentist to make sure there is no issue with the work that you had done.
How to Prevent Severe Toothaches
The best way to prevent a severe toothache is to have good dental hygiene and proper dental care. Having good habits daily will help protect your teeth from damage that can lead to toothaches, tooth extractions, root canal treatments and other dental services.
Seeing your dentist regularly for check-ups and care gives a professional a chance to catch problems before they become painful major issues. Dental exams and x-rays give your dentist the ability to see problems before they happen and address them.
If you have had minor toothaches between dental appointments, it is important to discuss this with your dentist so they can find the underlying cause and treat it.
Emergency Dentist in Oxnard
If you have a severe toothache, need dental services or are experiencing a dental emergency, visit Bella Dental online or call (805) 410-1033 to get help now.