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What to Do if You Have a Dental Emergency

Dental emergencies can occur unexpectedly, causing discomfort and concern. Knowing how to respond promptly and effectively is crucial to mitigate pain and prevent further complications. justSMILE, a leading dental practice in Ramsgate Beach, is committed to providing immediate and comprehensive care for all dental emergencies.

Understanding Dental Emergencies

A dental emergency encompasses any oral health issue requiring immediate attention to alleviate severe pain, stop ongoing tissue bleeding, or address infections that could lead to serious health risks. Common dental emergencies include:

  • Toothaches: Severe or persistent tooth pain can indicate underlying issues such as decay, infection, or abscess.
  • Chipped or Broken Teeth: Accidents or biting on hard substances can result in fractured teeth, leading to pain and potential infection.
  • Knocked-Out Teeth (Avulsion): A tooth completely dislodged from its socket requires urgent care to increase the chances of successful re-implantation.
  • Lost Fillings or Crowns: The loss of restorations can expose sensitive tooth structures, causing discomfort and increasing the risk of further damage.
  • Abscesses: Infections around the root of a tooth or in the gum can lead to serious complications if not promptly treated.

Immediate Steps to Take During a Dental Emergency

Toothaches:

  • Rinse your mouth with warm water to clean the area.
  • Use dental floss to remove any food particles lodged between teeth.
  • Apply a cold compress to the outside of your cheek to reduce swelling.
  • Avoid placing aspirin or other painkillers directly against the gums, as this can cause tissue irritation.

Chipped or Broken Teeth:

  • Rinse your mouth with warm water.
  • If there’s bleeding, apply gauze to the area for about 10 minutes or until the bleeding stops.
  • Apply a cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek to reduce swelling and alleviate pain.

Knocked-Out Tooth:

  • Retrieve the tooth, holding it by the crown (the part visible in the mouth), avoiding touching the root.
  • If dirty, rinse the tooth gently with water without scrubbing or removing any attached tissue fragments.
  • Attempt to place the tooth back into its socket without forcing it.
  • If reinsertion isn’t possible, store the tooth in a container of milk or a saline solution.
  • Seek emergency dental treatment immediately, as timely intervention increases the likelihood of saving the tooth.

Lost Fillings or Crowns:

  • For lost fillings, place a piece of sugarless gum into the cavity temporarily.
  • For lost crowns, retrieve the crown and bring it to your dentist.
  • Avoid using temporary measures for extended periods and consult your dentist promptly.

Abscesses:

  • Rinse your mouth with a mild saltwater solution several times a day to alleviate pain and draw pus to the surface.
  • Seek immediate dental care to prevent the infection from spreading to other parts of the body.

Preventive Measures to Avoid Dental Emergencies

While not all emergencies are preventable, certain practices can reduce the risk:

  • Maintain Regular Dental Check-Ups: Routine examinations and cleanings help identify potential issues before they escalate.
  • Practice Good Oral Hygiene: Brushing twice daily and flossing regularly can prevent decay and gum disease.
  • Use Protective Gear: Wearing mouthguards during sports or recreational activities can prevent dental injuries.
  • Avoid Chewing Hard Objects: Refrain from chewing ice, hard candies, or non-food items that can crack or chip teeth.

justSMILE: Your Trusted Emergency Dentist in Ramsgate Beach

At justSMILE, we understand the urgency and distress that dental emergencies can cause. Our dedicated team is equipped to provide immediate and effective care to address your concerns. We offer:

  • Same-Day Appointments: Ensuring timely attention to alleviate pain and prevent further complications.
  • Comprehensive Services: From emergency treatments to restorative procedures, we cater to all your dental needs.
  • Experienced Professionals: Our team comprises skilled dentists and support staff committed to delivering high-quality care.

About justSMILE

justSMILE is a premier dental practice serving the Ramsgate Beach community and surrounding areas. We are committed to providing exceptional dental care, emphasizing patient comfort and satisfaction. Our services range from general dentistry to specialized treatments, ensuring comprehensive care for all ages.

Conclusion

Dental emergencies require prompt and appropriate responses to ensure optimal outcomes. By understanding the steps to take during such situations and having a trusted dental professional like justSMILE residents of Ramsgate Beach can feel assured that their oral health is in capable hands.  For any dental emergencies or to schedule a routine check-up, please contact us at (02) 8417 2966 and visit www.justsmile.com.au

What happens if a broken tooth goes untreated?

If a broken tooth goes untreated, the damage can be significant.

The tooth can break into pieces, which pulls the root from its socket. This leaves you with a sharp piece of enamel that your tongue  comes into contact with. The broken tooth exposes the dentin inside of your tooth which is softer and more sensitive to decay than the outer enamel. You have a greater risk of additional mouth infections and gum disease, which can increase your chances of heart disease and diabetes.

Even if the broken tooth doesn’t break all the way through into the gums, bacteria will still find their way in and start to form plaque buildup over time. This can create pain when eating food or beverages and make it difficult to keep proper oral health.

The best thing to do is make an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible so they can check up on your teeth!

Untreated broken teeth can cause more serious health problems like an abscess or infection that needs antibiotics

Untreated broken teeth can cause more serious health problems like an abscess or infection that needs treatment with antibiotics. It can certainly affect your overall health and shouldn’t be put on the back burner. As soon as you break a tooth, you need to contact your dentist right away and get an appointment set up. While the broken tooth isn’t painful at this point, the build-up of plaque can cause a deeper cavity that will eventually cause pain. But, why wait? Having cavities is directly related to poor health. You need to have your cavities taken care of right away and should always see your dentist regularly for a professional cleaning.

Dental diseases are linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and even premature death

We are more susceptible to dental diseases than ever before. This is not because we have worse teeth. It’s because these diseases have become more complicated due to modern lifestyles and food choices.

Dental health is important for our overall health.  This is because of the link between dental disease and other health conditions like cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death.

It’s important to brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, floss regularly, see the dentist every six months for cleanings and exams. You should maintain a healthy diet low in sugar and high in fiber.

Plaque is a sticky film that clings to the inside surfaces of teeth, providing a home for bacteria

Plaque accumulates more so on broken teeth over time and is the cause of tooth decay. It is a sticky film that clings to the inside surfaces of teeth, providing a home for bacteria. Plaque can form anywhere in the mouth, but it’s typically found on the teeth close to the gum line.

Plaque can be removed by brushing and flossing regularly or using an interdental brush once a day. Professional dental cleanings are also effective at removing plaque. If you have a broken tooth, the surface might not be as smooth as it was naturally.  This will cause more plaque build-up in that area.

If you have a broken tooth, you need to contact your dentist right away and don’t mess around, your health depends on it.

Tooth Pain and the Hospital Emergency Room

Emergency rooms are the most expensive place to receive medical care, and they are often crowded. Seeking treatment at an ER for a toothache can add unneeded extra time and money to getting relief. Most people don’t realize that an ER is not the place to go for tooth pain unless there is a dentist on staff, which is very rare.

Dentists are the only ones that are allowed to pull a tooth, offer reconstructive care or assist with cavities. Medical doctors cannot help with these things. They can give you some antibiotics and painkillers, however most of the time, that doesn’t truly help anything. When you have a dental emergency, you need to call an emergency dentist.

Emergency Dental Services for Tooth Pain

We usually set aside time during the day to handle any emergency dental appointments. Typically these consist of getting you into the office as soon as possible. Some dentists will even come in on weekends and evenings. However, you will need to wait until the office is open at times. It varies by the clinic.

A toothache can be miserable. In fact, many people describe it as one of the worst pains. It can be something that is sharp when chewing to something constantly dull. There are a variety of reasons we have tooth pain, but getting relief can be as simple as setting up an emergency dental visit.

Tooth pain can be the result of many different things. Some common causes include cavities, teeth that are in need of a root canal and are infected, fillings that are loose or starting to crack, teeth that are sensitive to temperature changes and teeth grinding. The more severe causes are other teeth coming in, such as wisdom teeth, or an accident that has caused mouth injuries.

Things You Can Do at Home to Help With Tooth Pain

When you are experiencing tooth pain, there are some things you can take at home to help. These include ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, as well as rinsing with warm saltwater. You can also try gel anesthetics that you can purchase over the counter. Oftentimes these are marketed to teething babies, but now is not the time to worry about the marketing. Finding something that can bring the pain to a tolerable level is important, whenever possible. If your tooth pain is tolerable, you will want to wait until the dentist’s office is open.

You can also use ice on the area where the pain is coming from. Oftentimes, ice can help with the swelling, making the pain more tolerable. You want to avoid eating anything that is hot or cold. Try to stick with lukewarm. Soft foods can be best in this situation, so as not to aggravate the issue more. However, if you are in a lot of pain, you may need to call emergency dental services.

Emergency dental services are there for people that cannot get enough relief to be comfortable. While there are at-home solutions, these don’t always help enough. You might need a tooth extracted, antibiotics or stronger pain relief than you can get over the counter. If you have extreme tooth pain, count on our emergency dental services to help.

The Importance of Emergency Tooth Extraction

We all know the importance of our teeth to our overall health, but there are times when it is necessary to have a tooth removed. Emergency tooth extraction is important because it can help stop excruciating pain and restore oral health.

Emergency tooth extraction can be performed quickly and efficiently by a dental professional without requiring too much anesthesia. Most of the time, it can be done right in their office. This procedure is most often performed on patients that have been in an accident or have a tooth that has gone too long with a cavity that has now reached the root.

Emergency tooth extraction involves removing one or more teeth that are broken or have been knocked out completely. Only a professional dentist should do this procedure. You should never attempt to extract adult teeth at home. This could lead to complications. Always call an experienced professional to have a tooth removed. Urgent dental care is simply a phone call away.

Benefits

When a tooth becomes loose, infected or fractured, you will need an emergency tooth extraction to prevent infection from setting in or spreading. You must have a dentist remove the tooth as soon as possible after an accident. If you have broken one tooth or several in an accident, then contacting an emergency dentist right away is important. Many times a broken tooth will expose the sensitive portions under the enamel. This can also lead to direct contact with the root area and can be extremely painful. If left untreated, it can also become infected, causing even more problems. Have your broken teeth taken care of right away.

There are several benefits of going through an emergency tooth extraction, including:

  • You will be able to resume eating and drinking comfortably.
  • You will also be able to speak without difficulty again.
  • The infection in your mouth will be completely removed.
  • You will look healthier overall.

Get Help Right Away

If you have a toothache, swollen or bleeding gums, a broken tooth or a deep cavity, you should go to the dentist as soon as possible. These are signs that there might be an infection or problem with your teeth. If left untreated, an infection can spread to the rest of your body and cause serious health problems. However, this doesn’t always necessarily mean that you need to have a tooth extraction.

Tooth extractions are often the last resort treatment for dental problems that won’t disappear with other treatments. The goal is to save as many teeth as possible. But, you will need to seek emergency tooth extraction services when the tooth has been broken in an accident or cannot be saved due to it being too badly damaged.

We offer emergency tooth extraction services to help our patients get through this difficult time. You must have a broken tooth extracted right away, even if there isn’t any pain.  This can lead to infections that not only affect your mouth but your overall health as well.  Call now.

Emergencies – Swollen Face

If you are experiencing a problem with your teeth or jaw, under the Australian Dental Association guidelines, justSMILE is able to see you for emergency dental issues. In light of the level 3 restrictions, and in conjunction with Smile Docs®, we will publishing a series of articles called “What Can You Do When You Can’t Get To See The Dentist”.

What To Do If You Wake Up With a Swollen Face?

Swelling around your jaw might mean a tooth or gum infection, such as an abscess, especially if you have a lot of pain. A tooth abscess is a pocket of pus that builds due to a bacterial infection in the mouth. Abscesses will not go away on their own, so it’s important to treat the condition as soon as it develops to prevent it from spreading to other parts of the body.

This is serious and need attention immediately, you more than likely have an infected tooth and will need a course of antibiotics to control it in a diction to extraction of the infected tooth or root canal treatment.

From tooth pain to facial swelling and teeth that are knocked out, if you find yourself in a dental emergency, contact Dr Rammo’s office nearest you. If you would like to schedule an appointment, click on the contact form below or you may call our office directly.

 

Dr Rammo and his justSMILE practice are still operational, give them a call if you have any concerns about your dental health.

Meanwhile make sure that you keep your social distance stay at home and take care of yourselves.

Remember to exercise hydrate and eat well, bear in mind that this virus has a serious effects in people with certain medical conditions and in people with lower immunity.

Please check wth your GP if you can take any supplements to boost your immunity, I am currently on a high dose of Liposomal Vitamins C and D3. Don’t stress out too much as stress will lower your immunity. Let’s fight this together and make sure that we will go over this as community and a country.

 

Emergencies – Sore Gums

Dental emergencies – what if you have sore gums and you can’t open your mouth wide?

Because the Australian Dental Association guidelines has restricted all appointments to emergencies and the treatment of pain only (level 3 restrictions), in conjunction with Smile Docs®, we will publishing a series of articles called: “What Can You Do When You Can’t Get To See The Dentist”. Okay, let’s begin…

What To Do If You Have Sore Gums and You Can’t Open Your Mouth Wide?

Issues with your gums often arise because of unwanted bacteria or tightly-wedged food debris left behind from the last meal. Swelling anywhere in the body is a sign that something is wrong, and swollen gums are no exception. Healthy gums are firm and flat along your teeth. They’ll have a natural color ranging from light pink to dark purple depending on your skin tone.

If your gums are puffy, look unusually red, or appear to pull away from your teeth, it’s time to address the cause of those swollen gums and, in some cases, talk to your dentist about gum inflammation treatment.

You should be able to control most gum problems with good oral hygiene, in addition to brushing you should use antibacterial mouth wash three time a day and you should notice a relief in 2-3 days time.

If you can’t open wide you might have an infected gum around wisdom teeth.

Depending on the cause and severity of your inflamed gums, Dr Rammo might simply prescribe an oral rinse or a special brand of toothpaste to help prevent gingivitis and reduce plaque. If your gums are infected, you may also need a course of antibiotics.

If you have a dental emergency and would like to schedule an appointment, click on the contact form below or you may call our office directly.

 

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Free Smile Assessment Offer:
  1. Must be over 18 years of age
  2. Free Smile Assessment consultation must be face to face
  3. Includes : Smile analysis, Facial lines and asymmetries, Teeth size, shape and position analysis, Teeth color recording, Jaw analysis, General tooth and gum health assessment and advise on the suitability for Invisalign or other Smile Make-Over procedures and recommendations.
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  5. Free Smile Assessment offer can be used in conjunction with other offers such as Whitening, Check up and Polish, and Invisalign offers.

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risk. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner. This offer may change without notice.

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These Smile Deals® Offers presented by Dr. Rammo and justSMILE are valid as stated on the page these offers were found. These offers may change without notice.

Smile Assessment & Consultation Offer

  • The Smile Assessment & Consultation includes smile analysis, facial lines and asymmetries, teeth size, shape and position analysis, teeth colour recording, jaw analysis, general tooth and gum health assessment and advice on the suitability for orthodontics (e.g. Invisalign), general or cosmetic dentistry service.
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  • This offer can be used in conjunction with other offers, including Invisalign Clear Aligner, Teeth Whitening or Check Up & Clean offer.

$199 Check Up & Clean Offer

  • The $199 Check Up & Clean offer includes a full examination and charting including periodontal or gum assessment with treatment recommendations and oral hygiene advice, jaw joint assessment, smile assessment, oral cancer screen, diet analysis and advice, two (2) intra-oral bitewing x-rays, scale and polish.
  • In order to provide you with the best of care and assessment, additional records may be required by the dentist at this examination appointment. Additional records may include clinical intraoral and extraoral photographs , OPG radiograph, lateral cephalometric radiograph which are not included in this deal, and may be performed during the examination process at additional charge or at the dentist’s discretion for a rebate only fee if you have private health insurance that covers the additional items. Should you object to having additional records taken, please inform the front office coordinator at the time of booking your appointment.
  • A scale and clean is provided to you assuming that there is no active gum disease such as gingivitis and periodontitis. Scale and clean does not substitute for the need of gum treatment.
  • This offer can be used in conjunction with other offers, including the Free Smile Assessment, Invisalign Clear Aligner or Teeth Whitening offer.

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  • After your Free Smile Assessment & Consultation visit, if the doctor feels you are eligible for Invisalign Clear Aligners, you can receive the treatment for $6500 for a moderate case.
  • This Smile Deals® Offer does not include the price for retainers.
  • This offer includes all in-office follow up visits relating to your Invisalign Clear Aligners.
  • This offer can be used in conjunction with other offers, including the Free Smile Assessment, Teeth Whitening or Check Up & Clean offer.

Teeth Whitening Offer

  • After your Free Smile Assessment & Consultation visit, if the doctor feels you are eligible for Teeth Whitening, you can receive the Whitening service for $599. 
  • This offer can be used in conjunction with other offers, including the Free Smile Assessment, Invisalign Clear Aligner or Check Up & Clean offer.

How to Redeem These Offers

To claim any of these Smile Deals® Offers:

  1. Book an appointment.
  2. Mention the relevant Smile Deals Offer at the time of booking or treatment.
  3. Present the promotional Smile Deals® Offer voucher or QR Code (if provided) at reception.

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The following restrictions apply to the eligibility and use of all Smile Deals® Offers:

  • You must be a new or existing patient of  Dr. Rammo or justSMILE.
  • You must be 18 years or older at the time of receiving the dental treatments or if a minor, accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
  • Except where expressly stated above, only one Smile Deals® Offer can be redeemed per person.
  • Except where expressly stated above, the Smile Deals® Offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers.
  • The Smile Deals® Offers are not redeemable for cash and cannot be transferred.
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*Offers may not be suitable for all patients. Always consider your financial situation before committing to an offer or payment plan. Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risk. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from a qualified health practitioner.