Your immediate response in a dental emergency can be crucial in allowing your smile’s treatment to be successful. When dental emergencies happen, it can be scary to break a tooth or taste blood in your mouth. However, it’s crucial for your smile’s survival that you stay calm and focused. Your response, both in what you do and how quickly you do it, can mean all the difference. With the right next steps and fast timing, our dentists will have the best chance of saving your smile in Long Beach. Painful Toothache Slight twinges of tooth pain or sensitivity are common. They can be caused by several problems, not all of which are urgent. Even having too much orange juice or coffee can lead to sensitive teeth over time. However, if your toothache lasts more than a day or two, you’ll need to see an emergency dentist as soon as you can. Cavities are the most prevalent cause of tooth pain, and nearly everyone develops one in their lifetime. They can be visible as dark tooth discoloration and a physical hole in your enamel. This pit leaves the inner dental tissues exposed, making them sensitive to hot and cold, even as the tooth’s nerves and blood vessels are increasingly destroyed. At their worst, your tooth’s life can be put at stake, eventually requiring dental extraction. You should take over-the-counter pain medications to give you fast-acting and long-lasting relief until you can see our team for emergency treatment. Be sure only to use them responsibly and take them as directed. Don’t place aspirin or other relievers directly against the gums, as you can hurt them this way.

Fractured or Broken Tooth Is a broken tooth an emergency? A cracked or chipped tooth doesn’t always hurt. However, once the damage reaches past the enamel and into the sensitive inner dentin and pulp, you’ll start to feel it. The pulp carries the tooth’s nerves and blood vessels, which are vital for its life. When your mouth sets off the alarm bell with a painful toothache, you’ll need to give our office a call right away. Fractures and breaks often have sharp fragments prone to cutting your gums, tongue, lips, and cheeks. With any bleeding, you should wipe the area with water to clean it. Excessive bleeding may need gauze. A cracked tooth may cause gum swelling, especially if the fissure is near the gum line. In this case, use a cold compress to help reduce it and numb any pain you may have. Don’t use an ice pack for more than 10 minutes at a time. If your tooth has become loose, don’t poke or prod at it, even if there isn’t any pain from your broken tooth. This will only make the problem worse. There may be underlying damage we can’t see below the gums, such as in the nerve or jaw. Depending on the damage’s extent, broken tooth repair may involve either a dental filling, crown, or root canal. However, if too much of the tooth is missing or damaged or you wait too long to see us, it might not be possible to save your tooth, even with a root canal. In extreme cases, your dentist may need to extract the tooth. Dental Abscess Abscesses are pockets of pus in the gums or at the base of a tooth, depending on the cause. While abscesses aren’t always visible, it’s easy to know they’re there due to their painful symptoms: Tooth, jaw, and neck pain Sensitivity to hot and cold Face and cheek swelling Difficulty breathing and swallowing Fever Abscesses can develop due to periodontal disease, tooth decay, and foreign objects lodged in the gums. In the last case, food and debris create a pocket deep between your teeth and gums, making it easy for oral bacteria to infect the surrounding tissues. You can try to remove the trapped debris with floss and a warm salt water rinse. However, if this doesn’t work, don’t try forcibly taking out the irritant with a sharp or pointed object. Don't try bursting an abscess on its own. Despite the immediate pain relief, it will only cause the infection to spread past the mouth. Oral bacteria can move into the jaw, head, and neck and potentially turn into sepsis. What happens if a tooth abscess pops? Rinse out your mouth with water and try to drain as much of the infection as possible. Then see a dentist ASAP. Knocked-Out Tooth Can a knocked-out tooth be saved? Yes, but there’s no time to waste! You need to see your dentist for emergency dental care within 30 minutes to an hour of your dental accident. This brief window gives our skilled team the possibility of reinserting your tooth and saving its life. Otherwise, your missing tooth will be lost for good, and you’ll need a suitable tooth replacement. When grabbing your missing tooth, only pick it up by the crown. Do not touch the root at all. If you need to clean the tooth, run it quickly under cool water for 10 seconds, but don’t use soap or try rubbing the tooth clean. This is especially important if there are any tissue fragments still attached. You should also give your mouth a quick rinse with warm saltwater. For the best chance at saving your tooth, put the tooth back in its old spot and bite down gently on a clean cloth to hold it in place. Don't try forcing it if it won't fit. Instead, keep the tooth moist by keeping it submerged in a glass of milk or putting it between your cheek and gums. You should never put baby teeth back in their sockets to prevent damaging the waiting adult teeth.

Impacted Wisdom Teeth Impacted wisdom teeth are often removed before they try (and fail) to erupt. A dentist can usually tell if they'll eventually be a problem from the first consultation, so removing them before trouble arises saves patients time and pain. However, when these teeth are left alone and can't emerge from the gums, they will let you know. They're prone to severe dental health complications, like tooth damage, dental decay, and cysts. You'll need to see a dentist immediately if you experience: Red and bleeding gums Gums that are tender to the touch Lousy breath and unpleasant taste in your mouth Mouth and jaw pain Difficulty or inability to open your mouth Unlike most other teeth, third molars that become a problem can’t be saved. You will need emergency wisdom teeth removal. Is it really necessary to remove impacted wisdom teeth? Yes. Our dentists can’t force a tooth to erupt, especially without room for them. And leaving the problem alone will only give your troublesome tooth time to damage nearby teeth, form cysts, and develop cavities and gum disease. Until your appointment, use cold compresses to help with swelling and tooth pain and gently apply gauze if there is any bleeding. If your visit is scheduled for the next day, make plans with a friend to drive you to and from our office if you plan to use dental sedation. Nighttime Emergencies: Home Dental Pain Remedies You can’t plan for a dental emergency, and sometimes one strikes after hours. Can’t make it into the office immediately and need help with how to stop tooth pain fast? Of course, you know that over-the-counter pain medications can give you quick relief that lasts for hours. However, some home remedies can help with fast tooth pain relief too: Saltwater Rinse Warm salt water is excellent for soothing tooth and gum pain, reducing inflammation, and helping your mouth heal. This mixture is also often used to help remove food and debris trapped under the gums. Use it a couple of times a day, if necessary. Hydrogen Peroxide Rinse This rinse is similar to a saltwater rinse as it can help with pain relief and inflammation. It can also kill any oral bacteria that might want to enter your injured and vulnerable tooth or gums. You’ll need to dilute this mix with an equal amount of water, and be sure to only swish with it like you would a regular mouthwash. Do not swallow any. Cold Compress With painful swelling, you should use a cold compress to reduce both the swelling and the pain. Since ice numbs the face, don't apply the pack for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Give your cheek a breather for the same amount of time before reapplying the compress. Clove Oil You can also try putting a couple of drops of clove oil on a cotton swab and gently wiping that over your hurting tooth or gum. While a temporary pain reliever, this home remedy also helps with swelling and inflammation. If you prefer, you can instead put a drop in a glass of water and swish the mixture around like you would with mouthwash.