Emergency Dental
Brisbane emergency dentist to treat dental trauma, tooth pain, broken teeth, broken fillings and wisdom teeth.
At Hello Smiles, we appreciate the immediate attention you need, when experiencing a dental emergency.
It is never a fun time when you are searching for an emergency dentist and there is never a convenient time for tooth ache! Our approach is to take care of you first. We always ensure there are emergency dental appointment slots made available for each day, so we’re here for you, whenever you need us.
Unfortunately a toothache usually doesn’t go away on it’s own. It’s your body’s way of letting you know that there is a more serious problem that needs to be addressed. The sooner you book yourself to get treatment, the sooner we can address your dental issue and get you our of pain. Dental trauma and emergencies left untreated, can lead to further, more serious complication in the future, so it’s always best to act on any issue that arises immediately.
Our friendly dentists are experienced in responding and dealing with a comprehensive range of emergency dental procedures and have the know-how, to take care of you, when you need it most.
Should I see a doctor or a dentist?
Sometimes what you might feel is a simple dental issue, could indeed be something that warrants advanced care. If you have suffered trauma to the head or face that has resulted with bleeding from your nose, ears or have caused a loss of consciousness or memory, then we advise you to go immediately to your local doctor or hospital emergency department.
If your toothache has additional symptoms and characteristics, it’s important to take this very seriously as well. There are tell-tale warning signs that a dental infection has spread and this includes:
- Headaches and suffering from confusion
- A high temperature or fever
- Swelling or tenderness of the floor of the mouth
- Double-vision
If you are experiencing ANY of the symptoms as outlined above, and / or swelling around the eye, you should go to a doctor or hospital right away.
If you are not showing signs of these warnings, but have swelling around your jaw, sharp tooth pain or have pus draining from the base of the tooth, then you should schedule a visit to the dentist straight away.
Generally speaking, if you are experiencing acute tooth pain that is causing a loss of sleep, a severe toothache or you have experienced trauma, it is a dental emergency – It’s best to call us straight away.
Typical causes / dental emergencies include:
- Large cavities that are causing pain or toothache
- Significantly damaged upper front teeth due to trauma
- Dental trauma causing change in the position of teeth, soft tissue damage and/or significant pain
- Knocked out teeth
- Facial swelling / Tooth abscess
- Wisdom teeth pain
- Crown came off
- Pain after extraction (Dry socket)
- Broken dentures
- Lip and gum injuries
What to do if you have knocked out a tooth.
The first thing to be aware of is that time is of the essence. To save a tooth you need to get to the dentist WITHIN 30 MINUTES of the incident. Any time lost can mean the difference between saving your tooth and losing it forever.
If you have knocked an adult tooth completely out, here is the procedure you need to follow:
- The first thing to do, is to find your tooth. We know this can sometimes be tricky, but it’s important to find it. If you discover your tooth is fractured, locate and collect as many fragments of your tooth and bring them with you to your dental appointment.
- It is important not to wash your tooth, scrub or scrape around any surrounding tissue on the tooth. Be sure to only hold your tooth by the top (crown) and do not handle the root. If your tooth does require cleaning, this can be done by gently immersing it in milk or a saline solution.
- If the tooth is an adult tooth and whole / in one piece, and you are able to, hold your tooth by the top (crown) and gently try to place your tooth back inside it’s original socket / position (the right way around). Once inserted, hold firmly in place. This should not be attempted if it is a child's baby tooth. If you are ever unsure, it's best to not attempt this step. Instead, keep the tooth safe and bring it with you to your dental appointment.
- If that is not possible, place your tooth under your tongue or in a cup of milk
- The final step is make your way to your closest dentist as quickly as possible. A knocked tooth is the likely result of facial trauma, so please take extra care and if you can have a friend take you.
There is nothing more distressing than for a child to experience a dental emergency – both for the child and parent. The best approach to helping your child first and foremost is to remain calm, this will not only help you but also provide your child with reassurance that everything will be okay. The next step is to call your dentist for instructions and immediately make your way to the dental clinic.
If they have cut or bitten their lip, use a cold compress and place firm pressure over the area to help stop any bleeding. If you do find that bleeding persists for longer than a 15 minute period, then it is important to contact either a doctor or our emergency dental team.
How to lessen the pain in a dental emergency
Pain be gone! It’s the worst part of a dental emergency. After contacting us and making an appointment, there are a couple things you can do to lessen the pain experienced. Below are a couple tips you can follow until you are able to reach us for emergency dental treatment.
For a severe toothache
Take 2 ibuprofen (Nurofen) and if pain continues, wait 3 hours and take 2 paracetamols. If the pain still does not abate in this period, wait a further three hours and repeat the process. It is also important that you do not consume any alcohol or illicit drugs to relieve pain in this period.
Broken or Cracked Teeth
In the circumstance in which you find yourself with broken or cracked teeth, the first thing to do is to gently rinse your mouth with warm water. After this, apply a cold compress next to the area that is affected to help reduce inflammation and swelling. Do not move or play with the the affected tooth or teeth, and be careful when placing the compress. Finally, find and keep any pieces of your tooth that dislodged. We may be able to use these broken pieces to reattach them to your tooth (this will depend on the nature of the fracture).
Object stuck between teeth and gums
Something stuck between your teeth or under your gums can be infuriating. To help with the situation, try and gently remove object with your fingers, or pair of tweezers. If this does not work, move to gently flossing or using Piksters to remove the object. If you are successful in removing the foreign object and find yourself bleeding, apply gentle pressure for a few minutes with a clean gauze. If swelling continues or you are unsuccessful in your attempts to remove the object between your teeth and gums, please make an appointment to see your dentist as soon as possible.
Bleeding from gums, lips or mouth
If you are experiencing bleeding in your gums, lips or mouth, the first thing to do is to rinse the area affected under warm water to clean. Then hold a cold compress to the area to reduce bleeding and swelling. If bleeding does not lessen over time, it is important to contact your dentist or a medical professional.
Common Dental Emergencies
Wisdom Teeth pain and complications
Sometimes our jaw is just not large enough to comfortably fit our final set of teeth – our wisdom teeth. If there is not a lot of room or if they don’t come in straight, that is when they become impacted and can flare-up from time-to-time.
Symptoms: Signs of wisdom teeth pain include severe pain at the back of the jaw, bad taste from the mouth, especially when eating, redness, bad breath, infection, swelling and just overall discomfort.
Tooth Pain
No-one loves tooth pain and a sore tooth can affect your mood, diet and sleep, so it’s never fun. The triggers of tooth pain can be when you bite or chew and sometimes this is followed by a foul odour or taste. It can present pain by both hot and cold foods and can also be accompanied with swelling.
Likely causes of tooth pain: Tooth pain can happen for a variety of reasons. Causes can be tooth decay, dental trauama, abscess, swollen inflamed gums due to impacted food, and hypersensitivity to cold food and drink.
Broken or Chipped Teeth
When a tooth is broken or chipped, the remedy for fixing it can either be simple or complicated, depending on the severity of the damage and the location of the fracture. Typically you will feel sensitivity to cold as the dentine will be exposed and the resulting treatment for such an emergency will be some form of cosmetic restoration.
Lost filling, Broken Crown, Denture or Veneer
Wouldn’t it good if everything lasted forever? especially any dental work we have had completed. Unfortunately, over time, a filling, crown, denture or veneer may loosen or become damaged. The reasons for this happening are varied. It could be the result of underlying decay, teeth wear or a deterioration of the dental bond that held it together in the first place.
For dentures or partials, the clasps or plastic may break, and the good news is that they are easily remedied by sending them off to our laboratory to be repaired.
If it is a lost filling or crown, it is best to consider these incidents a dental emergency, even if you are not presenting with painful symptoms. The reason for this is that your tooth has lost it’s support and can easily weaken. If left unattended, if could weaken further and pieces may break-off and lead to more extensive damage.
Infections causing swelling
As dentists, infections are our number one enemy. If you believe you have any form of swelling in or around your mouth, it is important to call us straight away, so we can immediately address and remedy the situation.
Causes of an infection: An infection in your mouth can be the result of an impacted tooth, a dental abscess or the result of dental trauma. Swelling and inflammation is your body’s response to the injury. In addition to swelling, you may also experience pain, redness, warmth or loss of function / sensitivity to the area.
Again, we cannot stress this enough. If you are showing any of these signs of infection, it is important for you to be treated straight-away. As an infection spreads, it can cause further damage and pain and in turn cause new tooth decay and make the infection a lot harder to deal with and get rid of.
Food and activities to avoid and keep you out of trouble!
We see so many dental emergencies that could have been easily avoided. So we have put together a list of some common activities that we would love you to steer completely clear of! They are:
- Opening packages of any description with your teeth.
No packets of chips, and DEFINITELY no beer bottles! - Cutting fishing line with your teeth!
Ahoy there ye matey’s of the sea. Fishing line can be the extreme version of dental floss and puts incredible strain on your teeth. Use a knife, a brick, a fish, anything other than your teeth to cut fishing line. - Wear a mouthguard when playing sports.
We would like to apply this advice to not just the sports you would imagine as being the likely candidates for dental trauma such as Rugby and AFL. You might be okay with Golf, though unassuming sports such as netball and soccer can produce just as much damage. - Chocolate from the fridge!
It’s no surprise that a dentist would not be recommending chocolate, but we definitely recommend NOT putting it in the fridge. Easter is a busy time for us because of this little trait. - Chewy sugar.
The ultimate filling remover. Please, please, please take nougat, minties, toffee or anything of this nature off your diet!
Contact Hello Smiles for an Emergency Dental Appointment
If you are currently experiencing a dental emergency, contact us by phone on (07) 3395 6944 or via our online booking system to schedule your appointment. As always, our friendly team are always on-hand to answer any questions you may have.