Most dentists in La Puente, CA, offer their services during regular office hours. You might need to book an appointment beforehand to see a dentist. It increases your chances of seeing the dentist and gives you ample time with the dentist for review and treatment. However, emergency dental services are available for unexpected cases like severe dental pain, loss of teeth, bleeding, or swelling. It is necessary to know when you need emergency dental care to save the situation and money in the long run.
Emergency tooth extraction is one of the reasons you shouldn’t wait to book an appointment to see a dentist. Some extractions must be done as quickly as you experience the problem. For instance, a severely damaged tooth could worsen your situation in minutes if you wait to have it extracted later. At La Puente Advanced Dentistry, we offer quality and timely emergency dentistry services. Therefore, come to us immediately if you have a dental issue that could necessitate immediate tooth extraction.
Emergency Dentistry — Overview
You should treat all dental problems with the seriousness they deserve. No dental issue is less superior to the other. A broken or chipped tooth can turn into an emergency in no time. When you experience a toothache or one or more of your teeth are knocked out, it becomes an emergency, requiring the immediate attention of an experienced dentist. Therefore, emergency dentistry is likely to benefit all, whether young or old. It is good to align yourself with a dental office in your area that offers emergency dental services. That way, you will have immediate help when you experience an urgent need.
Unfortunately, most dentists only operate during regular working hours and generally five days a week. You must book an appointment within those strict timelines to have a dentist listen to and check your dental issue. It becomes a problem when you experience an emergency requiring the immediate attention of a competent emergency dentist. Fortunately for you, we have dentists in La Puente who offer emergency dentistry services. They could save your dental issues from worsening, save your life, and also money.
Some dental issues can wait; not all require immediate treatment. However, some problems cannot wait for treatment either. They must be treated as soon as they are experienced. For instance, a severely damaged tooth calls for immediate treatment. You may not manage to wait with the intense pain or even to eat. The tooth’s condition could worsen by the minute. For instance, it could become infected, especially if you cannot clean around the affected tooth. That is why it is necessary to know when to visit an emergency dentist.
Emergency dentists have proper training and experience to handle all manner of dental emergencies. They are always ready with the necessary tools and equipment to save the situation.
Reasons You Might Need Emergency Tooth Extraction
A tooth or dental extraction refers to a procedure conducted by a dentist or oral surgeon to remove a tooth from its socket. Tooth extraction can be done manually or surgically, depending on the underlying problem.
In most cases, dentists and oral surgeons recommend saving a natural tooth as much as possible. That is why several dental treatment procedures are available to treat all manner of dental problems experienced by people from across the globe. However, sometimes a tooth becomes impossible to repair and cannot be saved. In that case, the only option becomes extraction. When your dentist recommends tooth extraction, it is because he/she, or anyone else, cannot save the tooth even with the most advanced treatments. It becomes an emergency if the dentist needs to extract the tooth to prevent an infection from spreading to other parts of your mouth.
Several issues could necessitate emergency dental extraction, including the following:
Abnormal Development of Teeth
All teeth do not develop the same. Some people will have perfectly developed teeth, while others have abnormally developed teeth. Teeth that haven’t developed well may bring with them a lot of issues. That is why you might need emergency extraction as soon as you realize the problem.
For instance, you may notice that several of your teeth are impacted or have failed to erupt through your gums. An impacted tooth is usually painful, is likely to become infected, and could result in gum inflammation. Thus, have them checked by a dentist as soon as you experience pain.
Impacted teeth grow when you do not have enough space on the gum for teeth development. Some wisdom teeth grow that way and are usually very painful. Due to lack of space, some wisdom teeth remain stuck inside your gums, pushing other teeth out of their spaces. It is a problem that could affect the stability of your other teeth. That is why impacted teeth require emergency extraction as soon as they start to develop.
Severely Damaged Teeth
Your teeth could become damaged for several reasons, including trauma and decay. A severely damaged tooth will not function like a regular tooth. It will be painful and susceptible to infections, which could spread to other parts of your mouth.
Dental decay is generally treatable and could save your natural tooth. However, extraction could be its only solution if the tooth is severely damaged by a dental decay that was not treated on time. Dentists will always do everything possible to salvage a natural tooth. But saving a severely decayed tooth could put the adjacent teeth at risk of infection.
An injury or chipping could also be the reason why your tooth is severely damaged. If the damage or chipping goes beyond the dentist’s ability to fill or crown it, your dentist might recommend extraction.
A severely damaged tooth will likely be painful, requiring emergency extraction to relieve you of the pain and protect other teeth from possible infection.
Gum Disease or Periodontitis
Periodontitis occurs when a prolonged gum inflammation called gingivitis develops into a dental infection. Gingivitis is a mild form of gum infection. You could reverse it by continuously practicing good oral hygiene, including visiting your dentist for regular dental cleaning. However, it can quickly advance into periodontitis if early intervention is not possible.
Periodontitis or gum disease mainly attacks the gums, thereby weakening the structures supporting your teeth. With time, your gums start receding, leaving more of your teeth and roots exposed. It leaves your natural teeth with less support, causing them to loosen up and beginning to fall off.
When periodontitis continues to spread, your natural teeth could become severely weakened, making it difficult to salvage by your dentist.
Pain and inflamed gums are enough reasons to visit an emergency dentist. If you keep postponing until the pain or inflammation becomes unbearable, you might require emergency dental extraction.
Crowded Teeth
You could have crowded teeth if you have more developed teeth than your jaws can fit. It usually occurs when there is inadequate space on your gums for teeth development. That will cause the developing teeth to squeeze in the little area available, leaving you with misaligned teeth.
Crowded teeth are usually very uncomfortable. It will make you feel uneasy and could affect your smile and self-esteem. However, these are not enough reasons to visit an emergency dentist.
Crowded teeth become an emergency issue if you experience pain and uneasiness in your gums. You may not eat or even speak when the situation becomes unbearable. Emergency extraction of the crowded teeth leaves enough space for other teeth to grow. It automatically corrects misalignment and could restore your esteem. Sometimes you might need dental braces or orthodontic treatment but after the emergency extraction.
Under-Gum Dental Fractures
A heavy impact on your teeth can result in a dental fracture. Your teeth can fracture on the surface or beneath the gums. A visible dental fracture can be treated by dental bonding or crowns. But a fracture beneath the gum might be impossible to treat, necessitating dental extraction.
Under-gum fractures could also happen if your teeth are not correctly aligned. Chewing food exerts a lot of pressure on teeth and could cause small cracks on lower misaligned molars. You could also experience an under-gum fracture if you recently had a root canal or large filling.
If a tooth fractures below the gum, dental extraction would be the only treatment option to relieve you of pain.
Signs You Might Need an Emergency Dentist
Dental pain varies in degree and intensity. Sometimes it can be ignored, but other times it becomes unbearable. Many people try to manage the pain at home, only visiting the dentist’s office when the pain worsens. Some of the dental issues discussed above could be prevented if the patient sought earlier treatment. That is why it could be an advantage to know when to book an appointment with a dentist and seek emergency dental services. Here are some of the signs that could signify a need for emergency dental extraction:
A Painful Swelling That Won’t Go Away
Swelling around your teeth or anywhere in your mouth is an indication of trouble. Thus, if you notice swelling around your tooth or along your jaw, it could indicate gum or dental infection or abscess. Abscesses are always an indication of bacterial infection in your mouth. The infection must be treated as soon as it happens. Delayed treatment could cause the infection to spread to the rest of the mouth. If one or more teeth are infected, you might need emergency extraction to stop the spread of infection and relieve your pain.
Persistent and Intense Dental Pain
A constant intense toothache is another reason to visit an emergency dentist. It is difficult to live with a toothache that you cannot manage at home. You cannot eat, sleep or even perform your daily chores when you have an intense toothache. Once you realize that you cannot manage the pain at home with pain relievers, or ice, it may be time to seek the help of a dentist.
You cannot wait to book an appointment when you have a persistent, intense toothache. Emergency dental services are available to relieve your pain and deal with the dental issue once and for good.
More often than not, a constant intense toothache occurs after you have ignored all other signs that your teeth have a problem. Thus, extraction could be the only option left to relieve your pain and treat the underlying problem.
A Severely Damaged Tooth
Fortunately for you, you can easily monitor the condition of your teeth at home and seek dental care as soon as you notice a problem. However, many people do not worry until a problem intensifies.
For instance, most damage to our teeth occurs gradually. It could start with a simple crack, which escalates to a severely fractured tooth that a dentist can hardly salvage. Dental decay starts small as well and becomes worse over time.
A severely damaged tooth should be a good reason to seek emergency dental care services. Your dentist will diagnose the situation to recommend the most appropriate form of treatment. In most cases, a severely damaged tooth will be extracted.
Some severe damages to our teeth occur suddenly. For instance, severe trauma to your face can break or even loosen up one or two of your teeth. When that happens, do not wait to see a dentist; visit a dental office right away for treatment and management.
What To Expect During an Emergency Tooth Extraction
An emergency dental extraction starts with you visiting an emergency dentist’s office because you are in pain, have swelling, or have a severely damaged tooth. Anything that doesn't look or feel right with your mouth should be an excellent reason to prompt you to call your dentist. The good thing with emergency dental services is that you do not need to book an appointment; emergency dentists are always on call, round the clock, to offer treatment to issues that cannot be delayed.
There are mainly three types of emergency dental extractions you could be up for:
Simple Dental extraction
A simple extraction involves the manual removal of the tooth from the gum. Your dentist will perform this kind of extraction if the damaged or infected tooth has enough visible parts above the gumline that he/she can grab and remove by forceps. A simple extraction doesn’t take much time.
Surgical Dental Extractions
These are a little more complicated and are performed by oral surgeons. You might need a surgical extraction if the gum tissues and bone surrounding the affected tooth need to be removed as well. Sometimes an infected tooth needs to be sectioned surgically to be extracted. A surgical extraction is also required when a tooth fractures below the gum line.
Wisdom Tooth Extraction
It is the kind of emergency dental extraction that happens when you have impacted wisdom teeth. If left to grow, the impacted teeth will bring more dental health issues to you that would be painful and expensive to treat. Impacted wisdom teeth are surgically removed to ensure that the entire tooth is removed to allow the remaining teeth enough space to develop properly.
The Procedure
The procedure you follow once at the emergency dentist’s office will depend on the kind of extraction you require and the position of the affected tooth in your mouth. A typical procedure will include:
Local Anesthesia
Dental extraction procedures occur under local anesthesia. Therefore, your dentist will begin by administering anesthesia into the part surrounding the affected tooth. Only in exceptional cases involving surgical extractions will the dentist use IV, oral, or inhaled sedation drugs to put you under.
After a few minutes of sedation, the area surrounding the affected tooth will be numb enough. Then the tooth will be ready for extraction.
The Extraction
Your emergency dentist will then use tools like elevators or forceps to apply pressure on the affected tooth in all directions. The aim is to widen the tooth’s socket to make it easier for extraction. It also helps avoid breaking the tooth during extraction, which might cause even more significant problems.
Once the tooth is loosened enough, your emergency dentist will use forceps to grasp the affected tooth firmly. He/she will then rock it from side to side to separate it from the ligaments supporting it from within. Then the dentist will slowly remove the tooth, complete with its roots.
Your dentist will then stitch up the wound to close it and for faster recovery.
After the procedure, you might be given pain medication to keep the pain at bay for a few days of your recovery. Your dentist will also give you a list of dos and don'ts to help you during your recovery journey. For instance, you might want to avoid hot and cold foods and drinks until your wound is completely healed. You can gently clean up the wound to remove food particles that could accumulate and result in infections.
Find La Puente Emergency Dentist
Are you experiencing a severe toothache, or one or more of your teeth are severely damaged or infected in La Puente, CA?
It may be time to seek emergency dental services. Emergency dentists are available round the clock. Therefore, you do not need to wait to find help with an urgent dental issue. At La Puente Advanced Dentistry, we offer quality and affordable emergency tooth extraction services. We will help manage your pain and discomfort and treat the underlying dental problem once and for good. Call us at 626-626-7075 and let us help you with that issue that cannot wait for your appointment.
