Your Guide to Urgently and Easily Finding an Emergency Dentist in Melbourne

Tooth pain is a condition that can be caused by many different factors. The top three major causes of tooth pain include:

Tooth Decay: Occurs when the bacteria has reached the roots of the teeth resulting in an abscess

Fractured Tooth or Filling: An exposed nerve can cause an abscess as well as excruciating dental pain

Gum Disease: There are many ways gum disease can cause tooth pain, especially if left untreated and it develops into periodontitis

These are the most common, so there could be other factors that may cause dental pain. In order to find out the cause a quick examination of your mouth will need to be performed.

Whether the tooth or teeth have been knocked out, have become displaced (moved forward or backward or have been pushed in) or have been chipped, there is a risk of permanent damage. Nerves may be exposed and aesthetics may be compromised. As such we may need to see you to reduce sensitivity, minimise or stop bacteria infecting your nerves and restore aesthetics.

Whatever treatment is required, it is best to seek treatment before such things as infection start to spread or permanent damage is caused to your teeth, mouth or gums.

Signs of a dental abscess should have you on your way to your dentist for an emergency dentist appointment. An abscessed tooth is a very painful infection, usually found at the root of your tooth. Typically, this is caused by a cavity left untreated or severe gum disease. It can also because by any trauma that has happened to your tooth, like a chipped tooth.

Symptoms of an abscessed tooth include anything from fever, a foul taste in your mouth, pus, to swollen glands. The symptoms are related to most other infections, and treatment should be sought out immediately. Typically, an abscessed tooth will require some form of surgery to make sure the infection is drained and treated properly.

When there is pain coming from a tooth or teeth, this is a sign that there is some oral health complication in or around the affected area. Any form of tooth pain, no matter how mild or extreme is a sign that you need to make an appointment to see your dentist immediately.

The degree of tooth pain does not necessarily indicate the seriousness of the oral health complication, so do not put off tooth pain if it feels mild or you believe that it will simply go away on its own. The sooner you deal with the underlying problem, the better for you and your oral health.

Treating the complication right away may mean something as simple as getting a filling due to tooth decay, while putting it off may mean far more complicated, painful and expensive forms of treatment for the underlying problem.

There are a few things that you can do when faced with tooth pain:

• Use warm salted water to rinse you mouth regularly.
• If it does not cause too much additional pain, remove food particles from around the affected tooth by flossing. Food particles can occasionally make an already sore tooth even more painful by pressing against the affected area.
• Take pain medication to dull the pain while you are waiting for an appointment.

These recommendations are meant as a temporary solution only, and not a replacement for proper dental care. The information in this article is not a substitute for proper dental care from a qualified dentist in Melbourne.

There is a common misconception that toothaches are a temporary discomfort that will go away with time, but all toothaches are indications of oral health complications that will only get worse with time if left untreated.

Damage to teeth can occasionally be so severe that the only answer is to fully extract the affected tooth. However, we always look for options that will save a patient's teeth from extraction whenever possible.

Extracting a tooth can lead to the remaining teeth spreading out to fill the gap left by the extraction, which can have a serious impact on a person's smile. It is often possible to save part of the tooth with a root canal or dental crown. However, if a tooth extraction is the only answer, then our professional staff have the experience to make the process as quick and painless as possible.

Swelling of the jaw can indicate a serious sign of infection, one of which is salivary gland infection. If you are experiencing a swollen jaw, coupled with a bad taste in your mouth, fever, trouble breathing or swallowing you should seek emergency dental assistance immediately.

A salivary gland infection is typically a bacterial infection caused by a blockage in your salivary glands. Blockage can prevent your saliva from doing it’s job - helping break down food and wash away bacteria. While thisa type of infection is uncommon, you’ll want a dentist in Melbourne to examine your symptoms before leaving anything untreated.

A knocked-out tooth requires immediate attention, and an appointment should be made with our clinic right away. There are a few key pieces of information that will maximize the chances of saving the knocked-out tooth:

• Remain calm. It can be painful and unsettling to have a tooth knocked-out, but remaining calm is the best way to ensure that the potential damage is minimized.
• Find the tooth. Pick it up by the crown, not the root. The root is very delicate and can be damaged easily.
• Gently wash the tooth with saline or milk. Only wash it for a a few seconds to get rid of any obvious debris or dirt. Never use tap water, since it might damage the tooth and the nerve endings.
• If the person whose tooth got knocked-out is still conscious, then very gently put the tooth back into its socket, ensuring that it is facing the right way. Taking this step will greatly increase the odds that the tooth will be successfully reattached.
• Place a clean handkerchief in the mouth to help hold the tooth in place.
• If the tooth cannot be safely put back into its socket, then store it in a clean container. Store it in the saliva of the person it belongs to or in milk. If you cannot find an appropriate container, then wet the tooth with saliva or milk and wrap it in plastic wrap.
• Once the above measures have been taken, contact our clinic to make an emergency appointment. Generally, if the tooth was put back into its socket within 20 minutes of the accident, then there is a good chance that it can be successfully reattached.
• Do not place baby teeth that have been knocked-out back into the socket. Instead just follow the instructions above for transporting a tooth and contact us to make an appointment.

Another very common oral health complication is the partial eruption of a wisdom tooth. Many people are faced with a situation where there is not enough room in their mouths for their wisdom teeth to erupt properly, so they experience partially erupted wisdom teeth that lead to the formation of gum flaps. Food particles then become lodged inside these flaps and cause an infection.

If you believe that you are experiencing a wisdom tooth infection, then contact us immediately to make an appointment. You can relieve the pain by rinsing your mouth out using warm salted water.

Children are particularly prone to oral health complications as a result of their greater exposure to accidents and mishaps. 33% of all children between 18 and 40 moths old will experience at least one oral health complication as a result of an injury. As with any dental emergency, it is essential to make an appointment as soon as possible.

If a baby tooth is knocked-out, do not attempt to place it back into its socket. Wash the tooth, and then store it in a container with milk or saliva, or wrap it in plastic wrap if you do not have an appropriate container. Contact a qualified dentist to immediately to make an appointment, and bring the tooth to the appointment.

Schedule regular dental appointments for your children every 6 months to minimize the chances of developing oral health complications. Regular cleaning and inspections allow dentists to identify and treat oral health complications early, before they develop into more severe problems.

The absolute best way to avoid oral health complications is to take good care of your teeth. This means brushing and flossing your teeth each day, and scheduling regular dental appointment with our clinic every six months.