Phone: (408)268-5531
Tooth knocked out
CALL US IMMEDIATELY! Gently rinse off the tooth and try to reimplant it yourself immediately. If a tooth is left out of the socket for more than one hour, the likelihood that it will ever grow back properly drops as time goes on. Even if it is reimplanted immediately, there is still only about a 50/50 chance of long term survival. Call us immediately so we can x-ray the tooth to be sure it is in correctly and perhaps we can bond it in place to help stabilize the tooth. DO NOT SCRUB the tooth, as this will destroy the attachment fibers that are needed to help the tooth reimplant. If you don't feel comfortable trying to replant the tooth and you can get in to our office quickly, rinse the tooth gently and put the tooth either in the patient's mouth to keep the tooth moist, OR put it in a small cup of milk to help keep it from getting dehydrated.
Chipped tooth
Rinse the area lightly with warm water. If you don't have sensitivity to PRESSURE or it's not bleeding, or COLD air doesn't send you "through the roof", then it's probably not very deep and it should either be smoothed off or at your earliest convenience, see the dentist to make sure there are no sharp edges or exposure of the pulp.
Toothache
These come in a variety of styles. It can be hot or cold sensitive, pressure sensitive, percussion sensitive, sharp or dull, only hurt when stimulated, or last for either a short time (less than 30 seconds), or last for a long time (over 5 minutes.) If it's dull achy feeling, it's probably gum related and you'll need to schedule a cleaning. If it's sharp and brief feeling, then a filling may have come out and exposed a root, or a big chip on the tooth occurred. If it's a slowly getting better, than it could be the nerve or something poked under the gums.
Temporary crown off
Often you can save yourself a trip to the office if you can simply clean the inside of the temporary off and reposition it back in place. Be sure to lightly rinse off the area where the temporary crown was and orient the temporary back on the tooth. Generally a temporary is only protecting the prepared tooth and this is not urgent, however, it should be replaced. Do NOT let a tooth go more than a couple days without a temporary back over it, as leakage can occur and you risk reinfection. Dental adhesive powder or even a small amount of toothpaste works well to help hold it in place until you can make it to the office.
Hot and cold sensitivity
If the pain only lasts for a few seconds, then it is often related to a small exposure close to the root. In this case, avoiding hot and cold, and even placing some vaseline over the area can protect the tooth for a short while until you can get in to have us look at it. If the pain persists more that one minute after it is exposed to hot or cold, it often means that the nerve have been infected. This could mean that we will need to do a root canal to save the tooth. If Advil or Tylenol won't take away the pain, then this is probably what we will need to do to get you out of pain. Never put aspirin on the tissue in your mouth directly. It can easily burn the tissue.