Building Confidence With Dental Beauty

If you are experiencing a toothache over the weekend or on a holiday, then you may decide to wait to discuss the issue with your dentist during normal business hours. However, there are some signs that your toothache is presenting as a far more serious issue that should be addressed through your local emergency dental care services. Keep reading to learn what these signs are.

A Numb Tooth

If your toothache suddenly stops, then you may be thrilled that the problem has gone away on its own. However, if the tooth suddenly feels numb and you feel no sensations when eating hot or cold foods, then this is likely to mean that an infection has spread to the dental root. In other words, the infection has progressed all the way down the tooth to the very tips, and the nerve has been destroyed in the process.

If the nerve has been destroyed, then the tooth is dead at this point. While this on its own is not an issue when it comes to your overall health, the progressing infection is a problem. Specifically, the infection may still progress to the jaw bone, nearby teeth, or the soft gum tissues. The longer the infection is left untreated, the more likely it is to spread.

You want to have the infection attended to right away through emergency root canal therapy, antibiotics, and possibly future tooth restoration with the help of a crown.

Increasing Swelling

You may see some swelling around a painful tooth due to general irritation. Additionally, when the body senses distress from the area, it will release inflammatory chemicals and white blood cells to help deal with any foreign invaders like bacteria. 

However, you should not see an increasing level of swelling as the tooth infection continues, and you also should not see any bulging formations near the tooth. The bulges of tissue are typically abscesses that have developed due to the drainage of pus from an infected tooth. 

Abscesses will not go away on their own and they will cause infections to spread throughout the mouth. If the abscess happens to burst, then bacteria can make their way into the blood or into other body systems.

Abscesses require controlled drainage and flushing, and an emergency dentist can do this for you. The cause of the abscess may need to be addressed as well if a tooth infection is the main concern.