Emergency Dentist London

What is an emergency dentist?

In the same way as most Accident& Emergency departments are always open to the public, an emergency dentist is available twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, for any injuries or problems that affect the teeth, mouth, and jaw. No one can predict when an accident is going to occur, so it’s a very useful service to have. Not only does an emergency dentist provide specific care for dental trauma – making it easier to be seen by a healthcare professional than in a more general environment, like a doctor’s office, but it also take some of the pressure off hospital staff by removing these types of cases from the A&E wards and freeing space up for other patients. If you live in the London area and you’re experiencing a dental emergency, get in touch with the Pearl Dental Clinic, they provide a twenty-four hour clinic staffed by a friendly, professional team who have a lot of experience in this area.

I’ve got toothache, is it an emergency?

General toothache as a result of sensitivity to hot of cold temperatures may not necessarily need immediate medical attention, but if it’s an ongoing problem that seems to be deteriorating, chances are it needs looking at. If you’re waiting for a general check-up with your surgery you could be waiting months for an appointment; that’s where the emergency dentist comes in, most patients can be seen within twenty-four hours of calling. Any type of pain you’re experiencing in your teeth can constitute an emergency, so don’t hang around and wait for it to get worse if you have recurring dental problems.

Toothache resulting from some impact or sudden trauma is definitely an emergency, it’s likely that the pain stems from damage to the central nerves of the tooth, this has to be looked at straight away, do not ignore it, this can have dire consequences. Even if the discomfort dulls after a few hours, it’s more than likely that there is still some damage that will reappear at a later stage – in a much worse condition. Cracks or fractures might not break through the enamel initially, but it’s better to repair the break immediately to avoid further complications.

In most circumstances you will be able to tell whether you need to see a dentist or if your teeth are just reacting to a cold soft drink, a strong pulsing pain in your jaw is not something you can easily overlook, so talk to a professional about it and they will be able to help.

What if I can’t get an appointment straight away?

As mentioned above, most people with dental emergencies have access to care within twenty-four hours, usually less, so you shouldn’t have too many problems getting an appointment. For some patients, travel is an issue, perhaps they live outside the city centre or they don’t have a mode of transport. If this sounds familiar, the best thing to do is to speak to someone at the surgery and make them aware of your situation, then they can prepare for your arrival whenever you can make it in and give you some advice on how to care for yourself at home. While you wait, try and assess the condition of your teeth to see if there is anything you can do to ease pain or stop bleeding, don’t try anything surgical on yourself – this is an extremely bad idea, leave that to the professionals or you’ll end up in an even worse state. Knocked-out or dislodged teeth are probably going to bleed a lot, this can be distressing, but just applying a little gauze to the area can make a lot of difference. If you’re in a lot of pain, take some Ibuprofen to alleviate it, and look out for any indications of infection, such as swelling or inflammation, this goes hand in hand with very bad toothache.

One of my teeth has come out; can an emergency dentist help me?

It depends on the circumstances surrounding the tooth’s removal and, crucially, when it came to fall out. Even if you keep the tooth safe until you get to the surgery, more than an hour out of the socket will cause it to die and then the most highly qualified dentist would struggle to get it to reattach.

Decaying teeth that are left untreated will eventually fall right out of your head, most people will know that when this happens there’s no going back. The structure of the tooth will be completely rotten and if it has decayed enough to vacate your mouth, your dentist won’t be able to put it back – even if they wanted to. At this stage, your only option is to have the entire root and any remaining pieces removed to prevent further deterioration, then when the gums have healed sufficiently you may be a candidate for dental implants. It’s your choice to replace the teeth or not, but be aware that missing teeth can put more pressure on the remaining ones, and a jaw without any teeth can start to lose it’s structural integrity and begin dissolving.

However, if you have perfectly healthy teeth that have been knocked out in an accident, there is a chance they can be saved – as long as you get to the dentist in a timely fashion. Hold onto the tooth by the crown and carefully wash the root in warm water, don’t scrub it or use any kind of soap or toothpaste. When you’ve done this, store it in a cup of milk to protect the enamel as you make your way to the surgery, the aim here is to keep the tooth alive long enough so that it can be reintroduced to the mouth. It’s worth noting that placing the tooth tentatively back into it’s socket can help, although it’s not advisable if you’re in a lot of pain or if it won’t even hold a little bit. At the dentists, they will try to reattach the tooth by dental cement to hold it in place as the root tries to bond with the soft tissue again, unfortunately this is not always successful and the tooth will frequently die, but even after a root canal or filling, it can still remain functional – often with a crown or cap to protect it.