Emergency Dental Services in Centennial, CO

If you are experiencing a significant amount of swelling or pain associated with a tooth or in the soft tissue of your mouth, you must seek treatment quickly. Often this indicates an active infection and will require antibiotic treatment and possibly draining of the infection. If you are not able to contact us, you should consider going to an urgent care facility.

There are several kinds of toothaches with varying degrees of seriousness.

Potentially, the most painful is a tooth with deep decay that has become infected. Also, a tooth with a previous large filling or crown where the nerve may die and be infected. The pain can usually be isolated to one or two teeth and feels deep within the bone or root of the tooth. The pain is often triggered by cold and sometimes hot; often, the tooth will be uncomfortable to chew on or just ache on its own with no obvious cause.

The good news is that this type of toothache usually gets worse and sometimes gets better for a few days or weeks before the pain returns. The bad news is that because it sometimes gets better, people keep putting it off (until Friday afternoon after the office is closed) and hope it will go away. If you have been having pain in a tooth for more than a few days, call! When you come in, we can make a diagnosis and begin to help things feel better.

Occasionally, an individual will be eating and then feel something surprisingly hard in their mouth. Invariably this occurs when they are eating the “softest food” they have ever consumed! The hard piece is often a piece of tooth, filling, or crown. It is not necessary to identify what it is but make an appointment so we can make a diagnosis and repair the tooth before things get worse.

This usually occurs when there is a previous large filling already in the tooth, and a portion of the tooth breaks off around the edges of the filling. Sometimes this also occurs because of deep decay inside the tooth and weakens the part of the tooth that broke off. Because of the size of the previous filling plus the size of the additional tooth that broke off, we must usually restore the tooth by placing a crown to hold the remaining tooth structure together.

We will tell you that we are truly amazed at the quality of the filling materials developed for dentistry in the past 20 years. Even though this is true, fillings occasionally break. In this case, depending on where the break occurred or the size of the filling, we can repair/replace the filling, or if the missing piece is too large, we will need to place a crown. We can show you with intra-oral pictures and x-rays which option is best.

When this occurs, there are several variables, but generally, we will have to make a new crown. Occasionally, a piece of porcelain will break that can be smoothed. If it is not an esthetic issue, the crown will continue to function effectively.

This situation invariably occurs when the individual is eating the “least sticky food” they have consumed in the past 13 years! In an ideal situation, you should put the crown back on and test to see if it is relatively secure. If it comes back off fairly easily, don’t leave it in your mouth because you don’t want to swallow it! (If swallowing occurs, you may inquire about a “crown retrieval kit”) If the crown won’t stay in place in the mouth, put it in a plastic bag and call us so you can come in as soon as reasonably possible. Many crowns can be re-cemented without any problems. Still, please schedule today because every day that passes makes the process potentially more complicated. Gum tissue can grow around the tooth in 24-48 hours, and the teeth may shift, causing the crown to not fit within just a few days.

Unfortunately, in many cases, the reason the crown came off is because the tooth decayed under the crown, causing the crown to release. This will require a new crown to be placed after all the decay has been removed from the tooth. We will be able to show the decay to you, and you will see why a new crown is needed.

Probably the most common trauma is a fall with cut gums or lips. The bad news is that these really bleed. The good news is that they generally do not require treatment and heal very well. We are very happy to look if you would like us to and make sure everything is all right. One of our least favorite things in dentistry is when a young child falls and chips or breaks their front teeth. We can look forward to the permanent teeth erupting if they are baby teeth. If the child is six or older, the adult teeth are likely to have already erupted, and we will need to provide treatment that will last for years.

Depending on the age and the ability of the child to cooperate, we can often place bonding on the teeth to make the mom feel better. If bonding isn’t necessary, we can smooth any rough areas so they don’t irritate the gums or lips. Broken or chipped permanent teeth can be bonded, veneered, or crowned depending on the severity of the break. The materials today are very strong and esthetic. If you get close, you will always be able to tell the tooth from dental materials. Still, you will be very pleased with the repairs compared to the alternative.

Any time there has been trauma to a tooth, there is always the possibility that the tooth will need a root canal sometime in the future. This may be in the next few days, or it could be several years down the road. You will know the tooth needs treatment if it starts to hurt spontaneously or turns darker than the teeth around it. Don’t wait too long if you start to notice either situation because the sooner we treat the tooth, the more likely the tooth will stay a lighter shade.

Should you have the unfortunate experience of being involved with a tooth that has been knocked out or shifted in the mouth, by all means, panic! Then, realize that we can work through this too.

If the tooth is still in your mouth, either slightly attached or loose, ideally, you would leave it there until you arrive at the office. You can also try to align it and push it back into the socket. If the tooth has been knocked out to the ground, gently rinse it off with water and place it in a plastic bag. Call us and bring the tooth with you.

We will see if we can replace it when you arrive. Suppose we can’t, know that we have other options to replace your tooth, and all is not lost. If you have a tooth that is knocked out of alignment, if you are up to it, use your fingers and push it back into position. This may be a little painful, but the tooth and your mouth will feel much better when the tooth is back in the correct position. After you have moved it back, close your teeth together in your normal bite, and that will help hold it in position until you can get to the office.

This type of pain is usually associated with receding gums where there are some exposed roots of the teeth which can be very sensitive to cold liquids or air. Often, it also hurts while brushing your teeth. While almost all of us will have some receding gums, some have more sensitive roots than others. Also, this sensitivity occurs more in people who use tooth whitening or tartar/plaque control toothpaste. If this sounds like your situation, switch to a “sensitive tooth” toothpaste (Sensadyne) and see if things get a little better. It will take a few weeks, but you should notice some improvement. If you are not sure if you have an infected tooth or not, please call.

Our line is, “If all your teeth hurt, none of your teeth hurt.” People who come in and say they have pain in their upper teeth and point to their cheekbone often have a sinus infection and not an infected tooth. Other signs or symptoms of a sinus infection are if it hurts more when you tilt your head or go downstairs or lay on one side etc. If you are experiencing these kinds of pains, you are welcome to come in and have us take a look. If we are not able to diagnose a “tooth issue,” we will recommend that you see your medical (“real”) doctor.