Your teeth, gums, and restorations should look and behave the same today as last week or last night. If you notice oral health changes, especially those that do not go away or worsen, it may be time to call your dentist in Winston-Salem, NC.
In most cases, oral health changes require a timely dental appointment or even an emergency dental visit.
Dental Emergencies in Winston-Salem, NC
Oral health changes can mean a dental infection, specifically a root infection. Here are the signs of root infection:
- Increased tooth sensitivity or tooth pain
- A blister on the gum
- Jaw pain, redness, or swelling
The best way to treat a root infection is with root canal therapy. For this procedure, we numb the treatment location, and your dentist gently removes the pain-causing root and any surrounding pulp. We then seal the tooth with a transient filling, which promotes healing. At a later appointment, your dentist fills your tooth with a tooth-colored illing or caps it with a tooth crown. We recommend the latter if infection and therapy have made your tooth weak and prone to fracture.
The root infection is probably the most common dental emergency, but there are other considerations as well.
Oral Health Changes
If you have a broken tooth, broken restoration, or a sore in your mouth that is not healing, we also recommend an emergency dental visit.
A broken tooth, even if it is not causing pain, is susceptible to infection, as is a broken restoration. In many cases, an infection is only emerging, and it is always better to treat a small issue than one that is significant. It saves you pain and lowers your risk for losing an infected tooth to severe decay.
Contact Your Emergency Dentist in Winston-Salem, NC
If you’re not sure whether your situation is a dental emergency, or if you’re ready to schedule an emergency dental visit, we are here to get you started.