Toothache Options

We believe in saving your natural teeth as long as possible.

In the past, when a tooth's nerve becomes diseased or infected by decay, a patient's options become limited. The ideal treatment to save a tooth that is dead or infected is a root canal. In order to save the tooth, the pulp (the living tissue inside the tooth), nerves, bacteria, and any decay are removed and the resulting space is filled with special, medicated, dental materials, which restore the tooth to its full function.

Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the solution…

Extracting (pulling) a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause significant problems for adjacent teeth. Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime, although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections.

Signs that you may need a root canal: an abscess on your gums, sensitivity to cold/hot, severe tooth pain, swelling, tenderness, or maybe no symptoms at all. Reasons for these symptoms could be (but not limited to): decay so deep it went to the nerve; infection developed at the root end; or injury/trauma to the tooth.

Our patients always have the option to extract the tooth or do nothing. A tooth could need to be extracted because of severe decay, periodontal disease, infection, orthodontic reasons, malpositioned teeth, fractured teeth, or impacted teeth. We always recommend getting you out of pain as soon as possible and then creating a treatment plan for your future dental needs afterward. If you're currently in pain, call now. We take same day emergencies!

Wisdom tooth/third molar extractions

Patients in their late teens and into their twenties usually get to have the once-in-a-lifetime experience of having their wisdom teeth removed. Wisdom teeth can be a source of problems for patients. The biggest reason for problems is that there is not enough room for them to erupt into their mouth normally. They may want to come in sideways or angled. This causes them to become impacted, which means that they are impeded from normal eruption.

When they don't erupt normally, our advice is to have them removed at your earliest convenience. Some people put this off, thinking that if their wisdom teeth aren't bothering them, that they should leave them alone. This is unwise because complications from wisdom tooth surgery greatly increase the older you get. If you wait until they bother you, the extractions will be very difficult with serious risks of complications.

If you have any questions on whether you would want the procedure performed in our office, we will take a panoramic radiograph (the large one of your whole head) to assess the teeth properly. Ask about sedation dentistry options too!

Dental Emergency Tips

Young children tend to break or knock their front teeth at times. Here are some tips for handling one of those special times:

If you have a knocked-out adult tooth, keep the tooth moist at all times. Hold the tooth by the crown. If the tooth is dirty, rinse the root with water. Do NOT scrub the tooth or remove any attached tissue fragments. The tooth must not be left outside the mouth to dry. If possible, gently insert and hold the tooth in its socket (In the correct position!).
If it cannot be replaced in the socket, put it in one of the following:
- Emergency tooth preservation kit
- Milk
- In mouth next to cheek
- Last choice: some water with pinch of salt

For your comfort, we take same day emergencies. Bring the patient and the tooth to the dentist—if possible, within 15 minutes!

Take the first step.

For people who have a high level of fear at the mere thought of a visit to a dentist, just making the first call to schedule an appointment is a very difficult challenge. We want to congratulate you for just taking that first step in learning and exploring about how to feel great about your own mouth.

Call (920) 849-9341