Emergency Dental Services in Sydney

Most adults are familiar with wisdom teeth. Those last molars in the back of our mouths that don’t always erupt, or grow in, well. For some, this can lead to a dental disorder called pericoronitis.

When your wisdom teeth do not erupt properly, a flap of gum can cover them. If bacteria or pieces of food get stuck in the gum, it may swell and become irritated. The resulting infection is pericoronitis.

Symptoms can include a persistent bad taste in your mouth, bad breath, pain near your back teeth, swollen gums around your back teeth, and not being able to open your mouth fully.

We see it all the time in cartoons: something hits a character’s face with enough force to knock their teeth free. Unfortunately, this scenario isn’t always fiction. Teeth can be knocked free from your gums— they can also be saved! Teeth are alive, and they don’t instantly lose that life when knocked free.

If you’ve had the misfortune of losing a tooth, do not touch the root. Grip the tooth by the crown and gently rinse it under slow-running cold water.

If you can, place the tooth back in the socket it fell from; keep it in place with your tongue or a mouthful of milk.

Drive to our office immediately! After 30 minutes, the chances of salvaging your tooth begin to decline.

Abscess

Abscesses can form on gums due to infection, often looking like a pimple or cyst. They can be painless if they are draining on their own, but typically pain will be the most obvious symptom. Other symptoms can be hot and cold sensitivity, a foul taste in the mouth, difficulties opening your mouth, and difficulties swallowing. If left untreated, then an abscess can last for months or even years.

The infection causing the abscess can damage nearby tissues or teeth and cause bone loss in the jaw. Abscesses come in two major forms: periodontal abscess and periapical abscess.

Periodontal Abscess

Also known as a gum abscess, these are usually caused by an infection in the space between your teeth and gums. Often the infection results when food is trapped between your teeth and gums.

Periapical Abscess

Also known as the tooth-related abscess, this infection occurs inside the tooth. When a tooth’s nerve is dead or dying, it can become infected, leading to an abscess at the tip of the root.

If you or a family member are suffering from a painful abscess, it’s best to seek dental treatment right away. Give us a call or come on in to the office, and our dentists will work with you to find the best solution.

Fillings aren’t the only bits that can come free. Crowns can also detach from your teeth. If you feel the crown come free, retrieve it and keep it safe until you make it to our office.

Crowns come loose when new decay eats away at the gums helping hold the crown in position. The loose grip leads to the crown no longer fitting properly.

More often than not, we can reattach the old crown if you come to see us immediately. Waiting too long can lead to the rest of your teeth shifting into the space the crown used to fill.

If you swallow the crown, don’t panic! They usually pass with no problem, and we can get you a new one.

Your exposed vulnerable tooth can be sensitive to heat, cold, chewing—even air.

In situations where you can’t make it to us quickly, our dedicated team can give you advice to care for your exposed tooth in the meantime.

If a wire sticks out of a bracket/band or breaks and begins to poke your gum, tongue, or cheek, you can try to push the wire into a more comfortable position by using the eraser of a pencil (be sure to not use the writing end.) If you can’t reposition it, cover the end of the wire with a small cotton ball until you can get to our office. Never cut the wire off as you could inadvertently swallow or inhale it.

Imagine. You’re sitting down to dinner with the family when something strange passes across your tongue. Is it something from the food? Not always— it could be a filling!

Retrieve the culprit to verify, and then give our offices a call to find out your next steps. We’ll set up an appointment and give you instructions to help care for your tooth until you make it to our clinic.

We will get you in quickly and correct the issue that led to your filling coming free.

Fillings can fall out for a few reasons; the most common are that new decay around the filling has made the area it was meant to fill larger.

Another issue is when the tooth breaks. Small fillings can become disbanded within the first couple of weeks due to chemical corruption.

The last cause comes from bad habits: tooth grinding and clenching or habits eating hard food or ice can cause a pressure and force that pops out a filling.

Our teeth are remarkably strong, but like any bone they can occasionally chip, fracture, or break.

Causes can be biting down on something hard, being hit in the face or mouth, falling (especially on a hard surface), having cavities that weaken the tooth, or having large amalgam (silver) fillings.

Fractured and broken teeth can lead to either intermittent or constant pain; most individuals will experience pain when chewing because of the pressure placed on the broken tooth. Broken teeth can also cut your tongue.

If you have a broken or cracked tooth, come in to see us as soon as possible.

You can rinse your mouth with warm water and use a cold pack to help reduce any swelling, but you need to come in for repair work before the problem grows worse.