Having a dental emergency? Most dental emergencies are nowhere near the severity of other medical emergencies.

In most cases, it’s the potential of extreme pain that is the issue, not health. You should still call your dentist right away.

In this article, we’ll address the issue of what to do if you find your face is swollen around your jaw area.

Causes of a Swollen Face

It could be:

• A serious dental infection that needs immediate response by a dentist such as Dr. Yap. Typically, these types of conditions don’t get better on their own.
• It could be an infected tooth, bone infection, or gum infection or something more serious.

What to do

Hoping that “it will get better” or trying to ignore the issue is not a wise thing to do. Here are some tips:

• Don’t wait. Call Dr. Yap straight away. If you delay it then you can end up with more severe complications and it is possible to die from an infection in or around the mouth.
• You will likely need antibiotics urgently; we offer free video and phone consultations and we can have the prescription sent directly to your pharmacy.
• Try not to lie flat, even during sleep.
• Drink fluids to avoid dehydration and therefore bigger complications

With most dental emergencies, severe pain may be a factor. If you can’t manage the pain without painkillers you might consider Panadol and/or ibuprofen – but only if you have no previous allergies or medications that can interact with these painkillers. You can check with your doctor and pharmacy but these two painkillers are the most commonly used to curb dental pain. Codeine or tramadol can be added in extreme cases but you will need a prescription for this.

We are living in a unique time where we are all isolated from one another. The last thing we want our patients to do is live with pain or infection during this time. This is why we are one of the few dental clinics that has remained open to service dental emergencies. We know what to do and how to handle a dental emergency. If you have a dental emergency, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Yap‘s office, we are here to give you guidance and support.