When you need a dentist to repair damage to the teeth or mouth ASAP, or if the oral issue is threatening your health in any way, it is considered a dental emergency.
Knocked-out teeth or adult teeth that have fallen out
Severe infections
Excessive bleeding
Severe pain
These dental ailments don’t need same-day attention but should be checked by a dentist soon:
Chipped or cracked teeth
Dry sockets
Loose teeth
Tooth or mouth pain that is manageable
At Your Time Dental Urgent Care in Gibsonton, we treat all the oral dilemmas listed above. PLUS, we offer general and cosmetic dental services.
What you don’t know may hurt you
Oftentimes, individuals leave injuries unattended to or fail to have them examined by a dentist. This may take place if an individual does not know whether their dental issue is an emergency. It can be dangerous to leave an injury or infection to heal itself because they can get worse without an individual’s knowledge. What you do not know, or what you fail to seek care for, can hurt you in the long-term.
For example, leaving dry sockets untreated can lead to an infection and other complications. Leaving an infection untreated can lead to a tooth abscess which can be extremely painful and possibly result in loss of the tooth.
What is a tooth abscess?
A tooth abscess is a pus pocket that forms as a result of a bacterial infection. Treatment can involve draining the abscess, a root canal, or pulling the tooth. If ignored, this can destroy the bone and eventually cause a lot of pain.
In conclusion
When it comes to dental complications, there are plenty that can develop if a dental ailment is not addressed in a timely manner. It is critical to know what is a dental emergency and what is not, and to seek the correct care when you need it.
You can experience tooth sensitivity when the enamel of your teeth starts to thin. Or when nerves in your teeth become exposed. You may feel pain only when you drink hot or cold liquids. Or it could transpire any time you chew.
If tooth sensitivity comes on suddenly, it may be a dental emergency or at least an urgent dental issue that shouldn’t be ignored.
Either way, at Your Time Dental Urgent Care we can determine the cause and treat it if it’s dental-related. If we can’t treat the underlying condition, we can refer you to a specialist.
Tooth sensitivity can be caused by:
A cavity
Gum recession
A chipped, cracked, or broken tooth
An abscess
Thinning enamel due to teeth grinding, bulimia, acid reflux, an acidic diet, vaping, or a bite abnormality
Teeth whitening treatment
Of course, the treatment for tooth sensitivity depends on the cause.
If you experience sudden tooth sensitivity, book an appointment at Your Time Dental Urgent Care. Drs. Kernagis will determine the cause of the sensitivity. If the sensitivity is due to thinning enamel, Drs. Kernagis will recommend an over-the-counter desensitizing toothpaste. A high-fluoride toothpaste formulated for tooth sensitivity lessens tooth pain after several applications. However, some patients may need in-office procedures such as fluoride gel treatments.
If the sensitivity is caused by an abscess or a cavity, we will take care of that issue as well. We perform root canals, fillings, and inlays/onlays.
These habits can weaken or diminish your tooth enamel:
1. Chewing on hard foods
We’re looking at you Beef jerky and hard or stale bread.
2. Chewing on hard items
This includes fingernails, pencils, pen caps, and ice.
3. Grinding your teeth
If you grind your teeth, counsel with your dentist. An appliance can protect your smile. Then seek appropriate treatment for the underlying cause. Drs. Kernagis can recommend medical professionals that specialize in treating teeth grinding.
4. Eating too much sticky food
Gummy candy, dried fruit, and even protein bars can break teeth.
5. Drinking anything besides water frequently
If your teeth are bathed in soda (sugared or diet), juice, coffee, or sports drinks constantly, you are asking for dental problems.
6. Playing sports without a mouthguard
Sports pose a major risk of tooth damage. Most children are required to wear a protective mouthguard on the playing field. But fewer adults wear mouthguards for recreational activities like mountain biking and skiing. Stock types are ready-made and rarely fit well. Custom-fitted mouthguards from your dentist are more comfortable than the cheap boil-and-bite type.
7. Using a hard-bristled toothbrush
A hard-bristled toothbrush can damage teeth and cause gums to pull away. Scrub away food bits and plaque with a soft (or extra-soft) toothbrush.
8. Ignoring dry mouth
Saliva is important. Saliva rinses food fragments off of teeth and helps neutralize acids. It also helps clean the teeth of leftover food bits, helping to prevent plaque buildup. Constant dry mouth, or xerostomia, can lead to tooth decay. Talk to your dentist if you have dry mouth frequently.
9. Using teeth as tools
Locate a pair of scissors to open a package or pry the lid of a medicine bottle. Use a nutcracker if you are eating unshelled nuts. A quality dental crown can cost over eight hundred dollars.
10. Ignoring bad breath
Bad breath is often associated with bacteria build-up in the mouth. It might be a symptom of accelerating decay. Discuss it with your dentist. (Don’t be embarrassed. We treat bad breath all the time.)
11. Ignoring jaw pain
If you suffer from jaw pain or notice a clicking sound, be sure to schedule an appointment with your dentist immediately! These symptoms can be signs of a serious condition called temporomandibular disorder or TMD.
Is it too late? Have you already broken or chipped a tooth? We can repair it at Your Time Dental Urgent Care. There are a number of restorative and cosmetic dental treatments for chipped or cracked teeth.
Unfortunately, a broken or fractured tooth is not something that will simply heal on its own. As soon as you notice a broken tooth, call Your Time Dental Urgent Care promptly.
There are a couple of things you can do in preparation for a dental procedure for a broken tooth:
Rinse your mouth with warm saltwater.
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever, like acetaminophen.
A broken tooth can have sharp edges. To safeguard your mouth from the sharp edges of your tooth, cover the broken tooth with something soft like wax or chewing gum.
While nursing your mouth, eat softer foods, and try to avoid chewing on your broken tooth.
Call us and explain your situation if you continue to withstand:
erratic pain when chewing;
pain when exposed to extreme temperatures;
or intense pain that comes and goes with pressure;
Don’t ignore broken dental work
What if you experience a broken dental crown, bridge, or veneer? Without the restoration, the tooth is vulnerable to additional damage. At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we administer beautiful same-day restorations. A broken artificial tooth shouldn’t be ignored.
Urgent care dental practices accommodate nervous patients
If you need treatment but hesitate because of dental anxiety, talk to us about sedation dentistry. We have several methods to help you through the treatment.
Our mouth and teeth work hard day after day. It’s no surprise that a tooth is occasionally damaged. Don’t let a cracked or broken tooth get worse and cause additional oral complications.
Some dental problems need prompt attention–a knocked-out tooth, for example. Other times, it’s not exactly clear if the condition is a dental emergency.
Is unexplained pain or swelling a dental emergency?
Gingivitis can result in swollen gums. Gingivitis is a mild form of gum disease. If your swollen gums are caused by gingivitis, they may bleed easily. If this oral ailment is not treated it can lead to periodontitis. With this condition, your gums become loose and separate from the teeth. If plaque builds up in the pockets, the gums can start loosening. It eventually becomes infected. The infection can spread to the bone supporting the tooth.
If you let gum disease go untreated, you can lose teeth that are cavity-free!
The progression of gingivitis to tooth loss goes like this:
Plaque build-up irritates gums
Irritated gums recede from the tooth
Bacteria multiply in the spaces between the gum and tooth
The bone holding the tooth is eaten by the bacteria
Allergies, infections, and the common cold can irritate gums. When sinus tissues become swollen and infected, it can impact the teeth and gums.
Is a mouth sore causing the swelling?
A mouth sore can cause swelling and pain. Mouth sores have various causes including an infection or virus. White patches in the mouth can indicate thrush (an oral yeast infection). All of these conditions can be addressed—but you need to see your dentist. An urgent care dentist is a great choice for a painful mouth sore because they have extended hours. Some offer weekend appointments.
It could be an abscess.
Swollen gums can also be caused by an abscess. An abscess is an infected pocket of pus in a tooth and/or the surrounding bone and tissue. The most common type of oral abscess initiates in the pulp of the tooth and is commonly caused by tooth decay. If left untreated, this can actually destroy the bone around the tooth and cause serious discomfort.
There is more than one way to fix a tooth. If you are the fortunate owner of perfectly healthy teeth, you may never need any of these procedures. However, if you are like most Gibsonton residents, you will need to restore a tooth eventually.
If your tooth issue is due to a dental emergency, our team will provide prompt care.
Today’s post looks at six restoration procedures that are used routinely to repair a damaged tooth:
1. Dental Bonding
Bonding, officially called direct composite veneers, is used to fix chips, cracks, stains, and make teeth longer. It is also sometimes used to fill cavities. A skilled cosmetic dentist applies the pliable composite resin and molds it to the exact shape required. The resin is then hardened with a special curing light.
These wafer-thin covers can hide a chip or crack or repair the alignment of a tooth that is slightly crooked.
3. A Filling (Inlay or Onlay)
A traditional filling is shaped and molded after it is applied to the tooth. Because inlays and onlays are created in a dental lab, they are typically called indirect fillings. Inlays are applied to just the center of the biting surface of a tooth (not to a cusp or point) and are often smaller than onlays. An onlay restores one or more cusps of a tooth. If you have old silver amalgam fillings, you can replace them with white fillings.
A crown replaces the entire visible portion of the tooth, restoring appearance, strength, and function. Crowns are used for teeth that have had a root canal, teeth with extensive decay, the replacement tooth in a dental bridge, and the visible portion of a tooth implant. Crowns can be made of all metal (such as gold), porcelain-fused-to-metal, all ceramic, or all resin.
A dental implant is often an optimal restoration for a tooth that has been extracted. It restores the entire tooth—both root and crown. Most dental implant recipients report that the implant is indistinguishable from a natural tooth. Dental implants are used in a variety of applications such as anchoring dentures and dental bridges.
Today’s message is for anyone who has a broken dental crown. First off, you REALLY need to have it replaced. That said, you may be wondering which kind of dentist should replace it.
We advise that you contact the dentist who placed the crown. If you have moved or don’t remember where you got it, we invite you to consider Your Time Dental Urgent Care.
Urgent care dentists treat dental emergencies. But a dental emergency rarely requires only one procedure. Most use a cosmetic restoration once the initial problem is addressed. For example, a knocked-out tooth, a broken tooth, a chipped tooth, and most root canals all require restoration as the final step.
Urgent care dentists serve you with restorative, general, and cosmetic dentistry. In other words, an urgent care dentist has extensive experience with cosmetic procedures. Some even perform dental implants.
What do you do when your dental crown breaks or comes off?
Don’t swallow it! Carefully take it out of your mouth. If you accidentally swallow it, you will have some extra dilemmas we won’t discuss in this article.
Call Your Time Dental Urgent Care. We will schedule you an appointment promptly and counsel you on whether you should use temporary cement to re-attach the crown. Your tooth is weakened, so abstain from substances that are chewy, sticky, or crunchy.
The dental professionals at Your Time Dental Urgent Care have been replacing dental crowns since 2001. If you have a broken crown, give us a call.
Not only will it be painful, but it could also require a root canal. Root canals are more expensive than treatment to correct a crack in a tooth with no decay. When you get a root canal, you pay for the surgery and the crown.
There are other reasons to fix a cracked tooth that are less serious but still something to consider.
You may start chewing differently and experience head or jaw aches. The cracked tooth may damage adjacent or opposing teeth. This can happen slowly over time without your awareness. In a few months, you may discover damage to the enamel of another tooth.
Your Time Dental Urgent Care can fix it quickly and easily
Fixing a cracked tooth doesn’t take a long time. Schedule an appointment and we may be able to correct your cracked tooth in one dental visit.
At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we accommodate your schedule. If necessary, we stay open later on normal business days. We also take weekend appointments for emergencies.
Is a cracked tooth an emergency? It’s not as pressing as a knocked-out tooth, but you need to have it fixed as soon as possible.
Have you been living with a cracked tooth for a while now? Schedule an appointment and we will repair it for you.
How do you fix a cracked tooth?
It depends on the size of the crack and the extent of the harm.
For a hairline crack in an otherwise healthy tooth, your dentist may recommend dental bonding or filling. Modern fillings use a tooth-colored composite resin. A filling will strengthen the tooth and protect it from further damage.
If the tooth has decay or a large piece broke off, your dentist may recommend a dental cap or crown. For this restoration, the dentist grinds away part of the remaining tooth to prepare it for a tooth-shaped crown. The crown is made to blend seamlessly with your other teeth. As with the filling, it will strengthen and protect against decay.
Hello friends of Your Time Dental Urgent Care! As the saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat (although I don’t know anyone who would want to). Likewise, there is more than one way to fix a tooth.
Your Urgent Care Dentist Offers a Variety of Tooth Restoration Options
If you are the lucky owner of a set of perfectly healthy teeth, you may never need any of these procedures. However, if you are like most Florida residents, you will probably need to restore a tooth eventually. Today’s post looks at six restoration procedures that are used routinely to repair damaged teeth:
A Porcelain Veneer
These wafer-thin covers can hide a chip or crack or fix the alignment of a tooth that is slightly crooked.
A Filling, Inlay, or Onlay
This procedure has been used to restore teeth for over a century although the materials and techniques have advanced. One fairly new option is white-filling replacement for metal fillings. A traditional filling is shaped and molded after it is applied to the tooth. Because inlays and onlays are fabricated in a dental lab, they are typically called indirect fillings. Inlays are applied to just the center of the biting surface of a tooth (not to a cusp or point) and are usually smaller than onlays. An onlay restores one or more cusps of a tooth.
Some urgent care dentists have CEREC technology. This allows them to fabricate restorations in their office in one appointment.
Dental Bonding
Bonding, officially called direct composite veneers, is used to fix chips, cracks, stains, and make teeth longer. It is also sometimes used to fill cavities. A skilled cosmetic dentist applies a pliable composite resin and molds it to the exact shape required. The resin is then hardened with a special curing light.
A crown replaces the entire visible portion of the tooth, restoring appearance, stability, and function. Crowns are used for teeth that have had a root canal, teeth with acute decay, the replacement tooth in a dental bridge, and the visible portion of a dental implant. Crowns can be made of all metal (such as gold), porcelain-fused-to-metal, all-ceramic, or all resin.
As mentioned previously, a CEREC CAD/CAM milling machine allows dentists to create a crown in-office.
Many dentists consider a tooth implant to be the ultimate restoration because it restores the entire tooth–both root and crown. Most dental implant recipients report that the implant is indistinguishable from a natural tooth. Another advantage is the fact that an implant can prevent bone recession which is common at an extraction site. Dental implants are used in a variety of applications such as anchoring dentures and dental bridges.
Your Gibsonton urgent care dentist offers a variety of tooth restoration options.
White teeth make anyone look younger, happier and more attractive. At Your Time Dental Urgent Care in Gibsonton, FL, it seems like there are more teeth whitening selections than ever before.
Whitening Toothpaste
The lowest-priced product you’ll find in Gibsonton is whitening toothpaste. It helps remove surface stains while gently polishing and providing mild stain removal. Because it doesn’t contain bleach, teeth will only be lightened up to one shade.
Lightening Strips and Gels
Whitening strips and gels are also popular. They’re usually peroxide-based. You apply them for two weeks, twice a day. They may be able to bleach your teeth a shade or two. The results can last up to three or four months.
Whitening Rinses
Whitening rinses are one of the newer practices for whitening teeth. Because of the small amount of contact time these rinses have on teeth, they often have a minimal effect.
But are these whitening systems safe?
Below are a few tips on how you can whiten safely so your smile is not only brilliant but also healthy.
Get a dental check-up. Let your dentist know if you experience sensitivity when you whiten your teeth. At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we are happy to help you prevent potential issues. (That’s our job!)
Follow whitening product instructions. They’re not just suggestions. They’re given to help you achieve healthy teeth while avoiding damage.
Do not use brightening products longer than directed. This can result in tooth and gum sensitivity.
Aim for a natural white. If you whiten too much, your teeth may become translucent or even start to have a bluish tint. Try to match the whites in your eyes. Then you won’t overdo it.
To keep your teeth white, forego tea, cola, and coffee. And don’t smoke! (Stained teeth will be the least of your worries.)
The safest way to whiten your teeth?
At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we offer an in-office whitening treatment that is safe and effective. Our patients can’t believe how great their teeth look when they remove the stains and restore the brightness.
What if I’m not sure if my serious dental problem needs to be seen promptly?
Call our dental office at the number listed below. We will advise you on the best course of action.
What can happen if I don’t get immediate care for a dental issue?
You could need more expensive treatment down the road
If you have an infection, it could spread to other parts of your body
If you have an abscess in a tooth root and don’t get a root canal, you may have to sacrifice the tooth
If there isn’t an urgent office open, should I go to the ER?
Most emergency departments don’t have a dentist on staff. An ER physician can provide antibiotics and painkillers. Medical doctors can stitch mouth lacerations. But they don’t fill cavities, perform root canals, or extract teeth.
Moreover, an ER charges WAY more than an urgent care dental practice. Even if you have health insurance, an ER copay could be significantly higher.
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