Dental Emergencies - Dental Pain - Toothache- Dental Emergency Long Island
When you have a dental emergency, the pain is unbearable. You can’t think, you can’t sleep, and you need to be seen and treated right away. To understand tooth pain, you need to know a little dental anatomy. Teeth are made up of four different types of tissue.
Teeth are comprised of hard tissues on the outside (enamel, cementum, and dentin) and pulp, which is soft, on the inside. The pulp contains blood vessels and nerves, and is the pipeline of the tooth to more major blood vessels and nerves in the jaw bone. It is what makes the tooth an actual mini “organ.” Teeth are connected to the surrounding bone and gum tissue by way of a living periodontal ligament.
What is a dental infection/tooth infection?
A tooth infection is simply when bacteria from the mouth infects a tooth. This can happen in many ways, but there are two most common ways. They are:
A cavity, which just means that there is an actual hole in the tooth from bacteria sitting on it and eroding through the enamel, cementum, and/or dentin.
A periodontal infection, which means that bacteria has burrowed its way between the tooth and the gums and/or bone (into the periodontal ligament)
Symptoms of dental infections can range from sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweets, to sharp, electric pain, to even dull, throbbing pain that radiates through the entire jaw. Usually, the more severe the infection (the deeper the bacteria burrows), the more intense and frequent the symptoms. For example, as a small cavity get larger, it will eventually reach the deeper tissues of the tooth, and ultimately reach the pulp. Treatment of early stage dental infections is easily managed by your general dentist by way of regular dental checkups, cleanings, and filling of cavities as necessary. Of course, preventative care is even better!
But, If the dental infection is not treated and allowed to progress, it will continue to get worse until the pain becomes unbearable. You may even notice swelling.
Unlike other parts of the body, dental infections cannot be treated with antibiotics alone. This is a common myth, and at first, it certainly makes sense. Why not treat the tooth infection with antibiotics, like strep throat? The reason is simple, if you understand the anatomy. The antibiotics that you take would never reach the infection, because antibiotics reach their destination in the body through the blood supply- and the blood vessels don’t reach the hard tissues of the tooth. Furthermore, when an infection progresses to the pulp of a tooth, it actually destroys the pulp tissue, cutting off blood flow to the tooth.
So then how are painful dental infections treated? Well, early stage dental infections are treated by routine dental care- dental cleanings and filling of cavities (the holes made by the bacteria). Late stage dental infections, such as when the infection reaches the pulp of the tooth, are treated with a root canal. Now, the best way to avoid painful dental emergencies is to practice routine preventative care, and to see your dentist regularly. However, even so, you may find yourself with a painful toothache that wakes you up at night. The infection may be too severe for a root canal to fix, or the tooth may be fractured and unsalvageable.
Oral surgeons are the last resort. When there is a tooth infection that is beyond saving with dental treatment (fillings or root canal treatment), the tooth needs to be extracted. Extracting the tooth will remove the source of the infection, and get you out of pain. Now, of course the first choice is to be able to save your tooth! But sometimes, that is just not possible. If you are in pain and you need an infected and non-restorable tooth extracted urgently, we will see you as soon as possible and remove the tooth as painlessly as possible. And we will explain the process of the surgery as well as what to expect after the extraction. We will answer all of your questions and make you feel at ease.