Don’t Delay On Repairing An Abscessed Tooth!

dental abscessThere are certain dental issues that need to be treated with the same fast care as chest pains or other serious medical conditions, and an abscessed tooth is one of those. The problem is that an abscessed tooth is often mistaken for just being a tooth ache, and that can be a really serious mistake.

The Symptoms
An abscessed tooth is normally easy to identify. Aside from major throbbing pain up in the gums or root area of a tooth, there is often major swelling in the gums. An abscessed tooth is a bacterial infection and because of that, it is especially serious.

Common Symptoms Include:
– Bad breath
– Fever
– Swelling & severe pain
– Problem chewing
– Severe temperature sensitivity to hot and cold
– Open sores in the mouth

These are just the beginning, however. It’s important to understand that when left untreated, this infection can easily spread into the blood which can then go through your system and especially to affecting your heart. This leads to severe medical issues and complications that can almost always be avoided if the abscessed tooth is treated immediately.

Even in situations where it may take time to get an oral surgeon to extract the tooth, dentists will want patients suffering from an abscessed tooth to get on antibiotics immediately to lessen the chance of the infection spreading and at the very least keep it contained and better controlled.

Not A Minor Problem
An abscessed tooth will at the very least need a root canal, careful medication, and special treatment. However, there are also many times when having an abscessed tooth also means that the tooth will eventually have to be removed. This is often the case with severe tooth decay, so it’s not a problem that should be put off. There are too many health ramifications – so get any abscessed tooth treated by a Charlotte dentist as quickly as possible.

A Solution For An Evening Toothache In Charlotte, NC

What You Can Do When A Painful Toothache Happens Late In The Evening in Charlotte NC?

If you get a toothache around the weekend or some other day your dentist’s office is closed you need to find an alternative or you will spend the night suffering.

One thing you need to do is locate an emergency dentist in the Charlotte area, whether you’re in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, or Gaston County.

When you call an emergency dentist due to a painful toothache you need to provide the following information to the person who answers the phone. Remember, if you call late at night you’ll most likely get the dentist’s answering service. These people are there to take your call, answer your questions, and forward the information they get from you onto the on-call dentist. So here are some questions you will need to answer:

  1. On a scale of 1-10 how painful is your toothache? The answer is important because if your pain is less than 7 then you definitely still need to see a dentist but it might now be enough to qualify as a dental emergency.
  2. Have you taken any pain medication?
  3. Is your toothache the result of injury or trauma?
  4. Do you have swollen/bleeding gums?
  5. Are you pregnant?
  6. How will you be traveling to the dentist’s office?
  7. Is the toothache involving a tooth that has had root canal previously?
  8. Do you have an infection in your mouth?
  9. Do you need to be sedated in order to get dental treatment?
  10. Do you have insurance to cover the cost of your treatment or will you be paying out-of-pocket?

Important… If you do not get hold of a “live” answering service person, and instead you get an answering machine, you MUST still provide as much information for the person who will be retrieving your message and forwarding it onto the dentist. Please speak slowly and as clearly as possible.

What If You Have a Severe Infection or Dental Abscess in Charlotte NC?

A dental abscess is a very serious health condition. Waiting for treatment is NOT optional. You MUST seek treatment immediately. So, if you cannot get immediate help from the emergency dentist you must go to the local hospital in Charlotte.

Here are several hospitals in the Charlotte area:

Carolinas Medical Center
1000 Blythe Blvd
Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: (704) 355-2000

Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast
920 Church St N
Concord, NC 28025
Phone: (704) 403-3000

Caromont Regional Medical Center
2525 Court Dr
Gastonia, NC 28054
Phone: (704) 834-2000

Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy
2001 Vail Ave
Charlotte, NC 28207
Phone: (704) 304-5000

Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center
200 Hawthorne Ln
Charlotte, NC 28204
Phone:(704) 384-4000

Novant Health Matthews Medical Center
1500 Matthews Township Pkwy
Matthews, NC 28105
Phone:(704) 384-6500

Over The Counter Toothache Remedies

If what you have is a toothache with no severe infection or dental abscess, and you cannot get an immediate dental appointment then the next best thing is to schedule your dental appointment for the morning and then use some over the counter toothache pain remedies. One such remedy is clove oil. Rub the clove oil around the area where you’re experiencing pain – you’ll find it provides a pleasant numbing sensation which should help get you through the night.

We hope that the information provided in this article, as well as in other articles found at dentalemergencycharlotte.com help you solve your dental issues.