When tooth pain is too much to bear, causing sleepless nights and an inability to concentrate on work, seek a dentist’s help immediately. Dental pain is a dental emergency that does not require visiting a dentist on scheduled appointments. Not all procedures can take place on planned appointments. Unexpected situations can also arise, requiring immediate attention, and pain is one of them. A dentist who provides emergency services outside regular working hours makes all the difference during these emergencies. When you get the treatment quickly, it will not only relieve your pain but also prevent any further complications.
At Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry, we understand that emergencies cannot afford to wait. Our team is dedicated to providing timely, professional help when you need it the most. We are here to help you with your dental emergency and other dental issues. But first, let us explore what you need to know about dental emergency tooth extraction.
What is Emergency Dentistry?
Emergency dental attention is necessary when an urgent dental problem cannot wait for office hours. This care focuses on providing immediate relief, stabilizing your condition, and managing acute dental problems. An emergency dentist will focus on immediate pain relief through medication or temporary procedures to keep you comfortable until a more suitable method can be performed.
Emergency dentists are equipped with specialized tools to handle emergencies and carry out procedures like placing temporary fillings and crowns, providing antibiotics to remedy infections, controlling bleeding, bringing down swelling, or protecting damaged tissues in the case of trauma. Dentists assess your situation using diagnostic tools to determine the correct action. If necessary, they will refer you to a specialist.
Education is an integral part of emergency dentistry. The dentist will guide you through post-care instructions to protect your oral health until you see your dentist for treatment.
Why You Might Need an Emergency Tooth Extraction
There could be several issues that cause the damage to your tooth. You could fall victim to tooth decay or face trauma from a fall or fight. If a tooth is too severely damaged, it will not serve you as it should. It will hurt and be vulnerable to infection and spread in the mouth. While dental decay can often be treated to preserve your natural tooth, in some instances, it can be too far gone to allow them to save it, and the tooth will need extraction. If the decay is too severe, your dentist might extract it to prevent infection.
Here are some reasons that may require an emergency extraction:
Abnormal Development of Teeth
Teeth develop abnormally sometimes as they get stuck in the gum, are out of alignment, or extra teeth (supernumerary) develop. This can cause major dental issues. These conditions often interfere with the eruption of neighboring teeth, causing crowding, misalignment, and discomfort. These complications worsen and affect your bite and oral functions. An emergency extraction may become necessary when these issues cause persistent pain or interfere with regular dental development.
Removing your tooth will immediately relieve your pain and prevent future issues like further misalignment or extra pressure on adjacent teeth. When the surrounding teeth have space, they align correctly and function as expected. Thus, it also prevents problems like jaw pain and tooth decay in the future.
Gum Disease or Periodontitis
When you have advanced gum disease or periodontitis, your gums and the bone structure that supports your teeth become damaged. Gum disease over a long time can cause your teeth to loosen, become infected, or become severely inflamed. A tooth may require emergency extraction when it is beyond saving due to gum disease, or there is a chance for the infection to spread to the jaw or blood.
Emergency extraction ensures the source of infection is removed, surrounding tissues are protected, and further deterioration of oral health is prevented.
Trauma or Injury
Our teeth can fracture, loosen, or dislodge because of physical trauma from sports-related accidents, falls, or physical confrontations. If a tooth is beyond repair or poses risks of infection or damage to the bone, an emergency extraction can be the best solution. Taking out the tooth immediately helps manage the pain and reduce the risk of complications. It also creates a foundation for future restorative dental work.
When a Root Canal or Dental Work Fails to Work
Root canals and restorative works are typically effective, but sometimes they fail due to persistent infection or re-infection. The tooth may become a constant source of pain or be reinfected, affecting your oral health if the procedure fails. When repeated efforts to save the tooth prove unsuccessful, extraction is often the go-to option.
Removing the problematic tooth eliminates the source of infection, alleviating pain and preventing further complications, like damage to surrounding teeth or jawbone deterioration. When the tooth is removed, you can explore other options to replace it, like a dental implant or a bridge, to restore function and aesthetics while maintaining your oral health long-term.
Severely Damaged Teeth
Dental caries, cracks, and chipping can seriously damage teeth, often compromising the tooth structure. Emergency extraction is the most appropriate solution when a tooth cannot be restored with fillings, crowns, or other treatments and causes significant pain or poses a risk of infection.
Extracting the damaged tooth can ease pain, avoid damage to other teeth, and allow replacement options to restore oral functionality.
Impacted Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth usually do not have enough space to come through, so they become impacted. This might cause severe pain, infections, cysts, or damage to your other teeth. Wisdom teeth that cause serious symptoms should be removed quickly to avoid causing an abscess or crowding of neighboring teeth. Immediate extraction solves the problem and protects the rest of your teeth.
Under-Gum Dental Fractures
Treating fractures beneath the gum line can be especially difficult and may require an emergency extraction. When fractures involve the tooth root or go deep into the underlying structure, it can be challenging to repair the tooth. A tooth fracture like this can cause serious pain, especially when chewing or putting pressure on it. Moreover, these fractures are prone to infection, which may spread to surrounding tissues if not addressed promptly.
Taking out the fractured tooth will relieve immediate pain while reducing the chances of infection or other complications. This helps prevent the infection from spreading to nearby bones or tissues, keeping your mouth healthy.
Once your tooth is extracted, your dentist will discuss options for replacing it, like implants or bridges.
Severe Infection or Abscess
A dental abscess occurs when a tooth dies, or bacteria damages it and is left untreated. Symptoms include pain, swelling, and sometimes fever. If left untreated, an abscess can spread to your jaw or neck or move to your bloodstream. It can cause serious problems like sepsis or worse.
Once the infected tooth is removed, your body will start to heal and prevent further damage from spreading to surrounding tissues or bones. Sometimes, dentists prescribe antibiotics to help control the infection before and after the extraction.
Signs Indicating You Might Need to See a Dentist Urgently
When pain starts disrupting your everyday activities, such as sleeping, eating, and going to work, visit the dentist immediately. The intensity and degree of pain can indicate whether a problem requires attention. If you have severe pain, swelling, or other symptoms, get emergency dental care to resolve the issue before it worsens.
Some of the signs to look out for include:
Severe Toothache
If your toothache fails to improve with over-the-counter painkillers or becomes more intense, it could indicate a deeper issue. If you have a throbbing or sharp pain, it suggests that the nerve inside your tooth is irritated or infected. This happens when the decay reaches the pulp. It could also signal that an abscess has formed.
An abscess is a pus-filled pocket that is caused by bacteria. It can be painful and spread if left untreated. To avoid worsening pain and serious problems, seek emergency dental care immediately.
Swelling
Facial, jaw, or tooth area swelling signals a possible infection requiring immediate attention. If it is localized, your tooth may be abscessed, or you may have gum disease. If they extend to your face or neck, the infection spreads.
When swelling occurs, it is often accompanied by redness, warmth, and sometimes tenderness. Ignoring the early stage of swelling could lead to serious complications. You need to see an emergency dentist as soon as possible to help bring down the infection.
Bleeding
Uncontrolled bleeding from your gums or in your mouth is serious. You could have bleeding gums from:
- A mouth injury from an accident
- A complication after a tooth removal procedure
- Gum disease
If there is excessive bleeding, it means the blood is not clotting, or there is an underlying condition that needs attention. If excessive bleeding from your gums continues after a reasonable time, seek immediate medical attention.
Injury to the Mouth
If you have taken a hit to your mouth, you will likely suffer an injury. You likely have a chipped, cracked, or knocked-out tooth, and all require immediate dental care. When a tooth chips or cracks, the infection spreads faster into the inner or nerve layer. Handle it by the crown, rinse it gently, and either place it back in the socket or store it in milk or saline until you can see your dentist. If you do it within the first hour, the chances of saving it increase.
Loose or Dislodged Teeth
A tooth may become loose or out of place due to an accident or advanced gum disease. Trauma can hurt the ligaments supporting the tooth, while gum disease can damage the bone. If this happens to you, seek immediate dental care. A dentist can check if the tooth can be saved or if other interventions are needed to prevent permanent loss.
Sudden Tooth Sensitivity
Suddenly becoming sensitive to hot or cold can mean a crack in your tooth or decay growing near the nerve. You may get severe pain or infection if you do not see a dentist soon. Your emergency dentist can help diagnose the issue and offer appropriate treatments to safeguard your tooth from getting damaged further.
Pus or Discharge
Generally, pus or any other unusual discharge around your tooth or gums points to an infection. You may also experience a bad taste, bad breath, and swelling in the affected area. If you leave this untreated, it can result in infection reaching your jaw or your bloodstream. When you get emergency dental care, they will drain the infection, remove the cause, and prevent further harm.
Facial Trauma
Facial trauma could cause broken teeth, dislocated jaws, and misaligned bites. These injuries can affect your ability to eat, speak, or breathe comfortably. Once you see your dentist, he/she will stabilize your condition, thus preventing long-term damage to the structures of the face and mouth.
Having Trouble Opening Your Mouth
You may have a dislocated jaw, severe muscle spasm, or jaw fracture, and it may be hard to open or close your mouth. This may be due to an injury, strain from dental procedures, or other issues. You need immediate help to ease your discomfort, help your jaw return to normal, and find the cause to prevent more problems.
What to Expect During an Emergency Tooth Extraction
An emergency tooth extraction begins with a thorough evaluation when you arrive at the clinic. The dentist takes X-rays and evaluates them to check the condition of the teeth and the surroundings. The dentist will go through your medical history and look at any medications, allergies, or conditions, like diabetes or heart disease, that could interfere with the extraction or your recovery. Following this analysis, the dentist will explain:
- The course of action
- Any risks involved
- The potential outcomes
Before proceeding, he/she will seek your informed consent.
The dentist will use local anesthesia to numb the area. If you have a complex extraction or are particularly anxious, you will receive sedation options. Once numbed, the dentist will use an elevator to loosen the tooth and remove it with forceps. Some teeth have complicated roots or other issues that require more complex methods to get them out. Surgical options suffice in these situations.
Surgical methods involve making small incisions or removing bone. After the tooth is removed from your mouth, dentists clean the socket and, if necessary, stitch it. A piece of gauze is placed to prevent blood clots and protect the site.
After the procedure, you will receive care instructions to ensure proper healing. Dentists will advise you to bite down on the gauze to stop the bleeding gently. After the procedure, you need to avoid smoking, sucking, or using straws or vigorous rinsing, as these dislodge the clot. You can take medicines that are either prescribed or off the counter to reduce your pain. You may be given antibiotics to prevent infection. For a few days, you may follow a soft food diet while you can apply ice packs to your face to minimize swelling. Your dentist may schedule a follow-up appointment to check the healing and, if necessary, remove the stitches.
While it is generally a safe procedure, there are risks that you should be aware of. These include the following:
- Dry socket — One of the most common problems is a dry socket, where the blood clot either does not form or falls out, resulting in pain a few days after extraction.
- Infections — Infections can cause worsening pain, swelling, fever, or pus around the area
- Nerve damage — This can occur in rare cases, possibly leading to temporary or permanent numbness in your face. If the tooth extracted is an upper back tooth, there is a small risk of opening into the sinus, which may require further treatment.
How Much Does Tooth Extraction Cost?
Many factors influence the cost of an emergency tooth extraction in Los Angeles. If the tooth is not impacted and lies above the gum line, you could pay $75 to $250 per tooth. If you need a tooth extraction for impacted or below-the-gum line teeth like a wisdom tooth, it will cost you between $180 and $550. A complicated case may cost over $800. If the extraction is urgent or after hours, costs may increase further, particularly when sedation or advanced anesthesia is involved.
You might also need to pay for the X-rays and the anesthesia, which will likely be around $125. For local anesthesia, you will have to pay about $53, whereas IV sedation costs $232. The cost may also depend on whether you visit a general dentist or an oral surgeon in Los Angeles.
Usually, dental insurance will cover 50% to 80% of the extraction costs but may be subject to deductibles, co-pays, and annual maximums. It’s best to check with your provider, as emergency extractions may be like routine ones.
Find a Los Angeles Emergency Dentist Near Me
Whether it is swelling of gum or tooth pain, dental injuries related to jaws or wounds, loss of teeth, and many more, all require urgent care. A dental emergency affects your oral health and requires immediate dental attention. When you have a dental emergency, you should seek care as quickly as possible so dental problems do not worsen and cause additional pain and more significant health problems. Wait too long, and you may need extensive procedures with longer recovery times.
If you have any of the above symptoms or any other dental issue, you can rely on Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry. We will work to provide you with immediate relief, which will help with the healing process. We provide the emergency care you need, with expert treatment and state-of-the-art equipment to manage your dental issues efficiently and professionally. Contact us at 310-361-2080 for further assistance.
