Emergency Dental Services in Calgary

Have a dental emergency? Call At +1 (403) 252 7733

You can’t predict when an emergency will strike. Unforeseen accidents and disorders can send you reeling with dental pain. If you are experiencing anything from mild tooth discomfort to painful throbbing, contact Expressions Dental™ and we will try to attend to emergency patients immediately and emergency dental treatment may be given on the same day.

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Expressions Dental™
Emergency Dental Care In Calgary
http://www.expressionsdental.ca
Call: +1 (403) 252 7733

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Fractured Tooth

Even though our teeth are extraordinarily strong, they might chip, or break. Biting something very hard, being hit or punched on the mouth or face or falling are some of the causes of fractured teeth.

When your teeth chip or break, it doesn’t hurt. You might not even perceive the damage caused. Minor fractures of the tooth might not cause any pain, but if a larger piece of tooth chips off, it can be very painful. This is because the underlying nerve is damaged and if this is exposed to cold or hot drinks or foods, air and saliva, it can cause extreme discomfort. Pain caused by a cracked or a broken tooth can either be constant or it might be periodic. Some people feel this pain while chewing something as it exerts pressure on the teeth.

What Can You Do?

  • Fractured or cracked tooth – A fractured or a cracked tooth cannot be treated at home. You’ll have to seek your dentist’s help. A tooth might only hurt while you eat or there’s a change in the temperature of your mouth (after drinking something cold or hot). If you are experiencing a continuous pain, it can be a case of damaged blood vessels or nerves.
  • Broken tooth – In case of broken teeth, visit your dentist immediately. Your dentist will be able to understand the cause of the breakage, whether it is caused due to cavities and if the nerve is injured.

Treatment:

Different tests are performed in the mouth to determine if a tooth fracture is present. In some instances, dental X-rays can help to diagnose, locate, and measure the extent of tooth fractures.

A serious fracture is one that exposes both the dentin and the pulp tissue and should be treated promptly. Serious injuries may make the tooth displaced and loose, and cause the gums to bleed. To prevent the loose tooth from falling out completely, the dentist can splint the loose tooth by bonding it to the adjacent teeth to help stabilize it while the underlying bone and gums heal. Because of the high risk of pulp infection after the exposure of the pulp to the oral environment, a root canal procedure may need to be performed during the first visit.

Alternatively, the dentist may elect to only apply a sedative dressing on the splinted tooth to help calm the tooth pain. The tooth will then be reevaluated in two to four weeks to determine if a root canal procedure is necessary. If the tooth appears to have recovered and is stable in the mouth, the splint is removed at that time and a filling or crown is placed to restore the fractured tooth.

The most serious injuries involve vertical, diagonal, or horizontal fractures of the tooth roots. In most instances, a fracture of the tooth root leaves the injured tooth very loose and unable to be restored with dental work, thus necessitating tooth extraction.

If you experience injury to your tooth, contact Expressions Dental. Our general dentist can examine your tooth and recommend various treatments depending on the location and extent of the break.

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What to do if Tooth is pushed out of Position?

If your tooth is loosened and pushed out of position, call your dentist right away for an emergency dental appointment. In the meantime, you can follow these steps to prevent further damage:

  • Attempt to reposition the tooth to its normal alignment using very light finger pressure, but do not force the tooth.
  • Bite down to keep the tooth from moving.
  • Bite gently on gauze to keep tooth in place, and/or prepare soft orthodontic wax molded over several teeth to temporarily stabilize teeth.
  • Eat soft food and avoid disturbing the tooth while eating.
  • Your dentist may splint the tooth in place to the two healthy teeth next to the loose tooth.

If the tooth has come out and you can’t place it back into socket then save it carefully. Do not touch the root of the tooth. To protect the tooth, keep it in moist condition by immersing it in saline solution or milk. Do not try to clean the tooth by rubbing of it.

Once your tooth has been repositioned, you need to take special care to brush your teeth gently for a few weeks. You also need to make sure that you take medications as prescribed by your dentist in order to prevent infection. Try to avoid chewing with the tooth and, watch for signs of infection such as swelling or redness.

What to do when a baby tooth is pushed out of position

For a baby tooth that has been moved out of its normal position, the dentist will possibly has to remove the tooth to prevent further damage to the developing adult tooth that is forming underneath it

Your dentist may recommend a children’s pain killer to relieve pain. Keep your child on a soft diet for 2 weeks to prevent further damage. Contact us at Expressions Dental if you have any other questions or if symptoms get worse.

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How to Handle Dental Emergencies?

After a tooth accident or trauma, it may take time to reach your dental provider’s office in an emergency. Here are some tips that could possibly save your teeth in the meantime, and at the very least, could help prevent further damage.

  • Cracks or fracture – Gently rinse your mouth and protect the area. Do not apply topical pain killers. Avoid eating or drinking cold foods and beverages until the tooth has been repaired by your dentist.
  • Knocked out tooth – Do not touch the root. Pick it up by crown and rinse it. If possible, insert the tooth back into the socket and bite down to hold it in place.
  • Loose tooth – If your tooth is loosened and pushed out of position, attempt to reposition it to its normal alignment using very light finger pressure, but don’t force it.
  • Toothaches – Rinse the mouth with warm water to clean it out. Gently use dental floss to remove any food caught between the teeth. Do not put pain killer on the aching tooth or gum tissues. For objects stuck in the mouth, try to gently remove with floss but do not try to remove it with sharp or pointed instruments.
  • Injured mouth – Injuries inside the mouth include tears or cuts, puncture wounds, and lacerations to the cheek, lips, or tongue. The wound should be cleaned immediately with warm salt water. If bleeding, apply pressure with a moist gauze or tea bag for 15-20 minutes.
  • Soft tissue trauma – Apply a cold compress to the traumatized area to reduce swelling.
  • Jaw fracture – If you can’t open your jaws properly or your teeth do not come together normally you should be screened at the hospital emergency department for a possible jaw fracture.
  • Lost fillings or crowns – When a crown has fallen out and there is some pain, take a cotton swab and some clove oil and apply it on the sensitive area.
  • Broken braces – If a wire of your brace sticks out or even breaks, you can use a soft object to return it to its original position. If that’s difficult, you can cover the end with either some orthodontic wax, a piece of gauze or a cotton ball before you rush to your orthodontist. Never attempt to cut the wire because that may lead to swallowing the pieces or inhaling the broken pieces to your lungs.

Contact emergency dentist in Calgary for help.

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What Can I Do When Dental Tissue Is Injured?

A dental emergency can occur while you eat, play, work out, or take part in any number of normal daily tasks. “Soft tissue laceration” is dental trauma that includes harm to your lips, gums, tongue, or cheeks. The soft tissues in the mouth are delicate, sensitive and easily hurt. They also contain a lot of nerves. When they are hurt, it can be very painful.

In addition to cuts, injuries can occur to the roof of the mouth, the back of the throat, or to a tonsil. These types of wound can happen when someone falls with a pointed object – such as a Popsicle stick or pencil – in their mouth. Kids are most at risk for this type of wound.

Due to all the blood vessels in the head and neck area, even a small puncture in the mouth may lead to alot of blood loss.

Treating Soft Tissue Lacerations

Small mouth injuries may be treated at home. Clean them right away with warm water. As with all soft tissue wounds, the key points to keep in mind are to decrease the flow of blood, reduce pain, promote healing, and prevent infection.

A soft tissue laceration, including injury to the mouth or lips that results in a loose flap of tissue or an open wound, may require stitches. Some patients choose to have a small wound on the lips stitched for cosmetic reasons. A tear in the frenulum (the skin under the tongue between the lips and gums) most often heals on its own and does not need stitches.If a foreign object, such as a bit of tooth or a wire from braces, is stuck in a wound, a doctor may need to remove it.

Preventing Soft Tissue Lacerations

The best way to avoid dental and soft tissue injuries is to wear a mouth guard for all rough play. A mouth guard should be worn at all times for team sports or sports where there is frequent contact with others or with hard objects.

Mouth guards protect the soft tissue in your mouth from your teeth. This is very important if you wear braces on your teeth. A mouth guard may even help to prevent or reduce or severity of concussions. You need to seek emergency dental care if the injury is serious or if the bleeding doesn’t stop after 10 to 15 minutes. The dentist will wash the area, remove any dirt or debris, and see if your teeth are loose or damaged. Stitches might be needed to close the wound.

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What is a Dental Floss?

When it comes to your teeth nothing is more important than proper dental health and dental hygiene. Without proper oral hygiene your teeth can break down and decay causing many problems including tooth loss. Flossing is such an essential part of dental care. There are several health benefits to maintaining proper dental care and flossing. Without proper flossing, your teeth will a buildup with plaque which leads to tartar and several types of gum disease. Not flossing can also cause an increase of cavities in the areas your tooth brush cannot reach. Without flossing your teeth can start to stain which keeps your teeth from looking bright, white and clean.

Dental floss is a tool you should use daily to remove food and bacteria build-up from in-between your teeth. Floss, which is commonly made out of plastic or nylon, is a thin thread that you place between your teeth and pull in order to clean the gaps. As you pull on the thread, you remove food and debris.

Benefits of Flossing:

  • Remove plaque

  • Prevent gum disease

  • Prevent cavities

  • Better smelling breath

  • Whiter teeth

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The only way to fill a cavity is by using ‘silver fillings.’

What is a filling?

A filling is a way to restore a tooth damaged by decay or chipping back to its normal function and shape. When a dentist gives you a filling, he or she first removes the decayed tooth material, cleans the affected area, and then fills the cleaned out cavity with a filling material. By closing off spaces where bacteria can enter, a filling also helps prevent further decay.

Although silver fillings are common, they are not the only type to fill a dental cavity. There are other options out there for you to consider.

Here is the list of different types of fillings:

  1. Silver amalgam – It is the most widely known dental filling material. This Amalgam is made up of a mixture of silver, tin, zinc, copper, and mercury. The popularity of amalgam among dentists is due in part to its low cost as well as its strength and durability.
  2. Composite fillings – They are very popular because of the tooth-colored appearance that can be matched to the shade of your existing teeth. Composite fillings are made of a resin/plastic material or so that is placed and cured with a UV light.
  3. Ceramic fillings – They are made of porcelain and are both durable as well as aesthetically pleasing. The material is more expensive than the other filling materials, but ceramics are tooth-colored and more resistant to staining and abrasion than composite resin. The disadvantage of using ceramic is that it is more brittle than its composite counter-part and it needs to be large enough to prevent it from breaking.
  4. Glass ionomers – They are made of glass and acrylic and typically last less than 5 years. They are a good choice for children whose teeth are still changing. Glass ionomers release fluoride, which can help protect the tooth from further decay. The disadvantages of glass ionomer fillings are they are significantly weaker than composite resin and much more likely to wear or fracture. Traditional glass ionomer does not match your tooth color as precisely as composite resin.
  5. Gold fillings – They are not as commonly used and are an expensive alternative but the gold material is sturdy and non-corrosive. Although having the gold filling placed is not convenient (it takes more than 1 office visit to fit them properly), it can be very durable.

Visit the dental clinic in Calgary to find out which type of filling is best for you. Depending on the location and extent of the decay, cost of filling material and your insurance coverage, your dentist will assist you in determining the type of filling.

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