When Does Tooth Pain Become an Emergency?

Happy summer holidays Burlington! With travel approaching, we asked our Burlington Dentist what she thinks should be the dental precaution to take to ensure a toothache free Vacation? Her answer: get your teeth checked and dental x -rays taken.

There are many reasons for tooth pain. Some are gum related, while others could be tooth or sinus related. Sometimes it’s the cheeks or even the lips and the surrounding structures. Tooth pain can be tricky, and when it happens, its severe. So, lets dive a little deeper with our dentist to discuss how we can prevent this!

The most important thing is hygiene, whether that’s at home or with a professional dental hygienist. There is more value in that than we could stress. During the dental hygiene appointment, the dental hygienist will not only make sure that the gums are well maintained and healthy, with all the tooth deposits removed and the teeth polished to a t, but will always be sure to check the lips, teeth, cheek, and tongue to ensure that nothing unusual is happening that may cause a dental emergency. They will also give advise on home care, provide you with new tools to clean efficiently and point out any areas that need a little more care. Keeping your regular dental hygiene appointments is the first step to a healthy mouth and avoiding tooth ache.

The second most important thing in avoiding dental emergencies is taking regular x-rays as recommended by the dentist. Some patients are weary of those because they think there is too much radiation involved. Our Burlington dentist assures that we are in fact, exposed to more radiation simply walking down the street than we are taking dental x-rays. AT our dental office in Burlington, we take high level precautions to provide value through x-rays while keeping our patients safe. For instance, our patients are always draped with lead apron to protect from radiation, we use very fast equipment to guarantee high quality x-rays within less than a second. Our equipment is also highly focused to a specific area confined to the tooth only and ensures no scattered radiation. X-rays are safe, and they are valuable in not only detecting cavities that could become potential dental emergencies. They also allow us to see hidden chronic infections that could very possibly change into painful dental emergencies with the stress of travel. If they are addressed early, they save us a lot of pain and effort!

Lastly, you guessed it. use sunscreen! The area surrounding the lips and nose is a highly sensitive area made of fragile skin. When exposed to the harsh sun rays during summer, there is an increased risk of developing skin cancers. The lip is the most common area to develop basal cell carcinoma. A benign, yet highly invasive skin cancer that is treated with excision and full removal. It could range in appearance from an innocent looking mole, to a painful dry scab. It is one of the main reasons why dentists recommend regular checkups. They have tools than help detect subtle changes, and they have record of how the patients’ tissues “normal” are. This qualifies them to detect changes early and treat them as needed!

Three simple steps for a fool proof recipe to enjoy the summer. Happy vacation everyone!