Broken Tooth, Lost Crown or Abscess? Your Emergency Dental Guide in Kensington

Dental emergencies don't often happen at convenient times. You eat toast, and a corner of a tooth flakes off. Dinner: A crown is removed. By midnight, the toothache you could handle at breakfast is a thumping one. In my 20 years in dentistry, I have seen the same pattern many times: the patient waits, tests the tooth, searches on the internet, takes pain relief, and then worries more as the symptoms change.

Here's a guide to what you should do before you get to a dentist in Kensington, and the signs that you need urgent help.

Start with the danger signs

If you have heavy bleeding from the mouth that will not stop, have a serious injury to your face or jaw, have severe swelling around the mouth, lips, throat or neck, are having difficulty breathing, are having difficulty opening one or both eyes, have lost consciousness, are vomiting after a head or facial injury, or have double vision, call 999 or go to A&E.

Dental pain leads to a dentist's chair. Spreading infection, breathing problems, major trauma, and head injury lead to the emergency medical services. That difference matters.

What Comes with a Broken Tooth?

A broken tooth can be anything from a tiny chip in the enamel to a fracture exposing the nerve. Pain gives a clue, but pain does not tell the whole story. Some deep cracks hurt only when biting. Some teeth will settle after a break, then flare days later as the nerve reacts.

Swish your mouth with warm water. If the edge is sharp, cover it with orthodontic wax from a pharmacy until you can see a dentist. Place any pieces of tooth in a clean container. Don't chew on that side. Choose soft foods and keep the area clean with a soft toothbrush.

Book urgent dental care if the tooth hurts, the break is below the gum, the tooth feels loose, you see pink or red tissue inside the tooth, or if cold air causes a sharp lingering pain. If the nerve is damaged, a dentist may smooth a small chip, place a filling, bond the broken piece, fit a crown, or begin root canal treatment. Do not bite on the tooth to test it. Patients do this often to "check" the damage and turn a crack into a split.

What About the Lost Crown

If the cement has failed, the tooth underneath has decayed, the bite has changed, or the remaining tooth has fractured, a crown may fall off. The crown appears to be intact, but the tooth underneath needs to be evaluated.

You will find the crown. Rinse it and keep it safe. Don't sleep with it loose in your mouth. Avoid cold drinks and sugary food if the tooth feels sensitive. At a pharmacy, you can purchase temporary dental cement which will protect the tooth for a short time. Only use it as a short-term measure. Follow instructions. Do not use glue from a household.

A dentist will check the tooth for decay, fracture, bite problems, and fit. Sometimes the dentist can clean the crown and recement it. At other times the tooth needs a filling build-up, a new crown, root canal treatment, or removal if little sound tooth remains. A lost crown with no pain still needs attention. Exposed tooth tissue can decay, shift, or fracture. Delay can turn a simple recement into a larger repair.

How Dentists Treat the Abscess

A dental abscess develops when bacteria infect the tissue around a tooth or gum, causing pus to build up. You may feel throbbing pressure under the tooth, swelling on the gum, a bad taste in your mouth, pain when biting, swollen glands, fever, or swelling in the face or jaw.

Sometimes an abscess drains through the gum. This may reduce the pain for a short time, but the infection is still present and needs treatment.

You should see a dentist as soon as possible if you think you have a dental abscess. Painkillers may help manage the discomfort, and antibiotics may be needed in some cases. However, a dentist must treat the cause of the infection. Treatment may involve draining the abscess, performing root canal treatment, treating the gum pocket, or removing the tooth.

Seek urgent help the same day if the swelling gets worse, you feel unwell, you have a fever, you struggle to open your mouth, or you find it hard to swallow. Contact a dentist, an urgent dental care service, a local private practice, or call 999 if your symptoms feel severe or are affecting your breathing or swallowing.

Do not press, touch, or try to burst the swelling. Do not take leftover antibiotics at home. Trying to release the pressure yourself can push the infection deeper into the tissues and increase the risk of it spreading.

Pain Relief While You Wait

The majority of adults will find that taking paracetamol or ibuprofen can relieve a toothache. You must read the packaging to ensure that you can take it and always take no more than prescribed. If treating a child, ensure it is the appropriate preparation. You should not take ibuprofen if you have asthma, which can be affected by the drug; stomach ulcers; kidney problems; or if you take blood-thinning medicines or are pregnant. Other chronic health problems require a consultation with a pharmacist or clinician.

Cold compresses can ease swelling where a trauma has occurred. Soft foods will ensure less pressure is placed on the teeth and the mouth during eating. Warm salt-water mouth rinses may sooth a painful gum but will not cure an abscess. You must continue to brush your teeth with a soft toothbrush to keep the plaque around the sore tooth to a minimum.

Avoid heat on facial swelling. Avoid alcohol for pain control. Avoid clove oil on broken tissue unless a dentist or pharmacist has advised it, since it can burn soft tissue.

Where to Find Care in Kensington

During practice hours you should call your dentist first. If you don't have one try calling dental practices and ask if they can see you urgently. If they can't see you ask if they know of any dental service.

A good clinic will tell you what they want to achieve away like stopping the pain treating an infection saving a tooth or fixing a trauma.