The most important and the most beneficial thing to do in a dental emergency is to get to your dentist as quickly as possible. How quickly you get to the dentist can drastically improve your chances on saving your tooth, especially in the case of chipped, broken, or a lost tooth. Save the partial or whole tooth if you can and keep it in a small container of milk or a bit of salt water for preservation. Try not to disturb any attached tissue fragments on the tooth. If taken to your dentist within an hour, a lost tooth can be placed back into the socket. For toothaches, rinse with warm water and gently floss the tooth to remove any food particles that may be lodged in. For swelling, a cold compress may help ease the discomfort while you wait to see the dentist. You must resist the urge to apply pain medication directly to the gums or teeth as this will cause trauma to the soft tissues of your mouth. Keep calm and do your best to get to the dentist straight away. Phone your dentist in Billericay in the case of dental emergencies and don’t be shy about asking questions. Remember that your dentist is here to help you and only wants to do the very best to preserve your teeth in the event of emergencies. Call 01245 268 494 for a free consultation at Advance Dental Clinic in Chelmsford.

If teeth are not effectively cleaned by brushing and flossing, a substance called plaque builds up around the teeth. Plaque is a filmy substance made up of bacteria and other debris that clings to the teeth and gums causing decay. The acids released by the decaying bacteria in plaque erode tooth enamel, the hard protective coating that covers the teeth. It makes small holes in the enamel known as cavities, which can require dental fillings.

If the cavities are not filled, the plaque will eventually penetrate to the centre of the tooth. Here it will erode away the pulp or dentine that fills the centre of teeth and eventually attack the nerve located at its centre. This can lead to a very painful infection which can be responsible for tooth loss. The infection is also capable of spreading to other parts of the mouth and even entering the bloodstream where research has shown it can cause heart problems.

The body’s natural response to infection is to bombard it with white blood cells. These white blood cells gather around the infected material and attempt to kill the infection. This creates a yellow substance called pus, which can build up in large and painful abscesses in the gum. This swelling can be very sensitive and make everyday activities like eating and drinking very unpleasant.

The first sign of a tooth abscess is usually a toothache but if the infection has killed the nerve there may be no pain but there can still be an infection present in the tooth. It is always essential to see a dentist even if a toothache seems to have gone away by itself.

Other signs that you may be suffering from a tooth abscess are a foul odour and a bitter, unpleasant taste in the mouth. This may be accompanied by a general feeling of nausea. The pain from the ache will usually get much worse when exposed to extremes of hot and cold, especially when eating.

Over-the-counter pain remedies such as paracetemol can help with the pain and can keep tooth abscesses under control and swilling salt water also helps, but only a visit to a dentist will beat the underlying causes of the infection. Any delay in treatment can give the infection valuable time to spread making the consequences of a tooth abscess much more severe. In extreme circumstances tooth abscesses can require admission to hospital and even painful oral surgery. Make an appointment to see a dentist as soon as possible if you suspect a tooth abscess. Call 01245 268 494 for a free consultation at Advance Dental Clinic in Chelmsford.

Three years ago a distress Mum called our surgery because her ten-year-old son’s lower front tooth was knocked out at school.
Terri gave her advice on how to keep the tooth in milk and the child was seen within one hour of the accident.Viola re-implanted the tooth back into the lower jaw and using her Orthodontic wires she fitted a splint around the incisor to hold it firm while the tissues began to heal.

Last Friday, on a Regular Check-up the lower front tooth seemed healthy, stable and not even discoloured. Both the Mum and son where very happy.

It was very satisfying for all concerned to see that quick treatment of such a traumatic incident could result in such a great long-term result.

This week a patient from Chelmsford was referred to the practice with a loose front crown. He had a holiday booked for 2 weeks on Sunday so was desperate to get the front tooth fixed before his holiday. Unfortunatley the tooth required removal so we arranged the treatment today where we removed the tooth very carefully and fitted an implant and a provisional tooth at the same time, in time for his holiday in the Alps.

This weekend one of my old gold fillings fell out leaving me with quite a large hole in my tooth.

My colleague James saved the day with an all ceramic filling using our CEREC machine and the tooth has settled down very well.

It was quite strange being on the other side of the fence, especially being numb for most of the day, I think my patients thought I’d been drinking!!

Today we saw a delightful lady from Ongar who had fractured an upper tooth below the gum line. The tooth could not be saved so after taking a CT scan of the area we carefully removed the tooth and placed a dental implant. We then made a provisional tooth and fitted it to the implant to fill the space. To find out more about dental implants visit our dedicated site www.advanceimplantclinic.com

Today I had a call from a new patient with pain from a tooth, after she could not get in contact with her NHS dentist. I treated her problem with a root canal treatment that will be finished off by my colleague James in the next few days. If you require emergency treatment please call the practice, you will be given a mobile number to call so we can arrange to see you as quickly as we can.