Tooth pain can range from a mild annoyance to an unbearable ache that disrupts your daily life. While some discomfort can wait until your next dental appointment, certain types of tooth pain signal a more serious issue that needs urgent attention. Knowing when tooth pain is considered a dental emergency can help you protect your oral health and potentially save your tooth.
When Tooth Pain is a True Emergency
Not all toothaches are created equal. If your pain is severe, sudden, or accompanied by other symptoms, it’s often a sign that something serious is going on beneath the surface. Here are common scenarios where tooth pain qualifies as a dental emergency.
Severe, Unrelenting Pain
If your tooth pain is intense enough to keep you from sleeping, eating, or concentrating, it’s more than just a minor irritation. This level of discomfort could mean you have an abscess, deep cavity, or advanced infection that needs immediate treatment.
Swelling in the Face or Jaw
Swelling—especially if it’s spreading—can indicate an infection that may be moving into surrounding tissues. Left untreated, dental infections can spread to other parts of the body and become life-threatening.
Signs of Infection
Fever, foul-tasting drainage, or swollen lymph nodes paired with tooth pain are red flags. Infections inside a tooth or in the gum tissue require urgent care, often involving antibiotics and sometimes root canal therapy.
Pain After an Injury
If tooth pain develops after trauma to your mouth or jaw, you may have a cracked, chipped, or knocked-loose tooth. Getting immediate care can improve your chances of saving the tooth.
When Tooth Pain Can Wait
Some toothaches, while uncomfortable, don’t necessarily require same-day treatment. For example:
- Mild sensitivity to hot or cold that goes away quickly.
- Dull aches that come and go without swelling.
- Discomfort caused by food stuck between teeth.
While these issues should still be evaluated by a dentist, they usually don’t pose an immediate threat to your health or tooth survival.
Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Tooth Pain
Even if your tooth pain is tolerable, it’s important to remember that pain is your body’s way of signaling a problem. Dental issues like cavities, cracked teeth, or gum disease rarely improve without treatment. Waiting too long can turn a small, fixable problem into an emergency, often involving more complex and costly care.
What to Do if You Have a Dental Emergency
If you experience severe tooth pain or any symptoms of infection, contact your dentist right away. Many dental offices offer emergency appointments, and some even provide after-hours care. In the meantime, you can:
- Rinse your mouth with warm saltwater.
- Take over-the-counter pain relievers (avoid placing aspirin directly on the tooth).
- Apply a cold compress to reduce swelling.
Tooth pain can sometimes be a minor inconvenience, but in many cases—especially when it’s severe, sudden, or paired with swelling—it’s a dental emergency. Acting quickly can relieve your pain, stop the spread of infection, and save your tooth. When in doubt, it’s always safer to call your dentist rather than wait and hope it goes away.
About the Practice
If you’re experiencing severe tooth pain, don’t wait any longer – make your way to Snow Family Dental. We offer emergency dentistry for patients of all ages. If you’re in need of a tooth extraction, we can complete the procedure quickly and painlessly in-office, so you don’t need a referral to another unfamiliar practice. We accept and maximize your dental insurance coverage and offer financing as well! If you’re in pain, don’t shrug it off or try to tough it out – schedule an appointment online or call our Frankfort office at (708) 550-4426.