Do you have severe dental pain, a swollen face, a suspected, dental abscess, or a broken tooth? Don’t suffer in silence. At Lister House Dental Centre in Essex, we do our best to accommodate patients requiring urgent attention and an emergency appointment.
What is a dental emergency?
Sometimes it can be difficult to know what constitutes a dental emergency, so we have outlined some of the most common and urgent dental issues. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, please get in touch with your Lister House dentist:
- Sudden and severe toothache
- Traumatic injury to the mouth
- An infection or inflammation of the gum (can look red, swollen, hot to the touch and painful)
- Sudden discolouration of the gums and teeth
- Discharge or pus within the mouth
- Cracked or broken tooth exposing nerves and tissue
What to do whilst you’re waiting to be seen
If you have lost or broken part of your tooth, and your mouth is bleeding, or you are in a lot of pain, please avoid touching the area. This will help to prevent infection. Applying a cold compress or a covered ice pack to the outside of your mouth or jaw (close to the location of your missing tooth) will provide you with some relief from the pain and help to stem any bleeding.
It is a good idea to place the missing tooth, or the part of the tooth that has broken off, into a sealed container with some milk. Place this container in the fridge while waiting for your emergency dental appointment to help save the tooth and surrounding tissue from dying. Please bring this container with you to your appointment as your Harlow dentist may be able to clean the tooth and place it back into your mouth, depending on the level of damage.
In need of an emergency dental appointment?
We try our best to accommodate emergency appointments for both regular and non-regular patients so, if you are experiencing tooth pain or a dental injury, please contact our Reception team who will advise on the best course of action to get you seen by a professional.
For out of hours contact, please call NHS 111 for self-care advice at the very least. The accident and emergency service at the local hospital, Princess Alexandra, will be the best port of call if you:
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Are in severe dental pain not being eased by painkillers
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Are bleeding non-stop from the mouth (i.e. tooth extraction site)
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Have trauma of the face/mouth/teeth after a recent accident/injury