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Jacksonville Beach Dental Svc.
1234 Main Street - Jacksonville Beach, Florida - (904) 555-1212 |
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New Patients Welcome - Initial Consultation Free - Call (904) 555-1212
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Understanding What A Toothache Is Trying To Tell YouAs we all know, toothaches are the result of several different factors. The pain that stems from a toothache is always apparent, normally in the form of throbbing. The pain will normally intensify as time goes by, when you eat, lay down, or drink hot/cold liquids. Toothaches are very painful, and it may seem that no matter what you do - it seems to hurt more. In the dental world, toothaches can include such things as cavities, infections or abscess in the teeth or gums, debris that has been trapped between the teeth and gums, and trauma to the face, teeth, or the jaw. Sometimes, toothaches can result from medical conditions and have nothing to do with dental. In most cases, if the problem goes without being checked, it can lead to serious trouble and maybe even become a life threatening situation. Normally, when you have a toothache, youíll experience tremendous pain. The pain will stem from the affected tooth or the jaw, and youíll know it almost immediately. It will start out to be a throbbing pain, then continue to get worse and worse until you get it treated. If you wait too long and allow the infection to spread throughout the tooth, youíll end up having to get it pulled or cut out. Anytime you start to experience a toothache, you shouldnít hesitate to make an appointment with your dentist to have it checked. Sometimes, getting an appointment when your tooth starts hurting is easier said than done. Even though you may be able to use certain products to stop the pain, the pain will always come back until you get the problem fixed. A toothache will always come back, until you get the tooth taken care of. If you visit your dentist in time and he catches the problem early, he may be able to save your tooth. Normally, this will result in a filling, crown, or root canal, although you wonít have to have the tooth removed. Dentists always look to save teeth, as they donít like to remove a tooth unless they absolutely have to. If the tooth has become abscessed, the dentist will put you on antibiotics such as penicillin until the infection has subsided enough to remove the tooth. Throughout our lives, most of us will experience the pain and agony of a toothache at some point. A toothache can be the worst pain you have ever felt in your life, especially if you are feeling the pain of an abscess. If youíve never had a toothache, you should consider yourself lucky. Those who have had toothaches though, will tell you that the pain is something you never want to experience - it will make you feel as if your whole world is falling apart. A Close Look At Wisdom TeethAlso known as the third set of molars, the wisdom teeth are the last set of teeth in the mouth to erupt, which normally happens around the ages of 17 - 25. For many years, there has been a lot of controversy as to the need to remove these teeth. If the teeth don't cause any harm or pain, they are normally fine to stay in place. If they present a bad position or cause you a lot of pain or discomfort, they will need to be removed. When the wisdom teeth first come in, they will sometimes be impacted. Impacted teeth will normally need to be extracted. Sometimes they can be pulled, although in most cases they need to be cut out by a qualified surgeon. When the time comes to have your wisdom teeth extracted, you'll need to go to an oral surgeon and have a consultation first. During the consultation, you'll take a few x-rays that will let the surgeon know how bad your wisdom teeth are. He will go over the results with you, take a look in your mouth, then tell you what options you have. If he is going to pull or cut out your teeth, you'll have the option of using local anaesthesia or going with an IV sedation. An IV sedation is the preferred way to have wisdom teeth extracted, as you'll be so relaxed you won't know what is going on. If you decide to just use local anaesthesia, which is numbing, you'll be fully aware of the procedure. You'll also hear the popping and cracking involved, which can make you feel quite uncomfortable. Depending on the shape, size, and the formation of the wisdom teeth, the removal process can vary from easy to hard. If the root tips have managed to wrap themselves around the bone, the removal process can be very time consuming and quite painful. Once the extractions have been completed, there is normally little to no swelling involved. Your dentist will prescribe you some pain medicine, which you should use as soon as you arrive home. If you are going to use IV sedation, you'll need to someone to accompany you, as you won't be able to drive home. After the removal of your wisdom teeth, your dentist will go over what you need to do to ensure the proper healing of your gums and mouth. Normally, he will give you information to go over, to make sure that you experience no problems in the healing process. Someone will need to be with you for the first 24 hours, to make sure that you're ok. You won't be able to eat certain foods for the first 48 hours, which is to be expected. Once you get your wisdom teeth removed through - you'll notice a big improvement in your mouth - and your health. The Dry Socket Even though they aren't life threatening like bleeding or abscesses, dry sockets can be extremely painful. They are very common following surgery, and happen to be one of the most painful post extraction problems. Dry sockets are more common with removal of the lower teeth than they are with removal of upper teeth. No matter what type of extraction you have performed, a dry socket can occur with any type. Although there is really no way to prevent a dry socket, you can help to reduce the risk by following your after surgery directions. Even though you may be following the directly precisely, you could still end up with a dry socket. They are known as a quirk of nature, and will make you feel like you are on your death bed - although you really aren't. Those who are more at risk to dry sockets include those who smoke following extractions, and those who like to grind their teeth frequently. A dry socket is a condition where the blood clot that forms after an extraction detaches itself from the socket walls. Sometimes, the clot will dissolve, leaving the bone exposed to food, the weather, and even saliva. Once the bone is exposed, it can become inflamed. The inflammation that occurs is very painful, often times being a deep pain that makes you feel as if you are dying. If you leave it alone, the dry socket will heal. It will normally take around a month or so, although the pain won't let up during the healing period. If you have a dry socket, you'll find that antibiotics and even the strongest of prescription drug won't cure it. An antibiotic will normally cure infections, although a dry socket isn't considered to be an infection. The best way to fight a dry socket is to go back to your dentist and have him pack the socket. Packing the socket is done without any anesthesia and can be quite painful. It doesn't take long to complete, and it can provide relief from the pain. Once you have a dry socket, you won't care about anything but stopping the pain. The pain can be so intense at times that you will be willing to do anything to stop the pain - even for a few minutes. Once the socket has been packed, you will be relived from pain for a day or so. If you go back to your dentist, he will remove the old packing, wash the socket out, and place a new packing in. This way, you can get relief from the pain and help the socket heal. Keep in mind that it will take time to heal - and the best way to stop the pain is to do your best to avoid a dry socket at all costs. |