Emergency

Root Canal Treatment

Endodontic (root canal) treatment is necessary when the pulp, the soft tissue inside the root canal, becomes inflamed or infected. The inflammation or infection can have a variety of causes: deep decay, repeated dental procedures on the tooth, or a crack or chip in the tooth. In addition, an injury to a tooth may cause pulp damage even if the tooth has no visible chips or cracks. If pulp inflammation or infection is left untreated, it can cause pain or lead to an abscess.

Dr. Po has taken many hours of continuing education and hands-on training using the latest technology available in endodontics today. She is pleased to offer a painless and safe root canal experience.

What To Do In The Event Of A Dental Emergency

Pain:

Temperature Sensitivity: If a tooth is mildly sensitive to temperature stimuli, it may mean the nerve is inflamed. If the pain goes away within seconds upon the removal of the stimulus, that is a good sign and suggests a good probability that the nerve may survive. Treatment: Avoid any stimulus that hurts the tooth. Allow the nerve to rest and heal. Do not test it constantly to determine if the pain has subsided. Take over the counter anti-inflammatory medications such as Tylenol, Advil or, Aspirin. Protect the tooth for at least two weeks before testing it again for progress.

Pressure Pain: This can indicate a number of things. If a filling has been placed recently, it can signify that there is too much filling material in the tooth, causing the one tooth to strike first when you chew. Just like stubbing your toe, this causes bruising around the root and results in pain.

Treatment: Simply return to our office for a minor adjustment to the height or morphology (shape) of the filling.

Extreme Pain:

If pain is extreme and unbearable to the point where it takes minutes or hours to go away, and cannot be relieved with over the counter medication, and is spontaneous in nature (coming on unprovoked) then you have a true emergency. Such pain suggests that the nerve within the tooth is dying.

Treatment: During business hours, call our office at (916) 922-2027. We will do our best to see you the same day you call and assess your situation. If needed, a referral to a specialist, and a prescription of medications will be given to control your symptoms. If not during business hours, call our emergency number (916) 962-6499 and the doctor on call will call in a prescription for you.

Trauma: In the event of an injury, a tooth and or the root of a tooth may sustain fracture of varying degrees. In all events, it is necessary for the patient to be examined by the doctor. If the fracture exposes the nerve, a root canal filling and possibly a crown, or veneer will be necessary.

Displacement: If the tooth is displaced, it needs to be repositioned immediately before the formation of a blood clot makes it impossible to move the tooth back to the correct location. In the event of displacement, the nerves are in shock and immediate repositioning of the tooth is relatively painless. Call our office immediately.

If the tooth has been knocked out of the mouth, it needs to be re-implanted within 30 minutes in order to have a reasonable chance of being saved.

If the tooth has not fallen out of the mouth, simply place it back in the position it came from, as close as you can, and call our office immediately. If the tooth has fallen out of the mouth, rinse it with cool water without rubbing or touching the root, and place it back where it should be.

If you cannot position the tooth yourself, then place it under your tongue and come to our office immediately. If the patient is a young child, and swallowing the tooth is a concern, have the child spit in a small cup, and place the tooth in the saliva. If the child is uncooperative, then the parent can do this.

Treatment: In all events of trauma, call our office immediately.

Bleeding:

Prolonged bleeding after root planning, prophylactic cleaning, or surgery many indicate a medical problem.

Treatment: Apply gauze to the area and subject the wound to direct pressure for 10 minutes. If this is unsuccessful, dip a bag of black tea in hot water for seconds, squeeze the excess moisture out and apply the tea bag directly to the wound. Bite on it and maintain pressure for 10 minutes. If this is unsuccessful, call our office immediately. You may have a clotting factor problem that you are not aware of and require medical attention.