Emergencies

Same Day Emergency Guarantee. Do you have a dental emergency? We have a same day emergency guarantee. We specifically sets aside dental emergency appointments everyday with our dentists.

Whether you are an existing patient or have never seen us before if you have a dental emergency that needs to be dealt with on the day, we guarantee that we will see you on the day you call – as long as you call before 10am. We intentionally put aside emergency appointments every day so that we can get people out of trouble on the same day they call. We realise that no one wants to put up with a toothache for 2 weeks until their dentist can see them. That is why we created our same day emergency guarantee. You can be confident your concerns will be dealt with as a priority by the team at Preston Smiles in Melbourne.

Toothache

Toothaches occur when bacteria from dental decay progress to the nerve inside the tooth and kill off the nerve. They often occur without warning as the decay is usually completely painless until it gets into the nerve. Once bacteria get into the nerve they track down the root of the tooth and set up an infection inside the jaw bone. This is called a dental abscess. The pressure from a combination of bacteria, pus causes the infection to expand into the jawbone which results in constant, extreme, throbbing pain.

Occasionally, these infections can become chronic (long term) rather than acute (short term painful) infections. Chronic dental infections are usually quite painless. The only signs and symptoms may be occasional tenderness on biting, an occasional pimple on the gums (this is the infection draining out of the bone into the mouth) or occasional bad tastes. Unfortunately, these chronic infections become more difficult to treat over time as the bacterial colonies become more organised in defending themselves from our immune system. Chronic infections slowly continue to progress into larger infections and if we get run down or ill they can convert into the acute, painful infection.

Broken Tooth

Emergencies we also tend to get are broken teeth that are usually diet related. Sometimes these may or may not involve the nerve. Sometimes, people might bite on a bit of seed and the tooth may split and depending upon the nature of the split, will determine the cause of treatment. If the split is minor, generally a filling or a crown will be adequate; however, if the fracture is complicated in nature and involves the nerve or the base of the tooth, sometimes root canals or extractions are indicated.

Trauma/Sports Injuries

Dental trauma can occur to anyone but is most common from sporting injuries and in children. Dental trauma from sports usually results in injuries to the front teeth. Occasionally a knock to the jaw can damage the back teeth as it hits the teeth together with considerable force. Usually, wearing a mouthguard can prevent these types of dental injuries. Unfortunately, we see a lot of injuries to front teeth from sports where mouthguards are not traditionally used such as skateboarding and surfing. Children are at greater risk of dental trauma, especially when they have prominent front teeth that are not covered by their lips, as they are more likely to fall or receive a knock to their teeth when playing.