Baton Rouge Dentist

Archives for June 2018

Should I see an emergency dentist for a hurting dental implant?

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I just finished getting a dental implant about two weeks ago. It’s been quite a process, first having the procedure to get the post in and waiting for it to heal. Now, having the tooth on there is nice, although I have had some pain there the past two days. It’s not the same pain as the actual implant healing, but it hurts just the same. I can’t eat on it. I don’t remember eating anything particularly hard on it within the last few days to aggravate it. Should I just ride this out as a normal part of implant healing or should I see an emergency dentist before it gets worse?

Mary, Portland, Maine

Dear Mary,

Woman with mouth painIf it was just a regular tooth that was starting to hurt out of the blue, you could wait and schedule an appointment with your dentist to get it checked, but where you just had an implant there, it warrants a trip to the emergency dentist. You may have an infection. Especially where you can’t eat on it, it’s better safe than sorry to get it checked.

How bad can an infection be?

The reason infection is worrisome, especially in your scenario, is that it can affect all the work you just had done with your implant. If the infection is severe enough, you may have to have the post taken out. In some cases, if the infection has spread and affected the jaw bone that anchors the post, a bone graft is necessary before the process can start all over, with all the healing time again in between steps.

Aside from being painful and uncomfortable, if infection is left unchecked, any infection, it can spread. Once it spreads to the heart or if it reaches the brain, it becomes a matter of life or death. That’s why early detection and taking care of infection with medication is so important.

Speaking to the dentist you have been working with on your implant about your pain would be the best. Many offices have after-hours or even a dental emergency number. If you can’t talk to anyone there within a few hours, schedule an appointment with an emergency dentist.

This post is sponsored by Dr. Ryan Perry at Baton Rouge Family Dentist in Louisianna.

 

Am I immune to anesthesia or do I need a new dentist?

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I don’t know what is wrong with me, but every time I have to get a cavity filled at the dentist, they can never get me numb. I really don’t like going to the dentist anyway, so when I have to get a filling, it is terrible. They do one shot and wait. They do another shot and wait. It’s not fun. Is it me? Am I just immune to the anesthesia? Is it my dentist? Does he not know what he’s doing?

Cal

Dear Cal,

You didn’t mention much about your past experience at the dentist, except that you don’t like to go. If your past includes some kind of traumatic experience at the dentist, that experience could be playing a part in why you have a hard time getting numb when you have dental procedures.

There are cases when anxiety and stress prevent novocain from working correctly. Why still isn’t completely understood. It may be muscle tensity, the body’s chemistry, or some other factor, but the numbing action of the novocain doesn’t complete or it wears off very quickly.

Sedation dentistry to the rescue

If you feel that anxiety and stress describes you, sedation dentistry may be a good avenue for you. Sometimes starting with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, can help you relax enough for the novocain to work properly. Nitrous oxide alone is enough for some patients to be able to get their dental work done comfortably. If you still aren’t comfortable, you can try conscious sedation dentistry. You would take some medicine to help you relax before your appointment, but you don’t sleep. You are just very comfortable, so much so that you may not even remember the appointment.

If you haven’t had a bad experience in the past that would lead you to feel anxiety and struggle for novocain to work, it may not be a bad idea to try a different dentist. There are dentists who are especially good at gentle dentistry.

This post is sponsored by Dr. Ryan Perry in Baton Rouge, LA.