Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

Did I Crumble a Tooth?

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My husband and I are in a disagreement as to whether or not I need an emergency dentist. I think I can wait until my appointment on Tuesday, but he thinks I need to be seen right away. I had a root canal treatment almost two weeks ago. I had a business trip so put off getting the crown. My dentist gave me a temporary filling to hold things over. Everything was okay until dinner last night. I was eating Chinese food and started feeling something grainy. I discreetly reached in and some whitish crumbly material was the culprit. My husband thinks my tooth crumbled. I think it’s actually just the temporary filling. If I’m correct, I can wait to see the dentist, right?

Melinda F.

Dear Melinda,

First, let’s see if we can’t figure out who’s got the right end of the stick. If there’s a way for you to peek at the tooth, do so. If the tooth looks intact, but there’s a hole in the center, then you’re talking about the temporary filling falling out. If there’s any disintegration to the tooth, then you’ve got a crumbling tooth.

If it’s just the filling, you can likely wait until your appointment. You may want to take the precaution of getting some temporary dental filling material. You can find it at many pharmacies. Bear in mind, it’s only meant to be used for a few days. So, keep the appointment you have with your dentist to get your dental crown.

If you wait too long after a root canal, the tooth will become brittle and could end up crumbling as your husband suggested. If that happens, they’ll be nothing to crown and you’ll be looking for tooth replacement options.

On the other hand, if the tooth has started crumbling, the sooner you get in to see a dentist the better. In fact, I’d call your dentist right away and let him not what happened. He’ll want to crown the tooth right away if it’s still possible.

This blog is brought ot you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Canker Sore or Cancer?

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My husband is convinced he needs an emergency dentist for a canker sore. He thinks he has cancer. Is there anything I can do to calm him down?

Meg A. – New Jersey

Meg,

A lot of that will depend on how long he’s had the canker sore. Often they heal within two weeks. Much past that and it may actually be a sign of something more serious. Then, the sooner he sees the dentist, the better. It could also be a virus or cancer (as your husband fears).

Canker sores are developed for many different reasons—biting one’s cheek, friction from a dental appliance, injury, stress, and even allergies. There are several remedies which could give him some relief. There are oral pain relievers. They’re not extraordinarily strong, but they can give him some temporary relief while he eats. At least this way he gets the nourishment he needs. You can also find pads to cover the sore, but you can imagine how well that works in an environment like your mouth.

If your husband regularly sees the dentist, it’s probably just a canker sore. Dentists do a check for oral cancer during your check-ups, so he’d have seen any early warning signs. This should bring your husband some comfort. If it does turn out to be more than a canker sore or virus, be assured when they’re caught early the prognosis is generally very good.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Do I Need to See an Emergency Dentist for Implant Pain?

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I’m about halfway through the healing phase of my dental implants. I’ve been so excited about this and hadn’t had any problems until recently. Yesterday, it felt tingly and spongy. Today, I woke up with the area swollen and painful. I haven’t eaten.  Can I wait until I can get in to see the implant dentist or do I need to see an emergency dentist?

Sylvia P. – South Dakota

Sylvia,

This requires you get seen immediately. I’d let your implant dentist know what it going on. If he or she can’t see you right away, then go to an emergency dentist.

It sounds like you’ve developed an infection at your implant site. You don’t want it to settle in or you’ll lose your implant. If they have to remove the implant, you’ll have to get bone grafting done in order to re-start the procedure.

Even without the worry about the implant, you don’t want a tooth infection to spread. It’s close to your heart and brain. People still die from tooth infections.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Help! I Messed Up My Crown

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I was on vacation when my crown broke off. I didn’t want to cut my vacation short so I superglued my crown. I don’t think I glued it correctly. Will my dentist be able to fix it?

Shelby T. – Georgia

Shelby,

I’m sure that worried you to be away from familiar surroundings when your crown came off. SuperGlue may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but as you know now, it is easy to glue something, but not always easy to get it in the exact correct position.

First, don’t panic. Your dentist will be able to get the superglue off. That doesn’t mean your crown can be saved, but hopefully the dentist will be able to get it off in one piece.

If this ever happens again, you don’t have to glue it. There are emergency dentists in every city, who will see you even if you’re not an established patient.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

How Long Does Emergency Bonding Last?

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I had quite the fight with a flight of stairs and my teeth lost. Two of them were badly chipped. I went to see an emergency dentist and he put some kind of emergency bonding on them and told me to follow up with my regular dentist. The bonding he did seems to be holding up, even though it is a few days later.  How soon will I need to see my dentist before it wears out?

Caryn – MIchigan

Caryn,

I’m assuming  the emergency dentist used a composite bonding on your chipped teeth. It’s used in emergencies, but not soley. It’s a common treatment for chipped teeth and will last several years. He didn’t want you to follow up because it needed replacing right away.

Instead, it is to double check the tooth itself. When a tooth is traumatized, it doesn’t always give  symptoms right away. If the blood flow was cut off to the tooth it wouldn’t show up on x-rays. If this is the case, the tooth could be dead or dying, and it will eventually need a root canal. Unfortunately, the first sign this has happened is often pain or an abscess, though sometimes the person notices discoloration as well. Anytime you see an emergency dentist, he’ll refer you back to your regular office for a follow-up.

I hope this helps you. Do make sure you follow up.  It could save you a great deal of time and money, as well as unnecessary treatment.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Can I Self Medicate with Marijuana Before Going to the Dentist?

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I take marijuana for anxiety. And I can assure you a dentist causes me anxiety. I have a serious toothache and likely need to see a dentist. Will they treat me while having marijuana in my system if I have a prescription for it?

Mark L. – Arizona

Mark,

Honestly, it will depend on the dentist. I suspect from your question that you don’t have a dentist of your own. That’s OK. My suggestion would be to call around and ask some emergency dentists. There are two very important aspects to this though.

  1. You need to be seen. You likely have a tooth infection. Infections spread, so you’ll want to get the infection removed.
  2. You need to tell the dentist that you’ve got marijuana in your system. It could save your life. Here’s why.

Many dentists use a local anesthetic that contains epinephrine, which isn’t a great mix with marijuana. It can cause an abnormal hearthbeat or peripheral vasodilation. Either of those combined with your anxiety can cause serious harm to you. As long as the dentist knows what you have in your system, he can avoid any contraindications.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Noah.

Why is There a Pimple on My Gum?

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I’ve had a toothache for some time and kept meaning to get to the dentist, but we’re new in town and I haven’t found a regular dentist yet. Now there seems to be a pimple on my gum. Do you know what that is?

Marie B. – New York

Marie,

It would appear that you have developed an abscess on your gum from an infected tooth.  I hate being the bearer of bad news because I know that moves can be stressful and now you’re needing to add dealing with this on top of everything else.

I realize you do not have a dentist at the moment, but you need to get this treated right away. There are emergency dentists that will see non-established patients in times like this. They’ll get you out of pain, diagnose the problem, and schedule a follow-up.

If you don’t like the dentist, you can schedule with a different dentist. Just make sure you at least get seen by someone quickly. It will only get worse and this will spread.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

What do you do if your crown falls out?

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I got my first dental crown. It was a little uncomfortable and I will admit I was picking at it a bit because of the discomfort. But, I was not expecting it to fall out.  I’m a little embarrassed now and wondered if I can put it back in myself?

Adrianna – Kentucky

Adrianna,

You have nothing to be embarassed about. Even if you did pick at it, it shouldn’t have fallen off. That is the fault of the dentist. What you’ll have to do is call them and tell them your crown fell out. Most dentists schedule some time in their days for unexpected dental emergencies. They shouldn’t charge you for this, because it shouldn’t have fallen out to begin with.

Don’t try to fix this yourself. If you don’t put it in just right, it could cause a problem in your teeth’s alignment. It could also be painful.

Speaking of painful, I would also be sure to tell your dentist the crown was uncomfortable. Describe the pain to him.  When he bonds it back in, he is likely to be able to solve that problem as well.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Should my sister have gone to an emergency dentist?

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My sister was in a car accident where she lost her tooth. She thought it was fine to just save the tooth and see a dentist later. I thought she should have gone to an emergency dentist. Which of us is right?

Jeanette K. – (the right sister)

Jeanette,

Unfortunately, you were right. I only say unfortunately because your sister not listening to you mean she lost any chance of saving her tooth.  You usually have to get to a dentist within thirty minutes to have any chance of saving your tooth. She’ll have needed to keep it moist, either in her cheek or possibly in a glass of milk.

Her dentist would have gotten her in right away. If she didn’t have a dentist an emergency dentist would have seen her.  If you call on your way, they’ll even be ready for you when you get there to give you the best chance of saving your tooth.

At this point for your sister, she’ll have to get a replacement tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Do store bought fillings work?

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I was thinking of filling my tooth myself.  I have a small cavity and I noticed there is some dental filling material at my phaarmacy.  Does that work as well as the stuff you get in the office?

Jonas T. – Alexandria, VA

Jonas,

I understand it sounds like a great idea to do things yourself, but some things shouldn’t be DIY.  This is one of them.  The store bought filling you were talking about is only meant to be used for a few days to tide you over until you can get to a dentist.  I highly suggest you see a dentist right away.  If you don’t have one, you can see an emergency dentist. They will see non-established patients fairly quickly.

Just filling the tooth isn’t enough.  You will need to have all the cavity removed. I don’t think you want to go digging that out yourself.  Even if you did, it’s likely you wouldn’t get all of it.  Then you just will continue with the degradation of your tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.