Signs You Need To See A Dentist

We already visit the dentist twice a year and while that seems like more than enough, sometimes an extra visit is necessary. Our mouths can be affected in many ways by our habits, diet, and injuries, so paying attention when your teeth are giving you signals is important. There’s many mouth-related symptoms that can be treated at home or go away in a few days on their own, but there’s certain sign that you need to get to your dentist, quickly. If you experience any of the five symptoms below, make an appointment with your dentist to have it checked out as soon as they’re available.

Bleeding Gums

Depending on how well you take care of your teeth, bleeding gums may happen every now and then when you brush or floss in certain areas. There’s no cause for alarm if it happens once and then stops, but frequent bleeding of the gums or inflammation can be the first sign of gum or periodontal disease. If you’re having discomfort while brushing or your gums are giving you any irritation for longer than a few days, be sure to call your dentist.

Intense Pain/Pressure

Toothaches are the usually very intense, but can typically be alleviated with over-the-counter painkillers. However, intense pain or pressure on the teeth can be a serious alert to something as simple as cavities or as severe as disease. Pain that wakes you up or seriously disrupts your day is a definite sign of a necessary visit to your dentist’s office. Even if you fight off the pain after a couple days, a call to your dentist to just make sure a visit may be needed is a good idea.

Abnormal Patches

Any spots around the mouth that seem unnatural should be dealt with by a dentist. Sometimes they may just be canker sores, small painful red sores that occur in the mouth, which will usually go away on their own, but sores or white patches may be a sign of something more serious- like periodontal disease or cancer. Basically, if you see anything in your mouth that wasn’t there before, a dentist trip is probably necessary.

Sensitivity

Heightened sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures could be a sign that teeth have decayed past the enamel and into the center of the tooth. This is a very serious progression of decay, and needs to be dealt with. The problem could also be that you grind your teeth when sleeping- this often causes sensitivity. Either way, the problem needs to mentioned to your dentist.

Headaches

Any headache that can be tied to stress or tension on the neck could be signs of a dental problem. Though harder to directly relate to the mouth, intense headaches could be a sign of night grinding. If you’re experiencing these headaches in the morning, contact your dentist to look into getting a mouth guard.

The best kind of dentistry is preventative dentistry, and checking your mouth everyday for any abnormalities is a good habit to practice. At the first sign of pain or irregularity, be sure to contact your dentist to delay any further tooth damage.

If you’ve noticed any of these signs above and may need cavity removal or tooth pain addressed, Greenspoint Dental offers a variety of general dentistry treatments that can solve the problem quickly. Contact us today to make an appointment.