Emergency Dentistry

Dental Emergencies

Every day we have specifically set-aside emergency appointments with our dentists across each of our Sunshine Coast and Brisbane dental practices.

We realise that the time when people most need a dentist is when they have a dental emergency. Whether you are an existing patient or have never seen us before we will do all we can to treat your emergency as a priority. We understand the last thing that someone with a toothache wants to hear is that the first available appointment is in 2 weeks’ time. That’s why we have arranged the same day emergency guarantee at all our dental practices.

It’s fair to say that the dentist is not anyone’s favourite place to visit. For many people this means they avoid going to the dentist until their pain becomes so great that they can no longer put off a dental visit. The last thing that we want in this situation is to tell people that they will have to put up with their pain until we can fit them in for an appointment. We find that if we can help people out promptly during their time of great need they really appreciate our care. They are then more likely to come back so that we can prevent them ending up in pain again. This seems to break the cycle of anxiety and fear for many people.

Dental emergencies are diverse, and anyone can experience them, sometimes in ways that don’t even involve pain. Emergencies are grouped into three categories by how impactful or medically serious they are and how soon they need to be treated. The three categories are Emergency Dental Conditions, Urgent Dental Conditions, and Routine Dental Conditions.

The most common dental emergencies we see are the Urgent Dental Conditions. These make up about three quarters of emergency phone calls to the dentist. Urgent conditions should be treated within 24 hours. The most common urgent conditions we see are severe toothache or face pain, tooth infections, gum infections or swelling, and broken teeth exposing the nerve.

A quarter of emergency calls are for Routine Dental Conditions. They should be treated as soon as possible within the week. These comprise broken or loose fillings, mild toothache, tooth pain when biting, bleeding gums, loose or broken crowns, veneers and bridges, minor injuries to teeth or mouth, minor post-extraction bleeding, and broken dentures or plates.

About 1% of emergency phone calls to the dentist are Emergency Dental Conditions. These need to be seen within 60 minutes by a dentist or occasionally a hospital emergency department. Emergency Dental Conditions can include a knocked out tooth, a large or worsening swelling in the mouth or around the face, jaw or neck, uncontrollable post-extraction bleeding, major face or teeth injuries, mouth or teeth infections causing a fever or general illness, and severe, limited jaw opening.

As for the most common emergencies, a broken tooth can occur for a number of reasons. The most common reasons for a tooth breaking are from large old dental amalgam (silver) fillings and from excessive force. Toothache occurs when bacteria that cause dental decay rot so much of the tooth away that the bacteria eat right into the nerve inside the tooth. The bacteria then burrow down the root canals inside the tooth and result in an abscess at the tip of the tooth, which can be extremely painful. Broken fillings are also a fairly common dental emergency. They occur when existing fillings break. The most common cause of broken fillings are when the filling is very large and fills more then 50% of the tooth, and because there’s so little original tooth left to support the filling there’s a high risk of the filling breaking.

If you’re suffering from a dental emergency please call Avenue Dental in Caloundra, Kawana, Maroochydore, Bli Bli, North Lakes, Baringa, Sippy Downs, Tewantin, Beerwah and Woolloongabba before 10.00am to take advantage of our same day emergency guarantee. We also offer extended opening hours to help accommodate you. Monday to Thursday we’re open late until 7pm and every Saturday we’re open from 9am until 1:30pm.