Emergency Dental Treatment Christchurch

Sudden toothache or broken tooth? Get in touch with us via phone to book in and see us. We keep dedicated emergency treatment blocks so we can help you ask quickly as possible. In some cases, we may be able to see you the same day.

What to expect from emergency treatment?

While we may not be able to start treatment that same day, we will determine the cause of the pain and help resolve it, thus alleviating your pain. We will then put a plan in place to resolve the issue long-term.

Toothache

Toothache is often extremely painful and can strike at any moment. Pain can be triggered by hot or cold drinks and chewing. If you are experiencing pain in your tooth it is important to have the tooth seen to by a dentist so we can determine the cause of the pain, resolve the issue and educate you on how to prevent this from reoccurring in the future.

We make every effort to see patients on the same day they experience pain, however due to the nature of our work, we may not be able to see you the same day you experience these symptoms. We will book you in at the earliest opportunity.

Before your appointment, you can help reduce your pain by taking anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, and take in conjunction with paracetamol. Follow the instructions on the packet before taking. Oil of cloves does seem to help relieve some forms of dental pain when applied to the affected area. This can be purchased at most pharmacies, please use carefully and as directed as overuse can cause other problems. Topical anaesthetic gels such as Bonjella also help relieve some forms of dental pain and again this can be purchased at most pharmacies. These are temporary fixes designed to keep you comfortable until you can get in to see a dentist and have the cause of the problem treated.

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Post Treatment Issues

Experiencing pain after dental treatment? Although this is rare, unplanned complications may arise after treatment, usually after dental extractions or oral surgery.

Following extraction treatment you will be provided with verbal instructions on what to do should a problem arise. A printed copy of instructions to take home and review will also be provided to you.

Most common problems:

Dry Socket

A dry socket occurs when the blood clot in the socket is lost too soon in the healing process. This allows the bone and nerve endings in the socket to become exposed, which is very painful.

This can occur two to four days after having the tooth extracted. The pain can be more severe than the original toothache.

If you think you are experiencing a dry socket, please phone Riverside Dental and our dentists will place a dressing in the socket to help alleviate the pain.

Continued  bleeding from socket

After having a tooth extracted you will be provided with gauze to take home should this occur. Remove the gauze from the packet, place over the socket and bite down for 20-30 minutes. (Use tea bags if gauze is unavailable.) If the bleeding does not stop, please call us. If it is after hours, please call the emergency dentist number (027 683 0679) for help. Patients taking blood thinners, aspirin or those with blood disorders are the more likely group to experience this problem.

On-going pain

As the local anaesthetic wears off, you may begin to experience some pain or discomfort that will gradually improve. The pain should be easily reduced by taking ibuprofen and/or paracetamol. Additional pain relief can be prescribed by the dentist if needed.

If one of our Riverside Dental dentists removed the tooth, we do not charge for these follow up appointments.