Emergency Dentist Archives - Kokopelli Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Should I’d get all My Wisdom Teeth Out or Just the One Causing Problems?

Posted on May 22, 2026 by writeradmin.

I have four impacted wisdom teeth. One of them is infected and my dentist says it needs to come out. I”m 26 so am a bit worried I waited too late. I’ve been told I should have taken them out when I was a teenager. I know I have to take this one out. Is it a good or bad idea to get the rest of them out at the same time?

Laura

Dear Laura,

While the ideal time to have your wisdom teeth out is in your late teens or early twenties, you are still young enough where I don’t think you have much to worry about. I don’t start worrying about too many complications until a patient reaches their 40s. Either way, when a wisdom tooth is infected, you would have to remove the tooth.

I also think you would be best served by removing all of the impacted wisdom teeth at the same time. At some point, they will become infected themselves. You don’t want to wait and then either have it become a dental emergency where you have little control of the circumstances then or who treats you.

You also would be better served having them removed while you are still young. I recommend you have them all done at once.

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Does a Tooth Still Need Extraction If it Feels Fine?

Posted on October 15, 2025 by writeradmin.

I have a tooth that is infected. A month ago, my dentist suggested that I have it extracted, but he couldn’t do it right then. He started me on a ten day course of antibiotics. That helped tremendously. In fact, the tooth still feels fine a month later. I have an appointment to extract the tooth in a little over two weeks. Do I still need to get rid of the tooth if it is not hurting me?

Elaine

Dear Elaine,

I’m very glad you wrote. You will still need to have this tooth extracted. While antibiotics will help, and did for you, that is only temporary. The infection will return and a bit stronger than before. The only way to get rid of a tooth infection is to physically remove the infected pulp in the tooth. Ideally, you’d get a root canal treatment so that the tooth could be saved. If that is not possible, then a tooth extraction will be necessary.

I don’t like how your dentist has handled this. The standard procedure is to treat the tooth while you are still on antibiotics. If he couldn’t treat you in that time, he should have extended your antibiotic prescription until after the treatment is scheduled. You want the infection under control before having this tooth extracted. If it is not, not only will the procedure be more risky, but it will also make it harder for the Novocaine to work. If your tooth starts hurting at all, you need to call him and get a refill on that prescription. Don’t put that off. Tooth infections are serious.

Also, why isn’t he doing a root canal treatment instead of an extraction to save your tooth? If you do get an extraction, I hope he mentioned that you will need to replace the tooth.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Is She Going to Lose This Tooth?

Posted on May 24, 2025 by writeradmin.

I damaged a front tooth while on vacation. The emergency dentist did a root canal treatment. When I got home, my dentist checked it out and said everything looked good. He then put a dental crown on it, which he said was necessary. A couple of years later, the tooth became very sensitive to hot and cold. The dentist checked it out and said that nothing is wrong with it. He even did an x-ray. The problem is that the tooth was really hurting, but he just sent me home. Now the tooth has stopped hurting, but I’m worried that I’m going to lose it. What do I do?

Catie

Dear Catie,

I’m glad you wrote. I can tell you are very scared.. I want to put your mind at ease. If you had a root canal treatment on your front tooth, than it would not be the tooth having pain to the hot or cold. Sometimes when there is a molar that has a root canal treatment, there can be extra canals that get missed. On a front tooth, that doesn’t happen. That means the emergency dentist removed all the nerve from that tooth, so it won’t be the one with the pain.

If you go back to the original accident, it is very likely that the adjacent front tooth was also damaged. It is common for a traumatized tooth to not act up for years. If it has stopped hurting, then one of two things has happened. Either the damaged tooth has recovered or the pulp inside the tooth is dying. If it is dying, it will start to turn darker.

You’ll have to check the tooth with an x-ray every year or so. If it does die, you’ll need another root canal treatment and dental crown. But, as long as you keep an eye on the tooth, it can be saved even if it needs a root canal.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

How Long Can You Go Before You Have to Get a Root Canal?

Posted on November 16, 2024 by writeradmin.

Can you tell me how long it is possible to put off getting a root canal treatment?

Cecilia

Dear Cecilia,

This is tricky to answer because so much of it depends on the situation. However, I do think that I can give you some GENERAL advice. I’ll start with when you should do it right away because that is important.

If the tooth is in pain, even just a little bit you need to get seen. Another instance is if there is a pimple on your gums. These are both instances of an active infection. You will need to get this taken care of as soon as possible. There are too many people every year who die from a tooth infection they waited too long to treat. Dental emergencies can turn life threatening.

On the other hand, if the tooth is not hurting and hasn’t for a while, you are safe to put off getting the root canal treatment. It is likely an arrested infection. While it still has an impact on your general health, you won’t be in danger. You will find that after you finally have the root canal done, you feel much better in general.

The one thing you have to beware of here is that you will run the risk of external resorption. This is when the infection slowly eats away at the root of the tooth. Eventually, the tooth becomes unsavable. Then, you’ll end up needing a tooth replacement, such as a dental implant.

Please make sure you are also keeping up your regular dental appointments because things can change quickly.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Is a Crack In a Porcelain Veneer a Dental Emergency?

Posted on July 25, 2024 by writeradmin.

I’ve had eight porcelain crowns for close to 17 years. They have served me very well. I am a bit concerned about one of them. It’s always had a slight defect. My dentist told me about it from the beginning. I think she called it a grace line. I couldn’t see it, but she showed it to me with a magnifier. She told me they were common and probably nothing to worry about. She was right. The crown has been fine. However, this morning I noticed a change. I can see a line across the tooth and can feel it with my tongue. I’m guessing that this means the crown is fractured. Would this be considered a dental emergency? Do I need to replace it right away or should I wait? I am worried I’ll lose it in public.

Cassie

Dear Cassie,

You were close on what they are called. These are called craze lines and both your natural teeth as well as porcelain has them. Generally, as your dentist said, they are not a problem. Yours, however, has obviously had a change. You can now see it and feel it. It sounds a bit like a horizontal fracture.

You will want to replace the crown. I would not call it a dental emergency where you’d have to be seen right away, but I’d go ahead and schedule an appointment. You have had all of your dental crowns for a while. While it could be that this is the only one that needs to be replaced, I would have your dentist look at them and give her opinion on how they are holding up.

If they are getting close to their lifespan you have a couple of choices. First, you can replace them all at the same time. This has the disadvantage of having a large expense all at once, but the advantage of getting it all done and not having to worry about it. Second, you can just replace them as they are needed. This has the advantage of saving you some money temporarily, but the disadvantage of multiple appointments that you cannot necessarily preplan.

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Water is My Only Tooth Relief

Posted on June 15, 2023 by writeradmin.

Seven years ago I had a dental filling placed. It was fine for a while, but now hurts pretty much all the time. The only relief I have found is when I put water on it. Do you have any advise for me?

Brandon

Dear Brandon,

The symptoms you are describing are a tell-tale sign of an infected, dying tooth. You need to have a root canal treatment done on this as soon as possible. I would call your dentist and schedule and emergency dental appointment. If he or she cannot get you in, then I would call a dentist who advertises as an emergency dentist. This is not a specialty. It just means a dentist who is willing to see non-established patients in the case of an emergency.

It is unlikely they will do the root canal treatment there. However, what they can do is create an opening which will relieve the pressure and the pain you are feeling. Please do not think this can be put off once you are out of pain. The only real way to get rid of a dental infection is for the dentist to physically removed the infected pulp. This will only get worse until the real treatment is done.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Can an Emergency Dentist Remove Wisdom Teeth?

Posted on January 18, 2023 by writeradmin.

My son is away at college and is in need of a dentist pronto. I do not know what to do and am kicking myself for not taking care of his wisdom teeth before he went away. He has always had impacted wisdom teeth but his dentist said unless they were bothering him there was nothing we needed to do. They weren’t bothering him so we left them alone. Now that he’s away, his face is swollen and his mouth hurts. If I sent him to an emergency dentist would they be willing to take care of his wisdom teeth?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

Please don’t beat yourself up. You followed your dentist’s advice. There was no way to know that it would blow up when he was away from home. These things just seem to happen at the worst moments possible. The pain does not necessarily equate to him needing to get his wisdom teeth removed. There are other issues which can be causing this swelling.

It is possible that there is another tooth which is the source of the problem and it is referred pain in the area of his wisdom tooth. Another possibility is that he is actually dealing with pericoronitis. This is when the wisdom tooth is trying to come through but is still partially impacted in bone. Sometimes, a piece of gum tissue remains over the top of the tooth, which can trap plaque and food debris. This can cause pain, swelling, and even infections.

In the case of pericoronitis, a salt water rinse of ¼ tsp table salt dissolved into an 8 oz. glass of warm water can help keep the area clean. If there is something more substantial going on, then the gum tissue covering the tooth can be removed to reduce the possibility of a repeat problem. Additionally, an antibiotic can be prescribed to deal with the infection at the same time.

He needs to have an x-ray in order to get the proper diagnosis. The treatment can result in everything from a deep cleaning, to a root canal treatment, all the way up to wisdom tooth extraction. An emergency dentist can get him out of pain and may even have time to do a root canal treatment, though often they will schedule that for several days later. In the case of wisdom tooth removal, the dentist will either schedule that or refer him to an oral surgeon depending on the position of the impaction.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

I Have Doubts About Her Dentist

Posted on January 8, 2022 by writeradmin.

I had some pain in a tooth and went to see a new dentist who offered emergency dental appointments. He did an x-ray and said there is an infection on a tooth that already has a filling. He said there is so much decay that only about 10% of the tooth is viable and thinks it cannot be saved. So, he wants to extract it and put a dental implant in its place. He’s scheduled me for two days from now. I’m not too keen on surgery. Is there another option for me?

Kelsie.

Dear Kelsie,

I have some doubts about what this dentist is saying. If there truly were that much decay, he would not need an x-ray at all. In fact, the dental filling would have fallen into the tooth at that point. Plus, he is pushing you into a very expensive procedure quite quickly. I think you need to get a second opinion from another dentist.

Dental implants are fantastic tooth replacements, but only if you actually need to lose a tooth. With that in mind, another thing that bothers me is the fact that he only gave you a dental implant as your option. A dentist is ethically obligated to give you all your options. If you did not want a dental implant, a dental bridge would be the next best thing. The downside to this is it requires you to crown the two adjacent teeth. If they are healthy, you may not want to do that.

There are other options as well, but in reality, I have doubts you even need to remove this tooth. Please get that second opinion.

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She Needs to Switch to Another Dentist

Posted on April 27, 2020 by writeradmin.

I am in so much pain and need some help. I had a root canal treatment three years ago. It started to hurt again a few weeks ago. I went in to see my dentist and he said it is re-infected and did a root canal re-treatment. He prescribed me some antibiotics. It got better for a little bit, but now I’m even worse. I called back and he said some people take longer than others to get better. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t take the pain. What is my next step because I’m not sure my dentist is on target here?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

While it is not unheard of for a root canal treatment to need re-treatment, the chances of the re-treatment being successful go down each time it has to be done. Your dentist started out with a good plan, but has gone downhill from there.

It is true that some people take longer to heal than others. However, they don’t start to get better and then get worse again. That is a sign there is still an infection present. The only reason you likely felt better at first was because of the antibiotics. Once those wore off, the infection flared back up.

In this case, I think you need to forgo your current dentist and see a root canal specialist. If you have insurance, they will be listed as an endodontist. Let them know what is going on and they should schedule you for an urgent care appointment. Don’t put this off. Tooth infections are considered dental emergencies and you don’t want this to spread.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.

Antibiotics Not Working for Tooth Infection

Posted on October 12, 2019 by writeradmin.

I developed a tooth infection a couple of weeks ago. I saw the dentist and he prescribed me an antibiotic. I’ve been on it for almost that length of time. While things seem to have gotten better at first, now it seems worse than ever. In fact, it feels like it has spread up to my eye. There’s a nice red streak and my eye is goopy. Am I on the wrong antibiotic?

Emily

Dear Emily,

I’m hoping because you were in pain you missed some of your dentist’s instructions. Otherwise, he (or she) has a profound misunderstanding of how dental infections work. Antibiotics are only useful as a temporary measure. They will not heal the infection the way you get with a typical bacterial infection. Eventually, the pulp of the tooth which has been infected dies. This no longer has blood flow so the antibiotic doesn’t get to that part of the infected tooth structure.

At that point, the only way to truly deal with a tooth infection is for the dentist to physically get in there are remove the infected pulp. Without that, the infection will rear its ugly head and then will spread like wildfire. This seems to be what you’re experiencing now. This is considered a dental emergency.

To fix this, you will need a root canal treatment. The sooner the better. Otherwise, your infection will spread. If you think about how close your jaw is to both your heart and brain, you can see how quickly a dental infection can turn life-threatening. It’s hard to believe but some people still die from tooth infections.

This blog is brought to you by Ahwatukee Dentist Dr. Harveer Kaur.