Toothache and swelling indicate the presence of dental disease. Your Inverloch and Korumburra emergency dentists can help.

Don't Wait Until You Need a Tooth Extraction

Emergency Dentistry Services

Dental emergencies can arise at any time and cause pain, toothache and stress, especially if you have not yet established yourself with a dentist in Korumburra, Inverloch or the surrounding areas.

Whether you are a new patient or one of our loyal long-time patients, you can count on Dr Sean How and Dr Shal Main Chan to eliminate your tooth pain and help you on the path to a healthy, comfortable smile.

Types of Dental Emergencies

The most common types of dental emergencies typically begin with pain or toothache. Since conditions, such as decay and periodontal disease, rarely present symptoms in the early stages, by the time pain develops, it is an indication that the condition is well advanced and requires an emergency dental visit.

Other emergencies requiring immediate treatment include:

Severe inflammation (swelling) of the gums, face or jaw
Broken or fractured tooth
Avulsed (knocked-out) permanent tooth
Sudden sensitivity to hot food or liquids
Dislodged tooth due to trauma
Trauma due to sport or auto injury

Other dental emergencies may require prompt, but not immediate treatment and include:

A broken or lost dental crown
Loose or broken filling
Damaged restorations, dentures or partial dentures
Chipped tooth
Injury to the gum tissue (with controlled bleeding)

It is also important to note that in the case of head, neck or jaw trauma, a trip to hospital can rule out a life-threating injury. We will care for your teeth and dental concerns once you are medically stable.

Dental Emergency Appointments

If you ever wonder whether your symptoms require an emergency visit, we invite you to get in touch. Our team will ask questions about your symptoms and help you decide if an immediate trip to our Korumburra or Inverloch surgeries is recommended.

We treat all types of dental emergencies:

Swelling
Pain relief
Tooth repair
Draining abscesses
Broken teeth
Root canals
Extractions

When you arrive, we will make you comfortable straight away. Dental emergencies can feel traumatic, and we will take excellent care of you throughout. Dental x-rays will assist our dentists in an accurate diagnosis, and we will always present all treatment options available so that you can make a confident decision.

How to Prevent Dental Emergencies

If everything in your mouth feels fine and your teeth look nice, postponing your regular check-up and clean might be tempting. But since problems with the teeth and underlying bone do not always cause pain or discomfort at first, your routine dental visits are the only way to catch decay, infection, fractures and periodontal disease early.

Preventive dentistry is the most conservative and affordable way to protect your smile and keep your teeth for a lifetime.

Don’t Ignore Tooth Pain

Our gentle team will care for you when you need us most. Getting started is easy; contact Avid Dental, and we will help you enjoy a pain-free smile again.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do to minimise dental trauma?

More importantly than finding the tooth if it has been dislodged, ensure that the patient is safe.

If the trauma to the head was severe, do not attempt to move the patient as the patient may have suffered neck injuries. If the bleeding is severe, try to arrest the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound. If the patient is suspected of having neck injuries, suffering from severe bleeding or lost consciousness, call an ambulance immediately. The number for an ambulance is [000].

If believed that the patient hasn’t suffered from significant neck injuries, is conscious and the bleeding is under control, remove any dangerous material from the immediate vicinity. Ask the patient for his/her name, current location and current day. This is to assess if the patient has potentially suffered a concussion. Note any nausea or disorientation.

When the tooth is located (if the tooth was dislodged), clean the tooth with pasteurised milk, and store in a container of pasteurised milk. If pasteurised milk is unavailable, rinse the tooth with saline/clean water/saliva and store the tooth in the patient’s mouth. If suitable, replant the tooth. Do not store in the patient’s mouth if there is a high risk of swallowing, such as with very young children or unconscious patients.

Once the tooth is cleaned and stored, contact your local dentist immediately. The odds of uncomplicated recovery and saving the tooth rapidly declines with time. If the tooth has been replanted or if the teeth appear to have moved, it is still strongly advised to consult a dentist as there are further potential issues such as:

Fractured facial bones
Alignment of teeth
Debris in the wounds

Meet Our Doctor:

Dr Teng Sean How BDSc (Adelaide)
Principal Dentist

Dr How earned his Bachelors of Dental Surgery from the University of Adelaide and had additional certifications in:

ADIN Implant Basic and Advanced Course
Invisalign
Progressive Orthodontics

'I grew up in Malaysia and only moved to Australia at the age of fourteen. I had a plethora of interests when I was in school and eventually pursued a degree in dental surgery in Adelaide where I met my wife.

I had to choose between several vocations at the end of high school and dentistry was something I chose after transferring out of law. I had the ...