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What To Do When You Have Pain In Your Mouth

Call your dentist, of course. One of us is always on call in case of emergency.

Here's how we determine if your problem is urgent or whether it can wait until the next day. 

We ask you to describe your pain to determine if it is a tooth, gum, or nerve problem.

• Can you pinpoint pain to one tooth - likely a tooth problem
• Is the pain generalized - likely a gum problem with a trapped husk or seed 
• Is there swelling - may need an antibiotic
• Is the pain is greater than 5 on a scale of 1-10 - most likely a nerve issue
• Is there temperature sensitivity - likely a tooth problem

For swelling, we typically call in an antibiotic. For pain, we prescribe the combination of over the counter Aleve and Tylenol, or a combination of over the counter Advil and Tylenol.

These have been shown to work as well as super controlled narcotic pain relievers, which require a written not a called in...