I am freaking out. I’ve had an implant for a little over a year and my jaw started aching last week. I knew it wasn’t normal, so I went right in to my regular doctor and had him look at it. He said that he didn’t see anything wrong with it and sent me home. I wasn’t sure he was right, but he’s supposed to be an implant specialist, so I figured he had to be. Here it is, the weekend, and I bit down on something and all of a sudden I had an awful taste in my mouth. I go look and there is pus all around the implant. Worse yet, it feels lose. My doctor doesn’t work weekends. Can I see an emergency dentist for this or do I have to wait until my implant doctor is in? — Morgan
Morgan,
Even though it’s the weekend, try calling your implant doctor first. He may have an on-call system, or a number to call for dental emergencies. If he doesn’t call back quickly, or there’s no protocol for situations like yours, yes, you can see an emergency dentist for this. In fact, you should. It sounds like you’ve had a nasty infection brewing for quite some time, especially if the implant is loose. You need prompt treatment for the sake of your overall health and to improve the odds that the implant won’t fail entirely.
At this point, the emergency dentist may only be able to prescribe antibiotics to try to control the infection, and you’ll have to monitor it to make sure it heals up well. Depending on the degree of mobility he may also try to splint it, or give it support, to keep it from moving around.
Emergency dentists are trained to handle all sorts of problems. Because of the severity of the infection, though, he may not be able to provide you with a permanent solution. However, he can help ensure the infection doesn’t spread, and work to stop the damage from progressing.
This blog post is brought to you by Des Moines cosmetic dentist, Dr. Phelan Thomas. For more information on the services he provides, please visit his Des Moines cosmetic dentist website.