Most dental problems start small and quiet. By the time something hurts enough to make you pick up the phone, the fix is usually bigger than it needed to be. These are the signs we tell patients not to sit on.
Get seen the same day
- Swelling in the face, jaw or gums — especially with fever. This can be a spreading infection and needs attention quickly.
- A knocked-out or badly broken tooth. A knocked-out adult tooth has the best chance of being saved if you get to a dentist within the hour. Keep it in milk, not water, and hold it by the crown, not the root.
- Severe toothache that keeps you awake or doesn't settle with ordinary painkillers.
- Bleeding after an extraction or injury that won't stop with firm pressure.
Book within a week or two
- Sensitivity to hot or cold that lingers for more than a few seconds after the food or drink is gone.
- Gums that bleed every time you brush or floss. Healthy gums don't bleed; this is usually the earliest stage of gum disease, and it is reversible at this point.
- A tooth that feels loose (in an adult), or a bite that suddenly feels different.
- Persistent bad breath that brushing doesn't fix.
- A chipped tooth or a filling that has fallen out — even if it doesn't hurt yet.
- A sore, white or red patch, or lump in the mouth that hasn't healed in two weeks. Most are harmless, but this is exactly what an oral cancer screening is for.
Why waiting costs more
A small cavity caught early is a simple filling. Left alone, it can reach the nerve and turn into a root canal, and eventually a crown or an extraction. Bleeding gums treated early need a proper cleaning; left for years, they can mean bone loss around the teeth. The pattern is the same almost every time: the earlier we see it, the smaller the treatment.
The simplest prevention
A check-up and professional cleaning every six months catches most of these before you notice them. If any of the signs above sound familiar, call us on +91 94444 08087 or send a WhatsApp message — we're on Angappa Naicken Street in Mannady, Chennai.
