Emergencies

Whenever you want to be seen quickly by a dentist to reassure you, on-call services are available at:

Advice that may be useful when your dentist cannot see you quickly is given below.

Tooth ache may have various causes, requiring very different care in each case.

Sinusitis

If the sinuses, which are in contact with the teeth of the upper jaw, get infected, the upper molars and premolars may become painful. The pain is in this case not dental in origin and the discomfort continues as long as the sinusitis lasts.

Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis)

If your gums are inflamed, you will have the following symptoms :

  • the gums are painful and irritated
  • the gums are reddish instead of pink
  • the gums are swollen
  • you may have bad breath

Gingivitis takes about ten days to disappear. Treatment involves using a mouthwash (like Perio-Aid) three times a day and thorough brushing of the areas affected (despite bleeding). Cleaning between the teeth using interdental brushes is strongly recommended.

Emergence of wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth often come through the gums without involving any symptoms but sometimes it may cause pain and sensitivity, in particular if there is not enough room on the jaw or if they grow at un unfortunate angle.

The pain connected with the eruption of wisdom teeth is very sharp and may impair swallowing. This may be relieved by applying mouthwashes (e.g. Perio-Aid) and by taking antibiotics.

What can you do? If your dentist is not there or too busy to see you at short notice, you may contact your GP who can prescribe antibiotics. Next, you should have a panoramic x-ray done at your dentist who will then be able to judge whether a stomatologist should extract any wisdom teeth.

Dental caries

Caries is the main cause of tooth ache. When the hard tissues of the tooth are damaged, they leave a cavity. Caries first affects the enamel by demineralising it, and then attacks the dentin.

At first there is no pain but the more the caries progresses towards the centre of the tooth (the pulp), the more intense the pain. A short pain on contact with hot, cold and mainly sweet food is often a sign of caries.

What should you do? If your dentist is not there or too busy to see you at short notice, you may contact the on-call service for this purpose :

Tooth abscess

This is caused when a tooth is infected by bacteria. The infection usually develops in the pulp cavity or in the alveolar bone at the base of the tooth. The abscess may be attended by fever and by swollen glands near the tooth.

There may also be an abscess in the gums, caused by food debris. A dental abscess is very painful and may involve oozing pus and oedema.

What should you do? In this case, all the dentist can do is confirm that there is an abscess and put you on antibiotics. The tooth itself cannot be treated until the infection has been halted by the antibiotics.

If your dentist is not there, you may contact your GP who can prescribe antibiotics. Next, make an appointment with your dentist to have the tooth seen to. Once you have taken antibiotics, the emergency passes and a normal appointment can be made. The best thing would be to see your dentist within a month and a half after taking antibiotics.

Pulpitis

Pulpitis is an inflammation of the dental nerve. It may be caused by deep caries or after a filling made necessary by deep caries.

In case of pulpitis, devitalisation will be necessary. This kind of treatment is very time consuming and cannot just be fitted in between ordinary appointments.

What should you do? In this case, all the dentist can do is confirm that there is an abscess and put you on antibiotics. The tooth itself cannot be treated until the infection has been halted by the antibiotics.

If your dentist is not there or is too busy to see you at short notice, you may first contact your GP and ask him if possible to prescribe an anti-inflammatory drug (like Ibuprofen 600). Next, you should contact the on-call services to have the tooth devitalised :

Contact

Personal Details
02 762 04 81
Address

Rue au Bois 406

1150 Woluwe-Saint-Pierre

Belgique

Opening Hours
  • mon.: 08:30 – 18:30
  • tue.: 08:30 – 18:30
  • wed.: 08:30 – 12:30
  • thu.: 08:30 – 18:30
  • fri.: 08:30 – 17:00
  • sat.: Closed
  • sun.: Closed

On your first visit, remember to bring your identity card for proper registration.

The Practice has an electronic payment terminal.

Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) are not accepted.