FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions at Go Dental in Valencia, CA

You’ve got questions, and we’ve got answers! We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions that we receive at the Go Dental office with responses from our dental team. From navigating a dental emergency to alleviating dental anxiety, we’ve got you covered! Don’t see an answer to your question? Call our office at 661-257-0880.

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This is the most common emergency call we get. You don’t need to panic— simply put the crown in a safe place, and schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible, preferably the next day. The exposed tooth may be sensitive, but you will not harm it. During your appointment, our team will try to cement the crown back into place. If you cannot come into our office the next day, please follow these steps:

  • Store the crown in a safe place, until your appointment. Do not try to replace the crown without cement— you could swallow it by accident.
  • If you need the crown to be secure for 24 hours or less, purchase a denture adhesive such as PoliGrip or Fixodent. For a more long-term solution, purchase a temporary crown cement such as Dentemp or Dentek
  • First, practice fitting the crown without any adhesive to ensure you have the correct placement. Some patients find it helpful to mark the outside of the crown with a pencil. Then, dry the inside of the crown and tooth with a tissue. Place a little adhesive in the crown and place it in the mouth, biting down to ensure it is in the correct position. 


Sometimes, temporary crowns come out because they are designed to do so easily. If you have purchased a temporary crown cement, follow the directions included in the kit. When mixing a powder and a liquid, be sure that the resulting mixture is the consistency of runny toothpaste — not too thick — or the crown will be very difficult to remove. Place a little adhesive in the crown and place it in the correct position in the mouth. Bite down on it to assure it is in the right place.

Feeling something crack in your mouth is nerve-wracking, but you don’t need to panic. The broken tooth may be part of a crown you have, part of a filling or part of a tooth. In any case, Go Dental is here to help you.

The first thing you need to do is assess the damage. It is common to have cold sensitivity on a newly broken tooth. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will need a lot of dental work. If you do not feel tooth pain when you inhale, schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience.

If the tooth does hurt when you inhale or you notice bleeding coming from the center of the tooth, call us immediately at (661) 535-0100 and press the prompt for a dental emergency. This may be pulpal exposure and will require immediate attention.

If you wake up with a swollen face or if your face begins to swell and you have not had any recent trauma, it could be a sign that you have an infection coming from one of your teeth. You should call our office as soon as possible so that our team can find the root cause of your swelling.

If the office is not open, please page the dentist on call. We may choose to prescribe an antibiotic to address the infection until we can see you in the office. If the swelling is painful and you are able to take an anti-inflammatory medication (Advil®, Motrin®, etc.), 600-800 mg of ibuprofen will reduce the pain and may help the swelling go down. However, you should not wait for the swelling to go away on its own. Facial swelling without trauma rarely goes away on its own and can worsen rapidly.

If you have been struck in the head or face or if you have lost consciousness for any period of time, you should be assessed by a physician immediately.

If your teeth have moved noticeably or just don’t feel right, please see the section on “What if I’m in an accident and my bite doesn’t feel right?”
If your teeth are not painful and there is no bleeding, you probably have not done any irreversible damage to the teeth. You should call the office to arrange to have an examination from one of our Valencia dentists to determine the exact extent of the damage.

If the teeth are painful, sensitive or bleeding, contact our office as soon as possible. It is possible that you have damaged the nerve inside the tooth and/or the bone surrounding the root. We can determine the extent of the damage and provide treatment to minimize the pain associated with the trauma. Once you are out of pain, we’ll discuss what can be done to save and/or restore the tooth.

If you have any teeth that are noticeably out of place, or even if your bite feels off you should call the office to arrange to have an examination from one of our Valencia dentists. You can also page the dentist on call if it is after hours.

If your bite has shifted, it can indicate damage to the teeth or surrounding bone, and you may need treatment to ensure that the shift does not become permanent. After speaking to you and/or doing an examination, we can determine what treatment is appropriate, if any.

This is the most common complication of the teeth whitening process. Typically, you may experience cold sensitivity and possibly a low-grade throbbing, especially right after the solution is removed from the teeth. Do not worry— this is a temporary condition and will subside in time.

If the sensitivity continues and you are not in a position to come in and see us, go to your pharmacy or supermarket and pick up some Sensodyne® toothpaste. Place a little toothpaste on the tip of your finger and rub it onto the sensitive teeth to alleviate discomfort.

Prior to applying the solution, brush and floss your teeth. Make sure you have at least an hour where you can keep the trays in your mouth.

Putting too much solution into the trays is a common mistake. You’ll know if you have used too much solution if the solution floods all over your mouth. Generally, we tell patients to put a dot solution on the facial surface of each tooth in the tray. When you place it in your mouth, the solution will spread over the tooth structure. Do not worry if you see bubbles. The solution is designed to be attracted to tooth structure— it will lighten even those spots you cannot see in your mouth.

Leave the trays in for an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. The solution has done all the whitening it can do in this time, and keeping the trays in any longer than this will not lighten the teeth anymore. Do not fall asleep with the solution in your mouth—this will cause you to have sensitivity and not lighten your teeth any further.

If you have completed your hour of treatment and would like to try to lighten some more, you can do this, provided you have no cold sensitivity. Wipe the tray, dry off with a paper towel, and reapply a fresh coat of solution to the trays. Repeat the process above for another hour.

Common symptoms of a toothache include a constant dull throb, nighttime waking, lingering hot or cold sensitivity and facial swelling. If you are a patient of our practice, call us and we would like to see you that day. If it is after hours, please page us on our emergency line and we will get back to you right away.

Taking acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or Ibuprofen (Advil®) and using ice packs will help alleviate pain. Anbesol® may help for 10-15 minutes but not much longer than that.

It is important to maintain excellent oral hygiene during pregnancy. We recommend that pregnant patients schedule a dental cleaning every 3 months rather than every 6 months. It is very common to have bleeding, swelling, and even loss of bone during your pregnancy. Unfortunately, some of the damage that is done to your gums during pregnancy is not reversible.

We find that it is a natural tendency to not brush or to brush sparingly when patients notice bleeding. However, when you notice bleeding while you are pregnant, you need to be extra diligent to keep your teeth clean.

To help you confront your fears, we have several different options available to you. Our office offers nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas,” to help you relax through your appointments. If you feel a little more anxious, we offer oral sedation dentistry — sometimes called twilight sleep — to help you get through the more stressful moments. If you need a full anesthesiologist, we are fortunate to work with the UCLA Dental Anesthesiology group led by world-renowned Dr. Ugala and Dr. Quinn.

If you are scared of going to the dentist, it probably means that you don’t go to the dentist as often as you should. This can worsen your oral problems and lead to more involved procedures.

Our goal is to see you for your bi-yearly cleanings — that’s it. We encourage you to visit us, get whatever dental issues you have resolved, and see us twice a year for your gentle dental cleanings. We understand your fears and we will do everything we can to make your experience with us an incredible one.

This can be a temporary issue, or it may be a sign of periodontal disease. We advise you to schedule an appointment with us so we can help determine what the cause of the loosening is. Oftentimes, with proper treatment, we can prevent tooth loss.

Unfortunately, wisdom tooth eruption can cause pain. It is exactly what babies feel like when they are teething. You may experience headaches and sometimes even have a slight fever as your wisdom teeth start to erupt. Your face may swell a bit in the area of the wisdom tooth, and you will have some tenderness to touch inside your mouth around the tooth.

The best thing to do is to put a cold pack on the outside of the face. If the throbbing is severe, Acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or Ibuprofen (Advil®) may be taken orally. Do not dissolve the medication over the painful area — just swallow the medication as you normally would. Over-the-counter products such as Anbesol® may help for 10-15 minutes, but the effect is limited.

If you feel you would like to speak to one of the doctors during non-business hours, call us at (661) 535-0100 and the doctor on call will be happy to speak to you. Otherwise, call our office during business hours to make an appointment so we can evaluate the area and determine if your wisdom teeth need to be taken out.

To achieve optimal smile results, follow these Invisalign care tips:

  • Always return your aligners to their case when you are not wearing them
  • Always place aligners on clean teeth
  • Regularly clean your aligners with cold water and a soft-bristled toothbrush to prevent plaque buildup
  • Do not leave your aligners in a hot car or near the stove, as heat can warp the plastic