Dental problems and symptoms in Leicester
​
Most people don't search for a treatment. They search for what they can feel: a tooth that aches when they drink something cold, blood on the toothbrush, a crown that came off with a piece of toffee, a wisdom tooth that has been grumbling for a fortnight. This page is organised the same way. Find the thing that is bothering you, and the linked guide will tell you what is most likely causing it, what to do in the meantime, what we would do about it, and what it costs.
​
A symptom is like a warning light on a dashboard. The light tells you something needs looking at, but not what: the same light can mean a loose cap or a serious fault. Toothache works the same way. Sharp pain that stops when the cold goes away is usually a very different problem from a dull throb that keeps you awake, and the guides explain what each pattern tends to point to, so you arrive already understanding what we are likely to find.
​
If you are in pain right now, skip the reading and call us on 0116 403 0109. We keep same-day emergency slots and do everything we can to see you the day you call. An emergency appointment is £55, including any X-ray needed to find the cause.
​
​
Is this an emergency?
​
A few things should not wait for an appointment. If you have swelling in your face or neck, difficulty swallowing or opening your mouth, a fever alongside dental pain, or bleeding that will not stop after twenty minutes of firm pressure, call us straight away during opening hours, and outside them call NHS 111 or go to A&E. A spreading infection can become dangerous within hours, and the earlier it is treated the simpler that treatment is.
​
Most other pain and damage should be seen within a day or two rather than left. That includes a toothache that is keeping you awake, a dental abscess, a cracked or fractured tooth, a lost filling or a crown that has fallen off, and wisdom tooth pain. A knocked-out tooth is the one true race against the clock: put it in milk, don't scrub it, and come straight in, because an adult tooth replaced within the hour can often be saved. Tooth decay sits at the other end of the scale, often painless for months, which is exactly why it is worth catching at a routine check rather than waiting for it to announce itself.
​
When teeth don't meet properly
​
The second group is about how your teeth fit together, and these rarely hurt until they have caused something else. Crowded or crooked teeth trap plaque where a brush can't reach and wear unevenly. An overbite or overjet chips front edges and strains the jaw; an underbite or crossbite wears one side more than the other. Gaps and an open bite change how you bite through food and how you speak. A worn or uneven bite is often the reason a filling keeps feeling "high" or one side does all the chewing.
Most of these are treated with Invisalign rather than fixed braces, and for many adults the driver is not appearance but stopping the wear, chipping and gum recession that a poor bite causes over decades. The individual guides explain which bite problems aligners can correct and which need something more.
​
Ongoing niggles worth getting checked
​
The third group is the set of things people put up with for years because they don't hurt enough. Tooth sensitivity that makes you wince at cold usually has a specific, fixable cause. Bleeding gums are never simply normal; they are the first stage of gum disease, gingivitis, which is fully reversible, and if ignored they progress to periodontitis, where the bone holding the teeth is lost and cannot be replaced. Jaw pain and grinding show up as morning headaches, a clicking joint and teeth flattening at the edges. Persistent bad breath nearly always has a dental cause we can find. Yellow or stained teeth may be surface stain that polishes off or the tooth's own shade, which needs whitening, and the guide explains how to tell the difference. And a gap from missing teeth rarely stays still: the neighbours tip in, the opposing tooth drifts and the bone shrinks, which is why we'd rather talk about it early than late.
​
What a first appointment involves
​
If you are not sure which of these you have, or you have more than one, book a new patient examination . It is £70 and takes around half an hour. We ask what you have noticed and when it started, examine every tooth and your gums, take the X-rays needed to see what cannot be seen from the surface, and check the soft tissues of your mouth as a matter of routine. You leave with a clear explanation of what we found, in plain language, and a written plan with the cost of each option and which parts are urgent, which can wait, and which are your choice. Nothing is started at that visit unless you want it to be.
​
If you are in pain, book an emergency appointment instead. It is £55 including any X-ray, and its purpose is to find the cause and get you out of pain that day: draining an abscess , dressing a broken tooth, re-cementing a crown, or starting a root canal. Any further work is planned afterwards, once you are
comfortable and have had time to think.
​
Nervous about coming in?
​
Many nervous people that avoid the dentist for a while, and the symptom that finally brought them here has been building for months. That is more common than you would think, and nobody at Smile Serenity will tell you off for it. Tell us you're nervous when you book and we will take extra time, explain everything before we do it, and go at your pace.
​
Find us - Areas We Serve
​
Smile Serenity Dental Care is located at 72A Lutterworth Road, Aylestone, Leicester LE2 8PG. We have free on-site parking and have easy access from Wigston , Oadby , Glen Parva , Braunstone and the city centre . Call 0116 403 0109 or book online. For treatment pages rather than symptoms, see emergency dentist, Invisalign, dental implants, teeth whitening and our full price list.
​
Published by Dr Ashwyn Roy - Principal Dentist at Smile Serenity Dental Care - GDC 272634 - Last reviewed on 11/09/26
