Skip this — get emergency care
Some things don't belong in a questionnaire
Trouble breathing or swallowing. Swelling spreading toward your eye or down your neck. Swelling under the tongue. Fever with facial swelling. Bleeding that will not stop. These are medical emergencies, not dental appointments. Go to an emergency room and call us afterwards — an infection heading for the airway is treated in hours, not days. Full list →
The questions
Tell miniDentist.ai what’s concerning you
Where it is, when it started, what makes it better or worse. Takes a couple of minutes. Nothing is submitted anywhere — you answer, and you get a PDF that is yours.
This is a summary of what you are experiencing. It is not a diagnosis and it does not replace being examined — a real answer needs an exam and usually an X-ray. If your symptoms match the red block above, stop and get emergency care instead.
When you have your PDF
Bring it, or send it ahead
Email the PDF — plus photos, X-rays from another office, a medication list, anything you think helps — to:
miniDentist@LiveToSmile.com
Not for emergencies. Email is checked during business hours. If something hurts right now, call (480) 756-0194 instead of waiting on a reply.
Ordinary email isn't encrypted, so send only what you're comfortable sending that way.
Common ones
Things people ask us about most
None of these is a diagnosis. They will give you a sense of what you may be dealing with, and where to read more.
It hurts when I bite on one specific tooth
Often a crack, a filling sitting slightly high, or inflammation at the root. A cracked tooth caught early is far more likely to be savable than one found six months later, so this is worth not sitting on.
Cold drinks make me wince, and it lingers
Brief sensitivity that stops within seconds is usually exposed dentine or gum recession. Pain that keeps going well after the cold is gone suggests the nerve itself is inflamed, which is a different problem with a different answer.
There's a bump on my gum near a tooth
Often a sign of infection draining from the root — sometimes tender, sometimes painless, sometimes with a bad taste. It can come and go, which fools people into thinking it resolved. It has not.
My toothache stopped by itself
Not always good news. A nerve that dies stops signalling — so pain vanishing after several bad days can mean the tooth died rather than healed, with infection continuing quietly underneath.
My gums bleed when I brush
Common, but not normal. Healthy gums generally do not bleed from brushing. It is usually the earliest and most reversible stage of gum inflammation, which is exactly why it is worth mentioning rather than ignoring.
One front tooth is darker than the others
Usually a tooth that had a root canal or an old injury, darkening from the inside over years. Sometimes whitening can only do so much because bleach works on the outside layer, and the discolouration is underneath.
Something at the back is aching and I'm in my twenties
Classic wisdom tooth timing. Pain at the very back, sometimes with swollen gum over a partly erupted tooth, sometimes with a bad taste. An X-ray settles it quickly.
A crown or filling came out
Keep the crown if you have it — it can often be re-cemented. Avoid chewing on that side, and do not use superglue on it. This is usually a same-week problem, not a same-hour one.
My teeth look shorter and more worn than they used to
Often decades of wear and grinding closing the bite down gradually. People usually notice it as looking older around the mouth and assume it is skin. It is frequently teeth.
About the tool
Where this came from
Built for exactly this problem
The questions come from miniDentist.ai*, a patient-facing tool designed to help people describe a dental concern clearly before they are in the chair. Dr. Carr was a significant contributor to its development, which is a large part of why it asks the questions a dentist would actually want answered rather than the ones a generic symptom checker asks.
It does not diagnose, it does not prescribe, and it does not decide anything about your treatment. It organises what you already know about your own symptoms into something useful.
* Dr. Carr has a financial interest in miniDentist.ai.
What happens next
Three ways this goes
01
It can wait — book normally
Most things can. Pick a time that suits you and bring the summary with you.
02
It shouldn't wait — call us
Pain, swelling, a broken tooth. Call rather than emailing. We hold same-day slots for exactly this.
03
You want us to see it first
Email the PDF ahead and we will know what we are looking at before you arrive.
Questions about the questions
Before you start
Is this a diagnosis?
No, and it is important that it is not treated as one. It helps you describe what you are experiencing. A diagnosis needs an examination and usually an X-ray, because most of what determines the answer is happening below the surface where no questionnaire can see.
Where does my information go?
Nowhere, unless you send it. The summary is generated for you and it is yours. If you choose to email it to us, that email is not encrypted — send only what you are comfortable sending that way.
Is it free?
Yes, and there is no obligation to book anything afterwards.
Can I use this for a cosmetic question instead?
Use the free virtual consult for that — you send photos and Dr. Carr sends a video back. This page is for things that hurt, feel wrong, or broke.
Will someone read it if I email it at 2am?
Not until business hours. If it is urgent at 2am, call the number rather than emailing — the message will tell you what to do out of hours.
Where exactly are you?
2072 E Southern Ave A103, Tempe, AZ 85282. Two other dental offices share this building — Suites A101 and A102 — so look specifically for A103.
Next step
A questionnaire can't look inside a tooth.
It gets you a better first appointment. The appointment is still the part that fixes it.
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