Emergency Dentistry

Dental emergencies are an unfortunate fact of life. You're eating something crunchy, and suddenly, a tooth cracks, or you wake up with swelling and pain in your jaw. Many people head straight to the emergency room when they have tooth pain. However, this is inefficient and usually not very helpful.

Most emergency rooms aren't set up to handle dental emergencies. They might be able to give you some antibiotics if an infection is causing your pain, but they will still advise you to see your dentist as soon as possible. You will likely be hit with a huge co-pay or bill for this small service.

Call our office instead.

We'll get you in quickly, relieve your pain, and devise a treatment plan for your problem. This saves you both money and time, not to mention days of dental pain.

Of course, if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, please call 911 or go to your local emergency room.

Common Dental Emergencies

What are the most common reasons that people need emergency dental care?

Sudden tooth pain – Significant tooth pain without apparent cause results in many emergency dental visits. You should never ignore tooth pain because it is usually a symptom of many serious dental conditions, including:

• Deep cavities
• Advanced gum disease
• Abscessed or infected teeth
• Exposed tooth roots
• Impacted wisdom teeth

We can treat these conditions promptly to prevent further damage to the tooth and keep the infection from spreading. 

Chipped or fractured teeth – Chipped or broken teeth can be caused by sudden mouth trauma or simply biting down on a hard object. Sometimes, this occurs because a cavity weakens the tooth's internal structure, and you don't realize it. If possible, keep the broken piece of the tooth and bring it with you to your appointment.

Lost teeth — Whether your tooth was knocked out due to an injury or lost for no apparent reason, losing a tooth is a critical dental emergency. If we can get to the tooth quickly, we can replace it, but we may also have to replace it with a dental implant or a bridge.

If you retrieve the tooth and quickly rinse it with lukewarm water, avoiding the root area, you have the best chance of saving it. Try to replace the tooth in the socket, but don't force it. If you can't replace the tooth, keep it in a glass of milk or saliva. Call our office immediately.

Other Dental Emergencies

Some other problems that require prompt emergency dental treatment include: 

• A tooth is dislodged but not completely knocked out
• Something is stuck between your teeth that you can't remove with brushing or dental floss.
• A filling or crown has fallen out
• You are experiencing a dental abscess
• You have injured your gums or palate

Call our office for an appointment for any dental emergency.