No one wakes up expecting to deal with a painful toothache or dental injury, but 1 in 6 Americans will face a dental emergency this year. Do you have a plan in place if this includes you? If not, Carlson Advanced Dentistry & Facial Esthetics is happy to give you one: call us! If you have an urgent dental concern, we’ll do everything we can to see you as soon as possible and take care of the problem so you can get back to your life without delay.
In addition to offering same-day appointments for immediate pain relief, our office also has intraoral cameras and digital X-rays that help us quickly and accurately identify a problem as well as figure out the best way to fix it. This helps us minimize a patient’s pain and ensure no long term damage is done to the teeth.
After you contact our office, what you do in the meantime before you come to see us could make the difference between saving and losing a tooth. That’s why it’s important you take the right action. Below, you’ll find first-aid tips for some of the most common dental emergencies. And don’t worry, our team will walk you through them over the phone in case you need more assistance.
After rinsing and flossing around the tooth to remove any food debris, if it still hurts, go ahead and take an OTC medication. A warm salt water rinse a few times an hour can take the edge off of any discomfort as well. Use a cold compress for swelling.
Try to recover as many pieces of the tooth that you can and bring them to our office. Some slight pressure using gauze or a clean rag should quickly stop any bleeding, and apply a cold compress to manage swelling. Cover the tooth with some sugarless gum or dental wax to prevent a rough edge from injuring the mouth.
You need to come see us within an hour or so of the accident to give us the best chance of replanting the tooth. Find the tooth, pick it up while only touching the crown (upper portion), and rinse it off with water. Place it under the tongue—this will keep the tooth alive so we can restore it later.
After giving the restoration a rinse, attempt to place it back onto the tooth. A small dab of toothpaste should help keep it stable until we can repair it. If the restoration is lost or completely broken, cover the tooth with some dental cement (which you’ll find at your local pharmacy).
Just like with medical emergencies, the cost of urgent dental treatment will be based on the type and severity of a patient’s injury. What’s true for everyone, however, is that acting quickly is the best approach for both your smile and your wallet. Getting immediate attention will enable us to quickly stop any pain and use a more conservative treatment, which will lead to a lower cost. We’re also happy to accept dental insurance and offer flexible financing to make this care more affordable.