Emergency
Dental Treatment
Even with the best preventative care available, dental emergencies can happen. Whether you’re involved in an accident or your child has a terrible toothache – it’s more than just pain that can have you worried. Knowing when and where you can be seen in the event of a dental emergency will go a long way towards mitigating the stress that can come with it.
If you and your family already use Dental Depot, great. Keep our phone number handy in your phone or wallet, and know what hours your location is open. If you are a new patient to our practice, welcome. You can find which of our offices is nearest to you using our find my location tool, as well as check their hours.
If your dental emergency occurs overnight on a weeknight, please contact our office as early as possible. If you call ahead, our team will find the soonest time for you to be seen in the schedule that day, but keep reading to understand what will occur during your same-day visit. Many of our offices also offer Saturday appointments between 8:00am and 2:00pm, but if your emergency occurs late Saturday or on Sunday, the soonest we will be able to see you is 8:00am Monday morning.
The important thing to keep in mind when it comes to a dental emergency of any kind is to not panic. Ailments like an infection, cracked tooth or tooth loss, can be altogether painful, but there are steps that can be taken to lessen the pain until you’re able to see a dentist.
Steps to take before your
emergency dental appointment:
- After a tooth has been injured, call our practice as soon as possible.
- If a tooth falls out, only touch it by the crown (the part you see when you smile) and never by the roots.
- Place the tooth or any pieces of the tooth in milk or Save-A-Tooth solution (available at most supermarkets and drug stores). Do not place a tooth in any other liquid. If these are not are available, place the tooth inside your cheek to keep its cellular material alive until you can arrive at our practice.
- For toothaches or swelling due to an injury, you can use a cold compress to minimize discomfort.
- Gauze is best for controlling bleeding inside the mouth.
Types of Dental Emergencies
Facial Trauma – Any sort of physical trauma to the face. Facial trauma can lead to a variety of ailments such as lacerations, bruises and fractures to the teeth and gums.
Cracked Tooth – a very common dental condition where a crack develops into the tooth and can cause pain and eventually lead to a fracture.
Tooth Loss – When one or more teeth comes loose or falls out altogether, in adults this is typically undesired and caused by disease or trauma.Â
Infection or Abscess – Dental abscesses are usually cause by a bacterial infection that has developed in the pulp of your tooth. Bacteria lives in plaque, so if plaque is left on the teeth and not cleared away by brushing and flossing, the plaque can spread to the gums and become an abscess.
Filling or Crown Loss – A lost crown or filling is rarely an emergency, but it can cause discomfort and pain due to the exposed sensitive tooth tissue.Â
General Tooth and Mouth Pain – It is not normal for your mouth or teeth to feel any kind of persisting pain as an adult, its natural state is for you to not really feel any discomfort at all. So if you are feeling any sort of nagging or persistent discomfort or pain you should schedule an appointment to be examined as soon as possible.Â
Preventing Potential Dental Emergencies
The best way to aid dental emergencies is to take the proper steps to avoid them from occurring all together.
- Avoid using your teeth to open things such as bags or cans and lids.
- Do not run around with objects in your mouth.
- Wear a mouth guard when playing sports.
- Visit the dentist about once every six months to catch potential problems early on.
- The most important thing is to practice basic oral hygiene and care to assure your teeth are healthy and strong.
What to Expect During a Same-Day or Walk-In Emergency Dental Appointment
If you have never been seen at our office before, you will need a state-issued photo ID and your insurance information (if you won’t be using insurance, just let us know). If the patient is a minor and does not have a photo ID, a parent or guardian must provide their photo ID.
A dental emergency has occurred and you’ve decided to call ahead to find a good time to seen as a same-day appointment. Our team will help you find the best possible time to come in with the shortest wait, but because emergencies are worked into the schedule, you may still experience some wait time. If you choose to walk-in to our practice, our teams will communicate with you about what kind of wait you should anticipate.
If you see other patients being called back before you who may have arrived after – you haven’t been skipped over. Each of our offices has multiple dentists and hygienists who work on different teams and at different paces. We will do our best to help keep you comfortable while you wait and to inform you of how long we think it will be until you’re seen.
Dental Emergencies Seen Same-Day, Treatment Started As Soon As Possible
Emergency appointments will be seen same-day to address the immediate problems your emergency presents. We want patients to leave our offices comfortable and out of pain, and are committed to doing as much as we are able to ensure this. Depending on the nature of your emergency, we may be able to resolve the problem at your initial appointment, or help you to get scheduled back for treatment in the case of an abscess or infection.