Emergency Dentist - Dallas

Toothaches

Is my toothache a dental emergency? Even if you’re experiencing a minor toothache, this is something you won’t want to leave unaddressed for long. This can be a potential indication of an underlying issue, such as an infection. That’s why you’ll want to visit your dentist as soon as possible so you can get your teeth examined.

How you should handle a toothache: Firstly, you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever to lessen any discomfort while you wait to get your smile treated. Try avoiding hard, sticky, spicy, and acidic foods that can disturb the tooth. You can also rinse your mouth with salt water to disinfect your smile as well as reduce aching until you can see our team.

How we treat toothaches: We’ll provide treatment based on the root cause of your toothache. For cases like small cavities, we can often treat your tooth with natural-looking fillings to fix the issue. An infection in the tooth will likely require root canal treatment.

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Chipped Tooth

Is a chipped tooth a dental emergency? Even if you aren’t experiencing any pain from a chipped tooth, you don’t want to leave it exposed for too long. This can expose it to future damage, bacteria, and even infection. That’s why it’s best to visit your dentist as soon as possible, especially if you’re feeling discomfort from the tooth.

How you should handle a chipped tooth: If you can, pick up any larger pieces you can find so that you can bring them with you to your appointment. Secondly, you’ll need to keep your tooth safe by avoiding hard or sticky foods that can make the situation worse. If you notice sharp or jagged edges after chipping your tooth, try using dental wax or sugar-free gum to cover them so that your soft oral tissues are protected.

How we treat chipped teeth: In many cases, our team can treat minor chipped teeth with composite resin to easily restore their structure and function. However, you might consider opting for veneers if the damage is more visible or if you prefer a longer-lasting solution for improving your smile.

Cracked Tooth

Is a cracked tooth a dental emergency? A cracked tooth will need to be treated right away to avoid leaving it exposed to further damage and bacteria. Also, some cracks aren’t easily visible, so you’ll want to visit your dentist straight away if you’ve suffered physical trauma to the mouth/tooth.

How you should handle a cracked tooth: Make sure to avoid disturbing the tooth until you’ve been able to get it treated. This means you should refrain from chewing on that side of your mouth and touching the tooth with your fingers/tongue. Until you’re able to see your dentist, maintain a clean mouth by rinsing with lukewarm water frequently (preferably salt water).

How we treat cracked teeth: Our team can offer a variety of solutions for treating a cracked tooth depending on the severity of the damage. Minor cracks can often be treated with composite resin. For moderate to severe damage, we can provide you with custom dental crowns to restore the strength and function of your teeth.

Very Sensitive Teeth

Are Very Sensitive Teeth a Dental Emergency? Most of the time, tooth sensitivity isn’t a dental emergency. However, it can be quite uncomfortable and is often the sign of a bigger issue that needs to be addressed. If your sensitivity is new, worsening, or sharp, you should have it looked at your earliest convenience.

How You Should Handle Very Sensitive Teeth: To reduce discomfort, you may want to avoid foods that are particularly hot, cold, spicy, acidic, and sugary. You should also maintain an excellent oral hygiene routine and drink plenty of water. If needed, over-the-counter pain relievers can help to reduce discomfort.

How We Treat Very Sensitive Teeth: Before we can treat your sensitivity, we need to find out what is causing it. We will begin by examining your smile. Then, we may recommend specialized dental products, prescription toothpaste, a filling, or root canal therapy.

Knocked-Out Tooth

Is My Knocked-Out Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes! A knocked-out tooth is a dental emergency that needs to be addressed right away. For any chance of saving the tooth, you need to see a dentist immediately.

How You Should Handle a Knocked-Out Tooth: If possible, find your tooth. Rinse it with water and try to return it to the socket. Your tooth needs to remain moist. If you can’t get it back into the socket, place it in a container of milk or saliva. Alternatively, you can keep it in your cheek. Just don’t use water, as this can result in additional damage to the root of the tooth. Call your dentist to let them know you are on your way.

How We Treat a Knocked-Out Tooth: If you can see us quickly, we will do everything we can to reimplant the tooth. Your dentist will do this by carefully repositioning it in the socket and splinting it to the neighboring teeth. This way, it can remain stationary to heal. If we can’t save your tooth, we will discuss tooth replacement options.

Lost Filling or Crown

Is a Lost Filling or Crown a Dental Emergency? You don’t necessarily have to drop everything you are doing and run to the dental office, but you should call to schedule an appointment relatively quickly. Even if it isn’t painful, your tooth is being left vulnerable to additional damage. Fillings and crowns are made to last for a long time, but they eventually need to be replaced.

How You Should Handle a Lost Filling or Crown: If you can, try to find your lost restoration and rinse it with water. Then, put it back into its place using dental wax. You should avoid chewing on the side of your mouth where you lost your restoration.

How We Treat a Lost Filling or Crown: If your restoration is still looking good, we may be able to place it back. However, we also need to take the time to determine why it came out in the first place. This way, we can take steps to keep it from happening again. If needed, we can provide you with a new crown or filling.

Broken Dentures  

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency? Yes, a broken denture is a dental emergency. So, don’t hesitate to call our Dallas dental team, explain what happened, and schedule a time to come in.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture We recommend storing your broken denture (or the pieces of your broken denture) somewhere safe. You can wear your backup dentures, if you have them, and make sure to avoid all crunchy, hard, and sticky foods in the meantime.

How We Treat Broken Dentures The first option is repairing your dentures, which we may be able to do at our office if the damage is relatively minor. Of course, if your denture has shattered into several pieces, then our only option is to replace it with a traditional or implant denture.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Loose Permanent Tooth  

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency? There are some cases where a slightly loose tooth is normal, like when you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment. If that’s not the case or your tooth feels like it’s on the brink of falling out, then you should absolutely call our Dallas dental team right away.

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth Depending on your symptoms, we may recommend coming to our office immediately. If that’s not necessary, then we will provide you with detailed instructions on what to do until your appointment, including not chewing on that side of your mouth.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth Sometimes, all the tooth needs is some support to heal back in place, which we can do with a dental splint. Other times, our only option is to remove the tooth and replace it with the next best thing: a dental implant.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue  

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency? Soft tissue injuries don’t usually require a visit to our office. They do, however, require immediate attention.

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue After using clean, cool water to rinse the cut thoroughly, grab a damp washcloth or some gauze and use it to apply pressure to the area. After the bleeding stops, use a cold compress to alleviate any lingering swelling.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue Rarely do we provide treatment for soft tissue injuries. That’s because they usually are severe enough to warrant a visit to the ER or are minor enough that they can be handled at home.

Jaw Pain  

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency? Since jaw pain could be the result of a serious oral health problem, like impacted wisdom teeth, we don’t recommend taking the “wait and see” approach. Instead, monitor your symptoms closely and reach out to us if they seem to be getting worse or don’t go away after a day or two.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain Although you can’t treat the root of the problem at home, you can alleviate your discomfort in the short-term. Try using a cold compress for 10 minutes at a time, sticking to softer foods, like oatmeal, and taking OTC pain medication as directed.

How We Treat Jaw Pain Well, that depends! If we take X-rays and determine that one or more of your wisdom teeth are impacted, then we’ll start there. Of course, it’s possible for your jaw pain to be the result of something else as well, like TMJ dysfunction or chronic teeth grinding.

Something Stuck Between the Teeth  

Do you have something stuck between your teeth? Instead of reaching for tweezers, a toothpick, or something else sharp, rinse your mouth with warm saltwater before flossing. If that doesn’t work, give us a call and explain your situation.