What to Do in a Dental Emergency
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Contact our office. If you ever find yourself experiencing a dental emergency in Houston, you should give us a call as soon as possible. We’ll pencil you in at your earliest convenience. Over the phone, we’ll provide first-aid instructions to help you manage your situation in the meantime.
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Have an emergency exam. When you get to our office, Dr. Castleberry will conduct an oral examination to identify the cause of your emergency. Using our findings, we’ll create a custom treatment plan to get you out of pain.
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Get the care you need. Our team might be able to temporarily address your emergency during your appointment. However, you may have to return to our office for additional treatment depending on the situation at hand. Some common services include fillings, dental crowns, root canal therapy, gum disease treatment, and tooth extractions.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies often fall into one of two categories: those attributed to an infection or those sustained from physical trauma of some kind. For example, maybe you have a serious toothache that became worse over time, or you suffered a sports injury that resulted in a broken or knocked-out tooth. Regardless of the type of emergency you’re facing, we ask that you call our office right away to make an appointment and get helpful advice from our team. In the meantime, here’s what you can do to improve your situation.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies
Since every case is unique, it’s impossible to provide an accurate cost estimate for your emergency until you’ve come in for an exam. If you only have a minor toothache caused by a small cavity, you may simply need a cleaning and a dental filling. However, if you have an infected tooth, you’ll likely need root canal therapy and a dental crown, which are both more extensive and pricier treatments. Once we know what your treatment plan looks like, we can go over the details of the costs involved.
How to Prevent Dental Emergencies
Even if you’re diligent about brushing and flossing, a dental emergency can happen when you least expect it to. While it often seems like there’s nothing you can do to prevent these urgent situations, some problems are avoidable if you take the right precautions. To lower your risk of a dental emergency in Houston, here are some tips to keep in mind:
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Visit your dentist every six months for a checkup and cleaning
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Practice good oral hygiene
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Maintain a healthy diet
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Wear a mouthguard to protect against oral injuries
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Avoid poor dental habits (i.e., smoking, biting fingernails, using your teeth as tools)
Dental Emergency FAQs
When you’re suffering through a sudden dental emergency near Houston, the very last thing you want to deal with is more confusion. At The Castleberry Center, we want our patients to be as informed as possible. That’s why we have gathered some of the questions that we get asked the most often by patients with dental emergencies and answered them down below for your convenience.
What Is Considered a Dental Emergency?
Since oral pain and discomfort can be relatively common, it can be difficult to determine whether you need emergency treatment. If you can honestly answer yes to any of the following questions, you most likely have a dental emergency on your hands that requires urgent care:
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Are you in severe pain?
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Is your mouth bleeding?
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Have you lost or damaged a tooth?
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Do you have loose teeth (as an adult)?
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Do you have signs of an infection, such as a fever or swelling?
Do I Need to Go to the ER for a Dental Emergency?
While the staff at your local emergency room are medical professionals, they usually don’t have the specialized training to treat specific dental emergencies near Louetta Road. This is why, in most cases, you should see your emergency dentist instead of going to the hospital. If, however, your dental emergency also threatens your life, such as swelling that impacts your ability to breathe, you should get to an emergency room right away.
What If My Toothache Goes Away on Its Own?
Unlike most general medical problems, dental issues typically worsen the longer you put off getting treatment. When you have a toothache that suddenly stops, it might seem like the problem has cleared up, but the truth is it has gotten a whole lot worse.
A severe toothache is often caused by an infection reaching the sensitive inner portion of the tooth, called the pulp, where the nerve is located. As the nerve succumbs to the infection, it gradually begins to die, resulting in declining feelings of pain. At this point, a root canal might be the only treatment that can save your tooth from needing to be extracted. If you have a toothache that suddenly goes away, it’s more important than ever that you contact us for treatment.
What Can I Take to Help Alleviate Dental Pain?
Ibuprofen is often considered the best medicine for treating oral pain. You could also take other over-the-counter pain medications like aspirin or acetaminophen. Keep in mind that if you take aspirin, do NOT place it directly on the aching tooth. Doing so could irritate your gum tissue and actually increase your dental pain!
Do I Need to Be an Existing Patient to Be Seen for a Dental Emergency?
Not at all! We know that it can be stressful to find a new dentist, especially during an emergency, which is why we’re more than willing to treat you no matter your situation. We make it easy by accepting all major PPO plans, as well as military plans. If you don’t have dental insurance, we also partner with third-party finance plans like CareCredit and Lending Club to pay for the care you need. No matter what kind of dental emergency you’re going through, don’t hesitate to give us a call!
