Emergency Dentistry
Care You Can Trust
When Needed Most
Dental emergencies always seem to happen when you’re least prepared to handle them. If you’re experiencing dental pain or infection, all you need to do is call our dental office, and our team will provide you with over-the-phone first-aid guidance and schedule an appointment for you as soon as possible to get the care you need with emergency dentistry in Wichita Falls, TX.
Why Choose Wichita Falls Dental for Emergency Dentistry?
- Dentist with Over 2 Decades of Experience
- Understanding & Friendly Staff
- Fast, Pain-Relieving Dental Care
How to Handle Common Dental Emergencies
If you are experiencing a toothache, infection, or a broken tooth, it’s always important to call us as soon as possible. We’ll provide you with first-aid guidance on the phone to make sure that your teeth and your mouth don’t sustain any additional damage and schedule an appointment to see you as soon as possible. Below, we’ve included some tips to help you feel more comfortable while you get ready to come to our dental office for urgent care.
Toothaches
If you have a persistent, severe toothache, it’s likely a result of an infection hidden in your tooth that has attacked the pulp, which is a cluster of tissue and nerves inside your teeth. To help with your pain, you can place a cold compress on the area for 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, or take an over-the-counter pain medication, such as ibuprofen.
Chipped/Broken Tooth
If you chipped or broke your tooth due to trauma or an accident, the severity of the damage will determine the treatment you need. Try to locate the broken-off piece of tooth and rinse it off under some cool water. Store it in a container and bring it to your appointment. If the area of your tooth that is damaged is sharp, you can place a piece of orthodontic wax over it to keep it from scraping or irritating your oral tissues.
Knocked-Out Tooth
In this situation, time is of the essence. Try to get to our dental office within an hour of the accident with your tooth. Pick your knocked-out tooth up, being sure to only handle it by the biting surface, and gently run it under a stream of cool water. Store it in a sealable container of milk or salt water to keep it viable and bring it with you to your appointment. If your mouth is bleeding, place a piece of sterile gauze on the area to help it clot.
Lost Filling/Crown
If you’re able to locate your crown or filling, you can attempt to temporarily replace it. Rinse it off, and using a dab of denture adhesive or toothpaste, attach it back on your damaged tooth. It’s important to remember that this is just a temporary solution, so you’ll still need to visit us so we can repair or replace it and prevent an infection from developing.
Jaw/Joint Pain
If you’re experiencing tenderness in your jaw joints on either side of your face, it could be due to TMJ dysfunction. Some other symptoms you can look out for include teeth grinding, migraines, and pain while chewing. At Wichita Falls Dental, we offer customized occlusal splints to help realign your jaw joints into a more natural and comfortable position so they function properly.
How to Prevent
Dental Emergencies
While it’s impossible to avoid a dental emergency, there are a few ways you can reduce your risk of experiencing one. These include:
- Brushing your teeth with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste twice each day for two minutes.
- Rinsing your mouth with antimicrobial mouthwash daily.
- Flossing your teeth every day.
- Avoid chewing on sticky, hard, and chewy items.
- Break bad oral habits like nail-biting and smoking.
- Stay hydrated with water instead of sugary beverages.
- Always wear a protective mouthguard at night if you grind your teeth.
The Cost of Treating Dental Emergencies
As soon as you arrive at our dental office, we’ll conduct a thorough examination of your teeth and gums to diagnose any underlying problems that may be causing your pain. Based on our findings, we’ll create a treatment plan and walk you through it. During this discussion, we’ll let you know about the cost of a treatment as well as financing options that we offer. We will always keep you in the loop about every detail of the visit to make sure that you feel comfortable and in good hands.
Emergency Dental Care FAQs
Do you have questions about dealing with a dental emergency? Below are some frequently asked questions that many patients find themselves asking when the worst occurs; knowing this information beforehand could help you keep yourself safe and comfortable until you can get to our office for proper treatment. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for down below, reach out to our office; we always love having the chance to teach our patients about protecting their precious smiles.
Will I Need to Go to a Hospital?
It’s generally better to visit an emergency dentist for toothaches, broken teeth, lost teeth, and oral infections that have yet to affect breathing. This is because the doctors at a hospital emergency room won’t necessarily have the training or equipment to deal with these specific problems; Dr. Sharolli will be in a better position to provide the high-quality dental care that you need. But if a life-threatening oral health issue like uncontrollable bleeding, deep cuts, jaw fractures, or disrupted breathing occurs, then you need to call an emergency room immediately. Once such issues have been resolved, you can visit Dr. Sharolli for any dental emergencies that are still present.
Does an Emergency Always Need to Be Treated Immediately?
You should always have a dental emergency treated as soon as possible. Oral health issues have a tendency to always get worse over time, leading to devastating consequences if a problem is ignored for too long. A toothache that could potentially be saved by a root canal might eventually have to be extracted. A lost tooth that could have been replanted could have to be replaced altogether. A lost crown that isn’t reattached to the tooth in time could invite an infection. Calling our office immediately will give us a chance to treat your smile while the issue is still small and the damage is still relatively contained.
What is Considered a True Dental Emergency?
There are many different kinds of dental emergencies – so many that it’s hard to give a single definition that satisfactorily describes all of them. That said, you can normally recognize a severe oral health issue if it results in bleeding, intense or persistent pain, visibly damaged or knocked-out teeth, swelling, loose restorations, or oral sores that don’t seem to heal. Take note of all of your symptoms and be sure to describe them in as much detail as possible so that we know what to look for during your emergency examination.
Will My Emergency Care Be Covered by Insurance?
That is a difficult question to answer without first examining your mouth and determining the exact nature of your emergency. You can usually expect your plan to cover part of an emergency treatment, but the exact amount of coverage you received will vary based on the plan and the kind of emergency you’re suffering from. No matter the situation, though, our front desk team will take the necessary steps to make sure you’re maximizing your available benefits.