Do I Need Emergency Dental Care?

Aren’t sure if you need emergency dental care?There’s never a good time to experience a dental emergency. However, it’s important that you react fast when you begin to experience pain or discomfort. The sooner you see our emergency dentist in South Bend, IN, the sooner you’ll be able to find relief for your symptoms.

Here are some common dental emergencies that require urgent care.

Knocked-Out Tooth

Call our office immediately if you knock out a tooth, and follow the instructions below. 

What to do for a knocked out tooth:

1. Pick up the tooth by the crown, NOT the root. Otherwise, you risk damaging the cells needed for re-implantation.
2. Gently rinse away any dirt. Do NOT use soap, scrub, or dry the tooth.
3. If possible, place the tooth back in its socket and gently bite down. If this isn’t possible, place the tooth inside your cheek or submerge it in a cup of milk so it remains moist.
4. Call our office so we know you’re coming.
5. Remain calm.

It’s vital that you see a dentist within the first 30 minutes of knocking out a tooth. The sooner you receive urgent dental care, the more likely we’ll be able to re-implant the tooth.

Severe Toothache

Dental pain is your body’s way of letting you know something is wrong. To determine the cause of your toothache, you’ll need to schedule an appointment with our South Bend emergency dentist. During your appointment, he’ll be able to diagnose the issue and recommend a treatment plan to restore your oral health.

Dental Abscess

A dental abscess is a pocket of infection. If you see a bump on your gums that looks like a pimple, this may be a sign that you need root canal treatment. The sooner you get a root canal for an infected tooth, the lower your risk of dental extraction. For this reason, it’s always important to contact our office right away if you notice a dental abscess.

Large Crack or Chip Causing Pain

Call Select Dental Associates right away if you have a large crack or chip in your tooth that’s causing pain. Once the structural integrity of your tooth is compromised, bacteria can slip into the tooth and infect the pulp inside. A large crack or chip will also make the tooth unstable and more prone to further breakage.

Severe Soft Tissue Injury

Call our office immediately if you’re experiencing uncontrolled bleeding of your mouth’s soft tissues. This includes the lips, gums, tongue, and cheeks. If we are not available and the bleeding doesn’t stop after following the below steps, please go to the nearest emergency room for care.

What to do for a severe soft tissue injury:

1. Swish with a salt water mouth rinse.
2. Apply pressure to the injury with moist gauze or a caffeinated tea bag for 15-20 minutes.
3. Apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth or cheek for 5-10 minutes.
4. See our emergency dentist or your nearest ER for urgent care if bleeding doesn’t stop.

As with any dental emergency, fast action is needed to prevent any further damage and facilitate healing.

Help for Non-Emergencies

Any dental pain or discomfort is cause for concern. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need emergency dental services. If you’re experiencing an issue with your oral health, we recommend scheduling an appointment with our dentist.

Non-emergencies include:

• Mild toothache
• Tooth sensitivity
• Small chip or crack that doesn’t cause pain
• Lost crown
• Lost filling

The sooner we can diagnose an issue, the more likely you’ll be able to avoid more invasive procedures. For example, our dentist can treat a small cavity with a filling but may recommend an emergency root canal and crown for an infected tooth.

Schedule Emergency Dental Care

Need to schedule emergency dental care fast? Our emergency dentist in South Bend, IN, is accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment, please call Select Dental Associates at (574) 232-8888. For non-emergencies, you may also fill out our online contact form and someone from our team will reach out to you soon.

This blog post has been updated.