One minute, life is going fine. The next, you have a dental emergency on your hands. Your mind starts to race and worry about all the possible outcomes. Maybe you even start to panic. Stop! How can you avoid this reaction? Simply put, you can plan ahead. No, you can’t plan when or how a dental emergency will happen, but you can decide now how you will respond to make sure you get the treatment you need. Having a plan in place can help you keep a cool head in a stressful situation. To help you formulate a dental emergency plan, here is some helpful information from your emergency dentist.
Types of Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies can happen anytime and anywhere and to anyone. Here are some examples of common dental emergencies:
- Object stuck between teeth.
- Avulsed (knocked-out) tooth.
- Partially dislodged tooth.
- Chipped or cracked tooth.
- Toothache.
- Lost filling or crown.
- Soft tissue injuries.
- Abscess (infection between the root of the tooth and gums).
Treatment for Dental Emergencies
Treating a dental emergency varies greatly on the situation, but in most cases, you need to contact your emergency dentist right away to get the soonest appointment available. Time is often of the essence to ensure that your natural tooth can be saved and your pain can be alleviated.
Here are some common ways that your dentist can treat emergencies:
- For a fully or partially avulsed permanent tooth, the dentist will avoid touching the root so that it doesn’t get additional bacteria on it. They will place the tooth back into the socket and create a temporary splint to hold it in place for about two weeks.
- Toothaches have several potential causes, including tooth decay that has reached the dentin or pulp of the tooth. In that case, the dentist will perform root canal therapy to remove the decay. Then they will place a filling or a crown.
- A cracked tooth likely needs to be cleaned and filled so that bacteria doesn’t have access to the tooth’s inside layers. The dentist will probably use a tooth-colored composite resin filling to seal in the crack.
- To remove objects that are stuck between your teeth, you should use floss. If that doesn’t work, see your dentist. Do not use pins or other sharp objects to get the object out. You could damage your gums or scratch your teeth’s enamel.
Cost of Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies can be traumatic physically, but they don’t have to be traumatic financially. Coverage and benefits will vary between insurances and plans, but generally dental insurance pays at least for the emergency evaluation. Many dental practices also offer affordable payments plans for expenses that insurance doesn’t cover.
Although dental emergencies can be stressful, you don’t have to go through them alone. Your emergency dentist can take care of your teeth, put your mind at ease, and help you through the payment process with insurance. For more information about treating dental emergencies, insurance coverage of dental emergencies, or payment plans, contact your dentist.
About the Practice
Capron Park Dental offer comprehensive dental services including preventive, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry. Their three dentists and their staff together have decades of experience and use the best technology available to diagnose and treat their patients. They have received more than 160 five-star reviews on Google. To see why, make an appointment by calling (508) 222-5950 or clicking here.