A dental emergency can catch you off-guard and unsure of what to do next. But as long as you have a reliable emergency dentist nearby, there’s no need to panic. Dental professionals can provide fast services to patients suffering extreme pain, tooth loss, bleeding or any other type of oral emergency.
At Rockville Dental Arts, we offer immediate emergency dental services to patients in need of urgent dental care. Whether your mouth is bleeding or you’re missing a filling, you can trust our team to provide emergency attention. We prevent long-term complications and permanent injuries while keeping your pearly whites in tip-top shape.
Dental emergencies are more common than you think
A dental emergency is any type of oral pain that requires urgent assistance from a professional. If you’re unsure if you’re facing a dental emergency, ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you suffering from severe pain or discomfort?
- Do you have any loose teeth (for adults only)?
- Have you lost a tooth (for adults only)?
- Is your mouth bleeding?
- Do you have any swelling around the face or gums?
- Do you need a root canal?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then you need to get in touch with your local emergency dentist. A professional will inspect your issue, alleviate your pain and determine what steps to take next.
Dental emergencies are relatively common, and millions of Americans require emergency care every year. Whether it be due to a work-related incident, physical sports or eating something too hard, dental trauma can happen at any time. Common dental emergencies include:
- Bleeding gums
- Severe toothache
- Broken tooth
tooth broke and is black - Cracked tooth
- Unexplained sores, growths or swelling in the mouth or along the gums
- Tasting metal in your mouth
- Locked jaw
- Broken crowns or missing fillings
- Food or objects lodged between the teeth
- Wisdom teeth pain or tooth infections
- Avulsed teeth (when a tooth gets dislodged from its socket)
It’s crucial to seek immediate dental care and get same-day treatment for your emergency. Putting off your visit to the dentist can cause the pain to increase and make the condition worse. Additionally, ignoring concerns, like a dental infection or abscess, can have life-threatening consequences.
At Rockville Dental Arts, we provide same-day emergency oral care. Our dental office is available to help you or your loved one alleviate their dental pain and mend any issues they might be having. We understand that dental emergencies and toothaches can occur at any time, and we strive to provide fast and reliable care to our patients around-the-clock.
What to do if you have a dental emergency
When a dental emergency occurs, the first thing you must do is call your regular dentist. If it’s during normal office hours, they may be able to tend to your injuries right away.
If the emergency happens at night or over the weekend, you should still give your dentist a call. Some offices provide emergency dental services outside of their regular operating hours. If they cannot see you until the morning, visit the ER or your closest urgent care center for immediate assistance.
If you lost teeth or pieces of a tooth, save whatever you can and bring it with you. Try to preserve the extracted tooth by soaking it in milk, which prevents the cells from swelling. Cover the area where the tooth fell out with gauze or a cotton ball to stop any bleeding. To ease severe tooth pain or discomfort, apply ice or a heated pad to your cheek.
When you arrive at your dentist or the ER, make sure you have a valid form of ID (unless you’re visiting your regular dentist), insurance information and any relevant medical records. Whoever treats your emergency will need to know if you’re taking prescription medications and be aware of underlying medical conditions that could affect your oral health or the type of treatment you can receive.
Most importantly, do your best to remain calm during a dental emergency. These situations are stressful, but seeking urgent dental care will prevent permanent damages and allow you to make a full recovery. The team at Rockville Dental Arts is well-trained in handling critical dental procedures, and we make it our mission to keep you as calm and relaxed as possible while tending to your injuries.
What an emergency dentist does to help
An emergency dentist has the skills, knowledge and tools to diagnose and treat your medical condition quickly. A general dentist may not be able to see you right away, but a professional specializing in emergency dentistry can render prompt care to patients who need it.
Most emergency dentists offer a wide range of services, including:
- Tooth extractions
- Reconstructing dental crowns or fillings
- Treating a dental abscess or tooth infection
- Restoring chipped or cracked teeth
- Replacing missing teeth
- Performing a root canal
Our emergency dental team is equipped to take on your oral concerns and prevent long-term complications. We provide same-day services to residents experiencing pain throughout Rockville, and we accept new patients in need of emergency dental care. If you’re unsure if you have an urgent dental problem, call or text our office and let one of our team members determine what you need to do next.
Should you go to the hospital for a dental emergency?
Yes, you can visit an emergency room or urgent care center if you need emergency dental care. However, most hospitals only provide temporary pain or bleeding relief. They do not have the expertise or tools to perform the full-scale dental procedures that your local emergency dental office does.
Additionally, it’s important to bear in mind that if you go to the hospital, any care you receive will be billed under your regular health insurance and not your dental insurance plan.
Therefore, you may visit the ER for pain medicine, but after, you need to make an emergency dental appointment. Once you see a dental professional, they can thoroughly address your dental trauma and provide a long-term solution.
Will the ER or urgent care clinic pull my tooth?
No, a general hospital worker will not (and should not) remove teeth. Only certified dental professionals have the authority to pull teeth. It’s illegal for anyone other than a certified dentist to extract teeth, perform emergency root canals or conduct any other type of dental work on a patient. The hospital or clinic will only be able to provide you with antibiotics, ice or pain medication to ease your tooth pain until you’re able to schedule an emergency dental visit.
The Rockville emergency dentist you can trust
If you’re in extreme pain or worried about your dental health, don’t hesitate to reach out to your local emergency dentist.
At Rockville Dental Arts, we encourage existing or new patients to text or call our team at 301-424-2030. Whether you’re missing a tooth or unsure if you should schedule an urgent visit, our staff can help. We will listen to your symptoms and tell you if you need to come straight to the office or walk you through some temporary measures that may help to relieve a toothache or other types of discomfort.
Contact us now to learn more about how our certified team handles dental pain and dental trauma and why we’re the emergency dentist that Rockville residents trust.