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Emergency Dentist Arlington
Your Smile Deserves Urgent Dental Care
When faced with an unexpected oral issue, it’s important that you know where to go and who to turn to in times of crisis. Because your smile deserves urgent dental care, you can count on our team at Collins St Dental of Arlington to see you the same day, after hours, or on the weekends. Using specialized restorative dentistry services to provide prompt and effective treatment, our Arlington emergency dentists are ready to handle the situation and alleviate the pain so that you can enjoy a swift recovery. Make sure to call our office if you or a loved one is suffering from any kind of dental emergency.
Why Choose Collins St Dental of Arlington for Emergency Dentistry?
- We’re Here Whenever Our Patients Need Us
- High-Quality Tooth Replacement Options Available
- Nitrous Oxide Sedation Used When Needed
How We Treat Dental Emergencies
Treating a dental emergency requires that you first call our dental office. Based on how serious the injury is, we will decide how quickly you should come in for treatment. If you are experiencing any pain, we can offer helpful tips to minimize discomfort in the meantime. Once in our office, we will help to get you out of pain as quickly as possible by taking digital images of your teeth and performing a complete examination of your smile. After confirming our results and establishing a treatment plan, we will begin to target the problem area so that you are no longer experiencing an emergency but instead, feel better about your oral health and appearance.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
Collin St Dental of Arlington is pleased to be able to take care of many of the most common dental emergencies. While the ER is a great place for broken/fractured jaws, excessive bleeding, and continuous swelling, other, less serious issues can be dealt with at your local dentist’s office. Feel free to review the kinds of cases we see and what you can do to take care of your teeth while waiting for your appointment.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies
Many different factors determine the cost of dental emergencies. While many patients assume it’s too costly to see a dentist for urgent dental care, the worst thing you can do is avoid treatment. Instead, the price of your initial visit is unlikely to incur much of a cost, especially if you have dental insurance. This is why we will work closely with you and your insurance company to maximize your available benefits so that you spend less out of pocket while walking away with a fully restored smile.
Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies
No smile is fully protected from dental emergencies. After all, accidents sometimes happen! The good news is that there are still a few steps you can take to safeguard your pearly whites year after year. These include:
Schedule a Dental Visit Every Six Months
Remember, even if you brush, floss, and rinse with mouthwash consistently, your oral hygiene regimen is ultimately incomplete without routine dental checkups and cleanings. So, make sure to schedule one every six months! If you start to experience abnormal dental symptoms sooner, like tender gums, don’t hesitate to call our emergency dentist in Arlington so they can conduct an exam, determine the root of the problem, and provide the necessary restorative care.
Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day, Every Day
A great way to prevent plaque buildup, decay, and infection is by brushing your teeth twice a day, every day (and for two full minutes each time!). Using the right tools, like a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste, is equally as crucial.
Important note: Brushing your teeth consistently is just the beginning. To ensure food particles and other debris are removed from between your teeth and along your gumline, it’s also important to floss and rinse with an antimicrobial mouthwash.
Eat a Healthy, Well-Balanced Diet
Basically, you should strive for a healthy diet that contains less sugar and starch and more leafy greens, fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. It’s also important that you exercise caution with crunchy foods, like raw almonds and hard pretzels. Not only will this help keep your smile healthy from the inside out, but it will also reduce your risk of dental damage – from small chips to substantial cracks.
Use a Custom Mouthguard to Protect Your Teeth
Do you play a contact sport, like football? Maybe you prefer to stay active by lifting weights, running, or riding your bike. Whatever the case may be, you need to wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth from damage on the field, from a bad fall, and from chronic clenching.
Important note: If you don’t have a mouthguard, don’t use a one-size-fits-all one. Instead, come to our office so we can have a custom one made for you.
Break Unhealthy Habits
Simply put, unhealthy habits can damage your teeth, even the seemingly harmless ones like eating ice, using your teeth to open something, chewing on the back of your pen, and biting your fingernails. So, do your best to stop! It may be difficult – especially in the beginning – but doing so will ultimately benefit both your smile and your wallet.
Dental Emergency FAQs
Will My Toothache Go Away by Itself?
It’s easy to assume that dental discomfort will take care of itself with enough time, much like a headache or a bruise. However, oral issues usually don’t resolve without professional intervention and tend to worsen over time. That means the longer you wait to be seen for a toothache, the more likely you are to require more complex and costly treatments to fix the damage.
There are many potential causes that can cause tender or throbbing teeth, and some are more serious than others. Contact our Collins St Dental of Arlington team so we can examine your mouth to determine the extent of the harm done, identify the cause, and recommend appropriate solutions.
Should I Visit the Emergency Room First for Dental Emergencies?
When you have an urgent medical problem near Arlington, like you’re struggling to breathe or broke a limb, you already know that it’s imperative that you reach the nearest emergency room as soon as possible. But what about oral emergencies? Can they be treated at the local urgent care center?
Although emergency healthcare providers are incredibly experienced and knowledgeable, most ERs and hospitals don’t have the specialized equipment or expertise to quickly identify and treat specific problems with your teeth and gums. That said, if you have a broken or dislocated jaw or sustained serious lacerations to your mouth that won’t stop bleeding, you should head to the ER immediately.
How Should I Sleep with a Toothache?
There’s a good chance that your toothache is due to infected and inflamed nerves in the tender pulp inside. Unfortunately, lying down horizontally increases the blood flow to your head, encouraging it to pool painfully behind your already throbbing tooth.
You can prevent this by propping your head up on a pillow or sleeping in a reclined position. Also, taking over-the-counter medications (like Tylenol or ibuprofen) or applying a cold compress are usually safe ways to ease discomfort long enough to get some much-needed rest.
Do I Need to Visit for Minor Chips in My Teeth?
You might think that small chips and cracks in your enamel are a mere aesthetic inconvenience, but the truth is you can’t know how far the damage extends without a professional assessment. Once the structure of your tooth is compromised, bacteria are more likely to penetrate it to cause cavities, gum disease, or additional breakage. While it might be safe to wait a day or two, delaying your appointment won’t do you any favors.
Our team can examine your mouth and take X-rays or other images as needed to ensure the injury hasn’t extended beneath the surface of your gums. Then, we’ll suggest an appropriate fix, like dental bonding, a dental crown, or veneers.
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