Dental emergencies are serious concerns that need immediate attention, otherwise you could be left vulnerable to painful tooth decay and infections, or the loss of a tooth. Fortunately, our team can provide emergency dental care to repair your smile. In today’s blog, your Katy, TX, dentist talks about how we treat dental emergencies.
When To Seek Care
What constitutes a dental emergency? We consider any damage or injury to your teeth or gums that isn’t life threatening to be a dental emergency. If the issue is potentially life threatening, the please proceed to the nearest emergency room or call 911. Otherwise, give us a call right away. Common examples include cracked or chipped teeth, knocked out or loose teeth, loose or missing crowns or fillings, objects caught between teeth that floss can’t remove, or sudden unexplained toothaches. When you encounter one or more of these, let us know right away!
Scheduling a Visit
To schedule a visit, please give us a call, even if this occurs outside of normal business hours. You can leave a message and we will contact you back as soon as possible to schedule a time that is convenient for you. You then see us for treatment. For a damaged tooth, we could offer improvement in one visit with dental bonding, or assist with then placement of a custom crown. We can restore knocked out teeth, and address compromised dental restoration. Often, care is possible in only one sitting. Treating these injuries and issues quickly means you have a lower risk of tooth decay and infected teeth, and you also avoid gaps in your smile due to tooth loss.
Tips for Easing Your Discomfort
In between your injury and when you contact our team, you can take action to ease discomfort and protect your smile. For example, you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever to ease discomfort. You can also use a cloth or gauze to stem any bleeding, and a cold compress or ice pack to control facial swelling. If a tooth is chipped, rinse with warm water and try to recover any pieces to bring with you. If a tooth is knocked out competently, pick it up by the crown, not the root, and put it in a glass of milk or salt water. Don’t use anything other than floss to try and dislodge a trapped object!
If you have any questions about handling your dental emergency, then contact our team today to learn more. We can even discuss custom mouthguards to protect your smile if you play full contact sports or martial arts!
Your Katy, TX, Dentist Provides Emergency Dentistry
We would like to help you when a tooth is damaged or severely decayed. Call Lathrop Dental Center in Katy, TX at 832-437-3849 for more information on our approach to repairing teeth.
