Dental emergencies tend to be sudden and very inconvenient. Maybe your daughter slipped on the sidewalk and cracked her tooth a week before school pictures, or maybe serious mouth pain is distracting you from preparing for a big presentation at work. Whatever your family’s current situation is, it’s important for everyone to stay calm. With an experienced emergency dentist in Irving, Daily Smiles MacArthur Dental and Orthodontics is the ideal location for fast emergency care! Call us as soon as possible for urgent treatment.
It’s never a bad idea to be prepared should a dental emergency strike. After all, you want to have as much information about the situation as possible. That’s why we recommend reading the following frequently asked questions about emergency dentistry in Irving. If you have an emergency question that you don’t see answered down below, don’t be afraid to contact our office and ask.
It’s impossible to give you an answer to this question without your coming in for an evaluation. However, if you have had a severe toothache for several days that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter pain medications, chances are you’re going to need more than a filling to treat it. That’s where root canal therapy comes in. During this painless procedure, your dentist in Irving will remove the damaged or infected root from the tooth and replace it with synthetic material. This will not only end your pain but also prevent reinfection. Once it’s finished, we’ll top your tooth with a lifelike restoration, like a crown or filling, and voila! Your toothache is cured, and no one even has to know you got dental work done.
Ideally, you would seek treatment as soon as possible, especially since many dental emergencies are painful and you’ll want your dentist to help alleviate your discomfort quickly. This is critically true if you have a damaged or dislodged tooth, as the sooner you come to see us, the higher chance we have of saving your tooth. Even if you’re not sure whether your situation counts as an emergency, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so come see us anyway.
Just like with a knocked-out adult tooth, call us right away and we’ll get you in for an appointment. Whatever you do, do not place the baby tooth back in the socket. Doing so could irreversibly damage the underlying permanent tooth. If the tooth was close to falling out naturally, we might not have to do anything. If not, we may place a space maintainer in the area to prevent surrounding teeth from drifting into the gap.
If your dental emergency is also life-threatening, like swelling that impacts your ability to breathe, then you should visit your local emergency room instead of your dentist in Irving. Other situations that require a hospital visit include:
- Jaw fractures
- Jaw dislocations
- Deep lacerations
- Serious infection
For any other non-life-threatening dental emergency, call us and we’ll help solve your problem.
First, rinse your mouth out with warm water. Hold a piece of gauze to the area to halt any bleeding. Cut down on pain and potential swelling by applying a cold compress to your tongue or lip for 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off. You could also take store-bought pain medications as needed. Until your oral injury is healed, it’s best to stay away from hot, acidic, or spicy foods and drinks, as they can irritate the site.