Emergency Dentist in San Antonio, TX

Dr. Christian Pham

What is considered a dental emergency?

Usually, when patients call the office and they have some pain that they cannot handle, they usually call us and say, "Hey, I have some pain. I need to come in, and I need you to take a look at it and take care of it." Pain is one of the main things that has patients come in to do an emergency exam.

When people have tooth pain, sometimes they don't know where to go. Should they go to a hospital emergency room, or should they visit a dentist? To answer this question, some patients may not visit a dentist often, so they automatically think, okay, I have an emergency, that would be the emergency room in the hospital. But when you have something that has to do with the mouth or the teeth, you want to visit a dentist because when you go to the emergency room, usually they don't handle dental emergencies, and usually if you go there, they're probably going to refer you to a dentist to see your tooth or mouth emergency.

Knowing if it's related to your mouth or your teeth, it's better to go to a dental office so they can take a look at it, all right? If you have another bodily issue that's more on the medical side, we say, "Okay, with those kinds of things, that is more on the medical side," and then we go to the hospital for that. But teeth, which is also medical, is more specific to your mouth and your teeth, kind of like a specialty in regard to taking care of your teeth and mouth. Some of the dental emergencies, as I said, usually involve pain.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Dental emergencies can take many different forms, so it can sometimes be hard to know which issues require urgent care and which don’t. Below is a list of common emergencies that everyone needs to be aware of. Let us know immediately if you start showing symptoms of any of these problems.

• Sensitivity To Hot & Cold
• Knocked-Out Tooth
• Lost Filling or Crown
• Broken Denture
• Loose Tooth
• Gums, Lips or Tongue Injury
• Jaw Pain or Clenching
• Something Stuck Between Teeth

Maybe you bit down on something and something fractured, and then caused pain. So you come in. That's one of the emergencies. Maybe you haven't seen a dentist for a while, and you have some gum disease that then caused infection, swelling at the gum level, and that also causes pain that triggers a patient to come into the dental office to take a look at it.

It may result from a cavity getting bigger, and it got into the nerve of the tooth or the root canal of the tooth that caused pain, and then they will come in and have us take a look and see where that cause comes from. Other issues that may cause pain in the tooth and the mouth would be, say, you have a longstanding abscess that's kind of swollen up. So they come in, take a look at it, and determine what caused that and how we treat that, okay.

Or even trauma. If you got hit in the mouth, you fall face down, hit your teeth, and the teeth come out or teeth break, that's considered an emergency. Come in, see what happened, and see how we can help them fix what that emergency scenario is.

Some people think that in an emergency, we have to extract a tooth. First, you want to evaluate where that pain comes from and what's causing it. It could be that that tooth is causing pain because there's a cavity that got into the nerve, in which case we still can save the tooth with a root canal, crown, and everything like that, okay. But there are other cases where, in an emergency, people may have fallen and broken the tooth down to the root. In that case, we can't save the tooth anymore. We have to extract the tooth and think about maybe doing an implant, a bridge, or something like that to restore the tooth that is now being extracted.

Toothaches

• Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency: Although ignoring a toothache is never recommended, it also doesn’t immediately necessitate an urgent appointment. The best thing to do is assess your symptoms. If the pain has persisted for more than 24 hours, it hurts to bite down, or your gums are inflamed, then we recommend calling our San Antonio emergency dentist.
• How You Should Handle a Toothache: While your toothache won’t heal without professional treatment, there are some measures you can take to prevent further harm. That includes rinsing periodically with warm saltwater, avoiding crunchy foods, and taking an OTC pain reliever (as directed on the label).
• How We Treat Toothaches: Even if two patients come to our office with the same symptom (tooth pain), we may recommend two different treatments. That’s because we need to consider both the root of the problem and how severe it is in order to restore your pain-free smile in the short and long term!

Chipped Tooth

• Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency: A chipped tooth doesn’t always warrant a same-day visit to our office. If you’re in pain or the damage is extensive, then you certainly shouldn’t hesitate to get in touch with us so we can restore the missing structure of your tooth right away.
• How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth: After using some room-temperature water to rinse your mouth, cover the tooth with some dental wax or sugar-free gum. Lastly, avoid doing anything that could cause further damage, like eating something crunchy.
• How We Treat Chipped Teeth: We’ll only be able to make a recommendation once you come in for an exam. With that said, veneers are a popular option because they can fix small and large chips, and the results can last for a decade or more with proper care.

Cracked Tooth

• Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency: A cracked tooth is absolutely a dental emergency. That’s why you need to call our San Antonio office right away! The only exception is if you’re also experiencing potentially life-threatening symptoms (like extreme facial swelling or trouble swallowing). In that case, you should head to the ER or call 911.
• How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth: The last thing you want is for the tooth to break further, which is why you should avoid chewing on that side of your mouth. Instead, rinse periodically with room-temperature, clean water to prevent bacteria from collecting around the area in the meantime.
• How We Treat Cracked Teeth: Similar to a decayed tooth, a cracked tooth can be treated in several ways. One is with a dental crown. Another is with a tooth extraction. If the latter is best, then we will also fill the new space in your smile with a dental bridge or implant.

Why would I need an emergency root canal?

All right. When patients come in and say, hey, my tooth is hurting, maybe due to a cavity that has gotten into the pulp or the nerve and it's causing pain, we want to do an emergency root canal so that you can get out of pain that day or a few days later, okay. So that's considered an emergency root canal, to get you out of pain.

Basically, we are treating your tooth so that you are no longer in pain. So that's an emergency root canal. We at our office do take same-day care in regard to, say, if patients come in with pain, we definitely want to get them out of pain that same day. Care is initially just to get them comfortable, and then we reappoint them to have further treatment.

When would I need a tooth extraction?

Advanced gum disease, severe damage that cannot be repaired, and decay that has already compromised the dental structure are all reasons why a tooth might have to be removed. We know that this can be a very stressful procedure, so we’ll take whatever steps we can to help you stay calm and comfortable while we take the tooth in question out of your mouth. We can take steps to make sure that the gap is filled in as quickly as possible.

How We Treat Dental Emergencies at Crownridge Dental

• Emergency Appointment: Call our dental office and let us know what your current situation is. If we think you have an emergency, we’ll arrange to see you as soon as possible. We’ll also give you some advice on how you can manage your symptoms on your own until your visit.
• Comprehensive Exam: The first thing we need to do is examine your mouth and take dental X-rays to figure out what the source of the emergency is. If you’re in immediate, severe pain, we’ll take steps to stop it during the examination stage.
• Review Findings: We’ll explain the nature of your emergency and how it can be treated. Then we’ll discuss our recommendations with you and explain how long you can expect the treatment to take and how much you’ll likely pay for your care.
• Stop Your Pain: We will quickly carry out the selected treatment to get you out of your pain and prevent the emergency from getting worse.

Why Choose Crownridge Dental For Emergency Dentistry?

When you have a dental emergency like a severe toothache or severe dental damage, you need to put everything else on hold, so you can get emergency dentistry treatment as fast as possible. Putting off emergency dental care could lead to more severe problems that are even more difficult to address. Keep Crownridge Dental’s phone number with you, so when something happens, you can call us right away to schedule an appointment with Dr. Pham, our trusted emergency dentist in San Antonio, TX, and the rest of our caring dental team.

• Many Services In One Location
• State-Of-The-Art Facility
• Dentist With Extensive Education

What are the costs for a dental emergency?

Some dental emergencies are more complex than others, which means some are more costly than others. Maybe you just need a filling, or perhaps your tooth needs to be replaced altogether; whatever the case, you won’t know how much emergency treatment will cost until we narrow down exactly what your smile needs. We’ll always be upfront about explaining the treatment you need and why it’s your best option so that you can be sure you’re making the right choice when it comes time to pay.

How can I prevent dental emergencies from happening?

The old cliché “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” holds true when it comes to dental emergencies. Regular brushing and flossing combined with biannual checkups can help lower your risk of tooth decay, potentially letting you avoid cavities and dental infections altogether. You can also protect your teeth from physical harm by wearing a nightguard and putting a stop to any habits that could put your enamel at risk, such as using teeth as tools to open packages.

If you’re searching for quality dental care, we’re here to help. Call (210) 981-6018 or email [email protected] to schedule your visit. Our team is committed to keeping your smile healthy.

Request an Appointment