Life is full of surprises! Accidents can simply occur for no apparent reason, leading to a dental emergency, sometimes at the most inconvenient times.
So, when you suddenly have a chipped tooth after accidentally biting into something hard OR your child suffers an injury while playing in a sport, you can get the emergency dental treatment you need from Dr Carol Pacheco’s office and our friendly, professional staff.
What Qualifies as a Dental Emergency?
Types of emergency dental situations vary, but some of the more common ones include the following:
- Abscess and Swelling: An abscess is an infection most often found at the base of a tooth where a pocket of pus has formed near the tooth root. It will appear swollen and will be tender to the touch. This needs to be drained and treated with antibiotics before it becomes a life-threatening infection.
- Accidents During Sports: Sports can be dangerous for teeth. If you or a loved one sustains a trauma to the mouth area during a sporting event, please contact our office for further instructions.
- Tooth Fracture: A tooth fracture is another way to describe a painful crack in the hard outer shell (enamel) or crown of the tooth. This can happen when eating something hard or when your tooth comes in contact with something harder, often in sports-related situations.
- Knocked-Out Tooth: If a tooth has been completely knocked out of the mouth, you have one hour to save this tooth. Contact our office immediately. Only handle the tooth by the crown. Rinse it off quickly, and try to reposition it in the mouth if possible. If you can’t put it back in, call us immediately.
- Continually Bleeding Cuts: If you’ve sustained a cut on the inside of your mouth that won’t stop bleeding, contact us for further instructions. Depending on the location or the extent of an injury, we may have to refer you to an oral surgeon.
- Damaged Bridge or Crown: Depending on the extent of the damage, a broken bridge or crown can be readily fixed.
- Toothache: Sensitive to cold? Dealing with a persistent toothache? That could be an indicator of something going on beneath the surface of your teeth.
Give our office a call when you or someone you love has a dental emergency. Dr. Carol Pacheco and her staff will do our best to accommodate you as quickly as possible for dental emergencies.