Dental emergencies can be incredibly difficult to handle due to their unexpected nature. By having a trusted emergency dentist that you can call, like Dr. Upton, you’ll be able to act quickly in the moment and reduce the amount of damage that your smile sustains. With our phone number on-hand, you’ll have direct access to our friendly and caring team of professionals to walk you through first-aid guidance and schedule an appointment for you as soon as possible for emergency dentistry in Glendale, AZ.
It can be difficult to make quick, sound decisions in the middle of a dental emergency because you’re often in shock and experiencing discomfort. Our team will walk you through any steps you should take to reduce the damage to your smile and add you to our schedule if we have an open appointment. We’ve also included some helpful tips below to help ease your discomfort until you reach our dental office.
Toothaches are often a sign of infections that develop deep within the inner chamber of a tooth. You can ease your pain by taking an over-the-counter medication like ibuprofen or placing a cold compress on your jaw for 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, for up to an hour.
If you’re able to locate the broken-off portion of your tooth, pick it up, rinse it off, and place it in a sealable bag to bring to your appointment. If the damage has created a jagged edge, you can place a piece of orthodontic wax over the area to keep it from scraping the inside of your lip or cheek.
In this situation, time is of the essence, so quickly find and retrieve your knocked-out tooth, being sure to only handle it by the biting surface. Place it in a sealable container filled with salt water or milk to keep it viable and bring it to your appointment.
If you’re able to find your lost restoration, you can clean it off and temporarily place it back on your tooth using a dab of toothpaste or denture adhesive. It’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t a permanent solution, and in order to avoid a tooth infection, you’ll need to have your crown or filling professionally repaired or replaced.
If you’re experiencing lockjaw, tension in your jaw joints, or pain in your head and neck area, these could be indications that you have a condition known as TMJ dysfunction. This means that the two joints that hinge your jaw to your skull are sustaining additional tension or force. It could be caused by nightly grinding from stress, bite misalignment, or even a past jaw injury. Dr. Upton and our team at Arrowhead Dentistry can help by assessing the underlying problem and creating a treatment plan to provide you with lasting relief.
While it’s impossible to completely prevent oral accidents from happening, there are some ways you can reduce your risk, including:
Before we can determine how much your emergency appointment will cost, we’ll need to diagnose the issue at-hand. When you first arrive to our dental office, we’ll take X-rays and conduct a thorough examination of your teeth and gums. Once we know what the issue is, we’ll walk you through all of your treatment options and discuss pricing with you. If you need any help navigating your insurance benefits or don’t have a dental plan and are interested in our membership plan, don’t hesitate to ask one of our friendly team members for more information!
Dr. Upton tries to preserve the natural structure of your smile, which means we’ll never suggest removing a tooth unless we believe it’s absolutely necessary to maintain good oral health. In this situation, we’ll walk you through the process beforehand so you can understand why we’re suggesting this treatment and how it will help restore your smile. We offer several different procedures to replace missing teeth as well, so you won’t have to live with a gap in your mouth for any longer than necessary.