EMERGENCY DENTISTRY
O’Fallon Dental Works provides emergency dentistry to ensure patients receive the care they need as quickly as possible.
GET IMMEDIATE DENTAL CARE
At O’Fallon Dental Works, we can help you get the care you need to restore your smile after a dental emergency. Whether you’ve experienced an oral injury due to a slip and fall or another accident, you have a serious toothache, or you’ve got a loose or pulled out piece of dental work, we’re here to help. If you think your issue counts as an emergency, you’re probably right. So contact us now at 636-272-5015 to get the emergency dentistry care you need.
As general dentists, we are trained to handle your urgent dental needs. If you are a patient of O’Fallon Dental Works, we offer same day dental appointments for patients experiencing a dental emergency. The most common forms of dental emergencies include:
- Broken tooth
- Avulsed tooth (knocked out of socket)
- Infection
- Unmanageable pain
- Swelling in jaw, face, gums or lips
- Sustained an injury to your teeth or mouth
EXPERIENCING A DENTAL EMERGENCY?
When in doubt, it’s better to be safe when dealing with your dental health. If you think that your condition counts as an emergency, give us a call and schedule an appointment right away.
WHAT COUNTS AS A DENTAL EMERGENCY?
Not sure when you need emergency dentistry? Chances are that if you’re experiencing any oral health condition that is causing you serious pain and discomfort, and you don’t know how to treat it on your own, you’re having an emergency.
One obvious category of dental emergencies is oral injuries. Injuries to your teeth and mouth such as broken, knocked-out, or loose teeth are all emergencies, and demand emergency dentistry immediate care to ensure that you preserve your oral health.
However, quite a few other conditions also count as emergencies. A serious toothache could indicate an infected tooth or a severe cavity. A pulled-out crown or filling needs to be replaced right away to prevent complications. Gums that bleed for no reason or bleed excessively when brushing could indicate an advanced case of gum disease, which should be treated right away with proper periodontal care.
WHY DO I NEED TO GET IMMEDIATE CARE?
Getting immediate, same-day care helps resolve your dental emergency right away, and prevents further complications. A knocked-out tooth, for example, needs to be splinted and replaced within 1-2 hours to save it. If you don’t see your dentist in time, we won’t be able to save your tooth, which will lead to more expensive complications.
Immediate care also provides you with relief from the pain and discomfort of your dental emergency, which can be extremely uncomfortable and interfere with your day-to-day life.
Finally, getting emergency treatment provides you with peace of mind. You’ll know that you’ve gotten the treatment you need, and you won’t have to worry about your condition getting worse due to lack of treatment.
CRACKED OR FRACTURED TOOTH
Cracked or fractured teeth are surprisingly common and are the leading cause of tooth loss for most people. A cracked tooth may or may not cause symptoms and fractures in the molars can be difficult to detect. A cracked tooth should be treated; however, as to avoid further complications such as an abscess or more invasive dental procedures.
CHIPPED TOOTH
Chipped teeth are quite common and they can happen when you least expect it. Eating hard candy, crunching on ice, falling, playing a game of pickup basketball or a minor car accident are all ways that you can chip a tooth or teeth. A chipped tooth requires treatment to prevent further damage or infection. If you chip a tooth unexpectedly, here are a few ways to care for your tooth until you can come in for an emergency dentistry repair.
- For pain, O’Fallon Dental Works suggests over the counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen
- Rinse your mouth with warm salt water
- If the chip has caused a jagged or sharp edge, cover the edge with wax to keep it from irritating your cheek or tongue
- Eat soft foods to avoid biting on a broken tooth
TOOTHACHES
A toothache, pain in or around a tooth, can be caused by a variety of reasons. The most common causes of a toothache are: tooth decay, infected or abscessed tooth, fractured tooth, lost filling and gum infection. If you are experiencing consistent pain in a tooth or teeth, it is important to properly identify the cause so that we can treat it and you can begin the healing process. Often, if a tooth is infected, the infection can spread to other teeth creating an even bigger problem. At O’Fallon Dental Works, we encourage patients to call if you are having any problems no matter how small they may seem; early diagnosis and treatment will yield a better outcome.
TREATING A TOOTHACHE
The treatment of tooth pain will depend on the cause; however, you can be assured that we will promptly address your problem and get you back on the road to feeling better as quickly as possible.
- If decay is causing your pain, we will fill the cavity or perform a root canal and a restoration, if necessary
- An antibiotic may be prescribed for patients with an abscessed tooth, which should help with the pain
O’Fallon Dental Works, located in St. Louis, MO is here to provide urgent and emergency dentistry services. If you are experiencing moderate to severe tooth pain, we encourage you to call us at (636) 272-5015.