Do You Need Emergency Dental Care?

Picture this: You wake up one morning with a toothache that gets progressively worse during the day. Before you know it, you’re experiencing severe tooth pain.

Or you’re going about your day when you suddenly trip, fall, and knock out a tooth. Or you bite down on something hard and realize that the pressure has dislodged a crown in your mouth.

What should you do?  

First, stay calm. Panicking won’t help. Next, consider whether you may need emergency dental care. Postponing care for a serious dental problem could make matters worse.

If you need emergency care, or you’re not sure the problem in your mouth is a dental emergency, give our practice a call. Keith Bram, DDS, is proud to let you know that we offer emergency dental care at Doc Bram in Lisle, Illinois.

Here, we provide information to help you determine whether you need emergency dental care and how you can schedule it. We also provide some simple steps you can take to avoid dental emergencies.

Types of dental emergencies

A dental emergency is a serious tooth- or gum-related occurrence that can’t wait days or weeks for care. Some examples of dental emergencies include:

• Abscesses (infections)
• Broken or cracked teeth
• Broken, loose, or lost crown, filling, or implant
• Injuries to your gums or mouth
• Knocked-out teeth

Anytime you have bleeding in your mouth that won’t stop or sudden severe dental pain, you should contact our office to learn your next steps.

If you lose a tooth

Here’s an important tip to remember: If your tooth is knocked out, place it back in the tooth socket if you can or nestle it in your cheek to keep it moist and protect the root — and get to the dentist as soon as possible. 

Take care not to choke on or swallow the tooth. You can also place it in milk or in a tooth preservation kit that’s received the ADA Seal of Acceptance. By keeping a lost tooth moist and getting to the dentist as soon as possible, you improve the odds that your dentist can restore it.

If you experience a serious injury that affects your face, mouth, or jaw, call 911 or go to a hospital emergency room.

Preventing emergencies

Of course, when it comes to dental care, prevention is the best strategy of all. Although you can’t prevent all dental emergencies, you can reduce your risk of dental disasters by taking the following steps:

• Always wear tooth and mouth protection when playing sports
• Don’t chew ice or other hard substances
• Don’t use your teeth for anything but chewing food
• Get dental cleanings and checkups as often as your provider recommends to help prevent future dental problems
• Have pain or other symptoms checked out soon, before they worsen into emergencies

Keeping gum disease at bay with good oral hygiene at home — brushing at least twice a day and flossing every day — helps you prevent serious problems with your dental health.

Scheduling an emergency appointment

If you have a dental emergency, call Doc Bram at 630-963-9280 to schedule a same-day appointment. Be sure to tell the office associate that you’re experiencing an emergency, and our staff will do their best to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.