Emergency Dental Care

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For Dental Emergencies in Edmonton, please call 780-444-8936
For Dental Emergencies in Calgary, please call 403-265-2527
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If you suffer a dental emergency, you can expect doctors and staff at Dental Choice to help you as soon as possible. We are equipped to provide treatment for most general dental emergencies including loose and fractured teeth, toothaches, abscesses and infections among many other conditions. Our dentists are also available to be contacted for follow up care. Please note, Dental Choice offices have a wide range of operating hours and availability but we are not a 24/7 service provider. When you experience a true dental emergency, please contact us immediately. If your emergency cannot wait until normal operating hours, please contact your local hospital.

Dental emergencies can occur at any time, such as participating in contact sports like hockey or football. If you’ve suffered a broken tooth or have had a tooth knocked out, it’s important to contact a dentist immediately. If your tooth has been knocked out, try to gently insert it into the socket and hold it there until you reach the dentist’s office. If you are unable to do so, place the tooth in a glass of milk or water and bring it with you to a dentist as quickly as possible.

Types of Dental Emergencies

Common dental emergencies include:

chipped front teeth
acute sensitivity
broken fillings
broken crowns
local swelling
facial swelling
pain at night
painful wisdom teeth

Dental injuries can also occur at times when and places where they’re least expected. Sometimes an individual may suddenly feel severe pain and have no idea why. In many of these cases, the individual has suffered a cracked tooth. This condition can be caused by many factors such as teeth grinding, wear and tear, and uneven chewing pressure.

Urgent Care services are available in Calgary and Edmonton Dental Choice offices.

Here are tips on what to do when you are experiencing any of the following dental emergencies:

Broken or Chipped Teeth

If you have a broken or chipped tooth, it’s important to first rinse out your mouth thoroughly, as well as any pieces of the tooth you may be able to collect and save. If there is bleeding, apply pressure to the area with gauze until the bleeding stops, which usually takes about 10 minutes or so. If there is swelling and/or you are in pain, gently apply a cold compress on your cheek area or wherever around your mouth that is closest to the broken tooth.

If the tooth was knocked out, try to retrieve and preserve it, and come in for a dental appointment as soon as possible. Teeth with the best chance of being successfully replaced in their socket are those that are returned within an hour of being knocked out. You can preserve the tooth by putting it in a small container of milk, or water with a small amount of salt.

If the tooth is partially dislodged, you will also want to make a dental appointment for as early as possible. To ease the pain in the interim, you can take a pain reliever such as Tylenol and/or apply a cold compress on the outside of the mouth near the affected area.

Abscess

An abscess is an infection that forms in the space between the teeth and the gums or around the root of the tooth. To help with pain and swelling, Ibuprofen may be taken. However, you will need to be placed on antibiotics to properly combat the infection. It is important to see your dentist to get started on antibiotics as soon as possible, because abscesses can cause major damage to the teeth and gums and also spread if left untreated.

Lost/Broken Filling or Crown

When it comes to fillings and crowns, if they are lost or broken, they will ultimately need to be replaced. To help the pain in the meantime, place a small amount of clove oil on a cotton swab and gently apply it to the area. You can also try to put the crown back over the tooth using toothpaste or denture adhesive to help keep it in place, but it’s important not to force it.

Bleeding Gums, Cheek, Lips or Tongue

When people think of dental emergencies, most usually think about issues involving the teeth. But problems with the rest of the mouth may constitute a dental emergency as well. If you are experiencing bleeding as a result of an injury to the gums, cheek, lips or tongue, these steps may help:

Rinse your mouth with a mixture of water and salt to help sterilize the area.
Apply pressure to the bleeding site for 15-20 minutes using a piece of gauze.
Place a cold compress on the outside of the cheek or mouth to help alleviate pain and swelling. Keep the compress there for about 5-10 minutes.

What Constitutes a Dental Emergency?

Many things can constitute a dental emergency. Even if you’re not sure what happened, but you feel severe pain in your gum or tooth, it’s important to get in touch with an emergency dentist right away.

Whether you’re in Calgary or Edmonton, an emergency dental practice can quickly evaluate the problem and decide on the best course of action. If there’s no time to treat the tooth fully, the dentist will offer you a quick temporary solution to stop the pain as you wait for a longer dental appointment.

If you are having non-emergent tooth pain, you may want to consider our tooth removal services at our Edmonton office.

Should I Wait Until Normal Hours to Contact My Dentist?

In case of a dental emergency, you should contact the dentist as soon as possible. The faster you react to the emergency, the higher your chances of saving your tooth. Specific examples of dental emergencies that require immediate medical or dental help include broken teeth, a fractured jaw, teeth that have been knocked out, and any other type of severe pain in your gums or teeth.

When you call the dentist to report an emergency, do your best to accurately describe how you’re feeling. This will help the dentist prepare for your arrival. Never hesitate to contact a dentist if you’re having a dental emergency.

How Do I Know If I Should Wait or Call?

Even if you think the dental office is closed, go ahead and make a call. You can either use our emergency number or follow the instructions on the answering machine. Most of our dentists leave slots in their schedules to handle such emergency cases. If none of these options work, visit a local emergency room as soon as you can.

What Kind of Treatment Will I Receive for a Dental Emergency?

The kind of treatment performed following a dental emergency depends on the complexity of the situation. Some issues may be addressed with simple interventions. Others, such as tooth loss or fractured jaws, may require oral surgery. Our staff will determine whether the emergency can wait for the dentist to arrive and provide pain medication to help reduce symptoms while you wait.

If you think you’re having a dental emergency, contact Dental Choice at our offices in Calgary or Edmonton as soon as possible. If you call while we’re closed and reach our voicemail, you may need to call the provided after-hours number. Depending on the severity of your dental emergency, the dentist may be able to meet you at the office.

The first priority of a dentist is to alleviate pain. Later, treatments such as dental bonding, dental crowns, dental bridges, or dental implants may be necessary to fully repair the damaged or lost tooth.

A dentist at one of our offices in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta is ready to assist if you have suffered a dental injury. Contact a Dental Choice office whenever a dental emergency occurs in Edmonton or Calgary.

For information on our other General Dentistry services, check out the pages below: