Emergency Dentistry in Plano, TX
In Pain? We are here to help!
Care When You Need it Most
You take special care of your body every day and try to care for your oral health as best as you can. However, with your best effort, accidents happen, and Plano Family Dental is here to help when they do! In the moments of pain and panic, your teeth and gum in distress, all you want is to regain control over your body. Dr. Varun P. Joseph can help with just that; he has specialized training in emergency dental procedures for adults and children. Regardless of your dental emergency, the Plano Family Dental team can help and always provide a comforting experience. If you are currently in need of emergency dental care, please contact us at (972) 867-5090.
What is Considered to be a Dental Emergency?
A dental emergency is any circumstance when the teeth, mouth, gums have been injured or when you are in pain and require immediate medical care. What exactly constitutes a dental emergency? Here are some of the most common situations that are typically considered urgent and we urge you to visit us:
- Broken/Fractured Tooth
- Partially Knocked-Out Tooth
- Fully Knocked-Out Tooth
- Serious Toothache
- Item Stuck Between Teeth
- Soft Tissue Injury
- Jaw Injury
- Lost Crown
- Lost Filling
- Oral Bleeding
- If heavy, sustained oral bleeding is occurring or it’s possible your jaw has been broken, please proceed straight to your nearest emergency room for assistance.
While some instances of dental damage can't be avoided, there are some steps you can take to decrease your family’s risk of experiencing dental emergencies. Be careful when eating foods that are overly hard or sticky, and don’t chew on the ice in your drink. Always wear an athletic mouthguard when participating in your favorite sporting event. Use scissors instead of your teeth to open the packaging. And most importantly, make sure to attend regular check-ups and cleanings! During these visits, Dr. Joseph and his staff can locate and treat minor issues that could have turned into the dental emergencies of tomorrow without intervention.
What should you do when you are injured?
With a dental emergency, time is crucial, and you don’t want to spend any of it looking for an emergency dentist in your area. Thanks to Plano Family dental, you know we can always take care of you and your family with excellent care and thoroughness. If you ever have a dental emergency, please call or email us anytime, Dr. Joseph will do all he can to help you.
Our business hours are listed below but do not worry if you have reached us outside of our regular hours. We have an emergency 24-hour hotline directly to Dr. Joseph and help immediately.
Hours:
Monday: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Tuesday: 7:00am - 4:00pm
Wednesday: 7:00am - 4:00pm
Thursday: 7:00am - 4:00pm
Friday: 7:00am - 12:00pm
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Why Choose Plano Family Dental?
The Emergency Dentistry Process
Immediate Response & Assessment
When you contact our emergency line, you'll speak directly with our care team or Dr. Joseph. We'll ask key questions about your situation to determine the severity and provide immediate guidance for temporary relief. Our team will schedule you for the earliest possible appointment – often the same day. For severe emergencies, Dr. Joseph will make special arrangements to see you right away, even after regular office hours.
Emergency Treatment
Upon arrival, we'll immediately address your pain and conduct a focused examination. This may include digital X-rays to assess hidden damage. Dr. Joseph will explain what's happening and outline your treatment options. Our state-of-the-art facility is equipped to handle various dental emergencies on the spot. Whether you need a tooth repaired, replaced, or immediate pain relief, we have the expertise and technology to help.
Aftercare & Prevention
After addressing your immediate emergency, we'll provide detailed aftercare instructions to support your recovery. This includes pain management guidelines and any necessary prescriptions. We'll schedule any needed follow-up appointments to monitor your healing and ensure everything is progressing well. Dr. Joseph will also discuss preventive measures to help avoid future emergencies.
FAQs
Even if you are not experiencing any pain yet, it is important that you see an emergency dentist immediately. The internal and delicate parts of the tooth may, at this point, be exposed to the different types of bacteria residing in the mouth. And if the tooth remains unprotected, it could result in new decay, and your emergency dentist needs to evaluate how serious the problem is right away.
A dental emergency is characterized by sudden swelling, pain, and a huge amount of discomfort. On a general note, when you discover that you couldn’t help yourself, it is important that you understand that oral health problems rarely fix themselves and don’t just go away quickly. If you have swelling, knots, or bulges on your gums, that may also need urgent attention.
If it happens that you have a piece of food or any other small object caught between your teeth, you could try to remove this with dental floss; but do this very gently. Don’t try to use anything extremely sharp like a pin to get it out because you may end up causing some damage. If dental floss cannot remove what is there, contact your emergency dentist right away for an appointment.
If a severe throbbing has just woken you up from your sleep, you can brush and floss the teeth in order to dislodge any food fragments that might have been stuck between the teeth. You can use over the counter medication to help relieve the pain, but be careful not to put it directly against the gum where you are experiencing the pain. If the pain refuses to go away after a few days, call your emergency dentist, you may need an extraction.
You can also consider some home remedies like using clove oil and garlic on the affected teeth. However, this can only provide temporary relief, so you will still need to call your dentist.
When you find yourself in such a situation as this, you should immediately go to your emergency dentist, and avoid touching the tooth. Gently hold the crown of the tooth and carefully rinse it in water so as to prevent further damage to the root. You need to protect the root by ensuring you keep the tooth intact, so don’t try to scrub it.
If it’s possible, gently try to insert the root back in the socket, but if this is not what you can do, just put the tooth in a cup of milk or water to keep it wet.
If you suddenly lose a filling, give your dentist a call to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. While you are waiting, you can reach out for dental cement at your grocery or pharmacy stores to help as a temporary gap. You can also cover the cavity with sugar-free gum, but ensure you are choosing a sugar-free gum because introducing sugar into the area around the cavity can cause severe pain.
You will need to contact an emergency dentist as soon as you can because you will need an experienced person to help you with this kind of situation. You should not try to replant a baby tooth because of the likelihood for damage while the tooth grows.
This kind of injury requires immediate medical attention. A severe head injury can be very dangerous and life-threatening and don’t forget that an emergency medical team is likely to get to you faster than it would take you to get to the hospital. You should also know that this kind of thing may not be covered by dental insurance, therefore, it will fall under medical.
If this is necessary, there are several sedatives for anxiety that can be used for you, including nitrous oxide. It is very common to have anxiety when going to see a dentist. Many people experience this; so, you are not alone. And if it is in the case of an emergency, the potential for pain unnerves you even more.
Infection is usually the cause of swelling, and if such is also causing you to have difficulty breathing, or swollen eyes, you definitely need to get an emergency dental care as soon as you can because this may result in a quick spread of the infection.