If you’re dealing with a dental problem like a chipped tooth or a knocked-out tooth, please call your emergency dental clinic for dental services immediately. But what if you need urgent dental care on the weekend, at night, or outside the normal dental office hours? In that case, please call the emergency dentist in Houston and describe the situation.
If you need emergency dental care in Houston, the emergency dentist open on Saturday near me will describe how to handle the situation, and ask you to come for an urgent dental care session. However, most people have a hard time determining what does or doesn’t include urgent dental care. This article answers some of the most frequent questions we get about emergency dental care in Houston, TX.
Do I need an emergency dentist in Houston?
According to the American Family Physician, over 22% of all Americans have experienced dental pains in the past six months, highlighting the frequency of dental problems. However, all of those situations don’t qualify for urgent dental care — only a small portion of the dental problems that people consider emergencies are real emergencies.
As such, it’s crucial to understand what does or doesn’t require urgent dental care. That information will save you unnecessary trips to the emergency dental clinic at odd hours. Before contacting an emergency dentist in Houston, TX, please ask yourself these questions:
- Do you have severe dental pain?
- Has the toothache been persistent for over 24 hours?
- Is your toothache accompanied by bleeding or fevers?
- Do you have a chipped tooth?
- Do you have a knocked-out tooth?
- Do you have signs of dental infections, like pus, swelling, fever, or a dental abscess?
- Are you bleeding from your mouth?
- Are your gums bleeding?
- Are your other soft tissues bleeding?
Generally speaking, you need urgent dental care for situations that are causing immense dental pain, bleeding, or can’t wait for a few hours or days. If you have these situations, please call your emergency dentist in Houston, TX.
However, you shouldn’t contact an emergency dental clinic for minor toothaches, minor cracks on the teeth, broken braces, or lost crowns and fillings. If you’ve lost a filling, you can place a sugar-free gum within the tooth’s cavity temporarily or apply an over-the-counter dental adhesive, and schedule an appointment with the emergency dental clinic during regular hours.
What do I do about a knocked-out tooth?
According to the American Association of Endodontists, over five million teeth are knocked out every year for several reasons, including dental injury and impact. If you have a knocked-out tooth, you must act immediately and contact an emergency dentist in Houston for urgent dental care. The chance of saving and restoring the knocked-out tooth decreases after the first hour, so you must act quickly. The following are tips on how to save a knocked-out tooth:
- Locate the tooth and pick it up by the crown. Don’t hold it by the root.
- If the tooth is dirty, rinse it gently with water. Don’t use chemical solutions, soap, or scrubbing motions. Simply rinse it clean.
- If possible, insert the tooth back into the socket while holding it by the crown. However, don’t try to force it inside. If you can’t push it into the socket, simply hold it in place with your fingers.
- The main goal is to keep the tooth moist at all times. If you can’t hold it in your mouth, you can place it in an airtight container containing your saliva or milk. Don’t use regular tap water because that may damage the tooth’s root cells.
- Contact your emergency dentist in Houston immediately, and go to their emergency dental clinic.
What causes broken teeth?
Your tooth may get cracked or get knocked out for several reasons, including:
- Severe dental impact or injury, such as a car accident or sporting injury.
- Pressure from teeth clenching.
- Excessively large fillings.
- Chewing or biting hard objects, like nuts and ice.
- Sudden changes in temperature in your mouth, usually due to alternating between extremely hold and cold foods.
- The natural aging process.
Why is restoring a broken tooth important?
Restoring a broken tooth is crucial because dental cracks and fractures structurally weaken the tooth. As such, your broken or cracked tooth is left in a weakened state, prone to getting knocked out or breaking further. Cracked and fractured teeth are also prone to gum disease due to excessive bacteria accumulation.
What are my treatment options for restoring a broken tooth?
- Dental Fillings: These are composite resin materials placed within the dental crack or cavity to restore its natural appearance and function. They’re only suitable for tiny cracks.
- Dental Onlay/ Inlay: These are slightly larger composite resin materials used to restore a tooth with a little more significant damage.
- Dental Crowns: These are tooth caps attached over your existing tooth to protect its structure and cover up the cracks. The dentist has to file your existing tooth down to a small size to accommodate the dental crown.
- Root Canal Therapy: You may need a root canal treatment if the decay has spread into the pulp chamber, infecting the pulp and root. If you don’t get a root canal, you may later need to get the tooth removed.
What if I’ve never been to your dental office before?
If you’ve never been to a dental office before, now’s a great time to start! People should go to dental clinics at least once every six months for regular dental checkups and teeth cleaning. This ensures that your teeth remain healthy, and there are no dental problems. If there are signs of dental issues, the dentist can treat them before they become emergencies.
Please Call Our Emergency Dentist Open on Saturday in Houston
URBN Dental is one of the most reputable emergency dental clinic in Houston, Texas. We have an emergency dentist open on Saturday in Houston, so please call our clinic whenever you need urgent dental care. For more information, please schedule your day appointments today.