Category Archives: Emergency Dentist

Emergency Dentist

What if I can’t reach my dentist?

I have a massive toothache, but can’t seem to reach my dentist. There is an answering machine, but I haven’t gotten a return call. If I weren’t in so much pain, I’d be OK waiting until Monday. What do you do if you can’t reach your dentist?

Neal P. – Connecticut

Neal,

Most dentists have a number on their voice mail for you to call in case of emergency. Or, they’ll have an answering service for the same purpose.  If your dentist has neither, then he likely doesn’t do emergency visits.  That doesn’t help when you’re in pain, but there is a solution.

There are emergency dentists that will see non-established patients in cases like yours. You can google emergency dentist and see what pops up.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix dentists Drs. Kevin and Hillary Peck.

Emergency Dentist

My dentist is ruining my date

I have a dental crown that has fallen off twice.  My dentist has always squeezed me in the same day.  Today it fell out again, but toward the end of the day on a Friday.  My dentist said he can’t see me until Monday. The crown is on a front tooth and I have a date with a guy I’ve been trying to go out with forever. I will be humiliated to go on a date with a stub front tooth. I explained that to him, but he said it’s not an emergency and he has plans.  Is there a way I can glue this on?

Samantha H. – Ohio

Samantha,

I have to say that I’m not impressed with your dentist.  He should absolutely see you today, but expecially because he can’t seem to bond your crown on properly.  It wouldn’t take him that long to do it poorly yet again. Though it technically isn’t a dental emergency, it wouldn’t kill him to have some compassion.

However, him not helping you is a blessing in disguise. He obviously doesn’t know what he’s doing. This is the perfect time for you get a new dentist. Don’t try to glue this on yourself. It would be very difficult for you to get it in at just the right angle. You could end up in pain or shifting your other teeth.

Call around to some dentists near by you, explaining your situation.  I’m wiling to bet there will be more than one willing to help you.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentists Drs. Kevin and Hillary Peck.

Emergency Dentist

Ignored loose tooth

I was at a neighborhood play area where there are a lot of tubes. One of the boys got accidentally kicked in the mouth. He was crying pretty stoutly and there was an impressive amount of blood. The mom went over there, looked him over, said “Yay! A loose tooth.”, brushed him off, and sent him back into the tubes.  Is that OK or will there be permanent problems with his teeth? Should she have taken him to the emergency room?

Emile P.- San Francisco

Emile,

It is always easy to look at a situation we’re not directly involved in and make judgments. It’s also easy for us to judge ourselves in hindsight.  However, answering your question will depend on how old the child was, or more specifically, what kind of tooth was affected.

If it was a young child, there is less of a chance it was a true dental emergency. Likely, it was just a baby tooth. The blood is not uncommon either. The mouth does bleed easily.  That was more likely blood from his mouth being cut by his tooth, than it was blood from the tooth area itself.

An older child could mean that an adult tooth was knocked loose. In that case they would need to be seen right away. The tooth will need to be stabalized so it doesn’t fall out.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Drs. Kevin and Hillary Peck.

Emergency Dentist

Bully knocked out my son’s tooth

A bully at school knocked out my son’s tooth. The school didn’t tell me until after school. My son said it happened at lunch. Is it too late to save his tooth? I can’t reach my dentist.

Brenda D. – California

Brenda,

Generally, a tooth has to be reimplanted within 30 minutes to have the best chance of saving the tooth. You can call an emergency dentist if you still can’t reach your dentist and explain what happened. They’ll see what they can do, but I wouldn’t hold out too much hope.

You didn’t mention how old your son was. Even if they cannot save your son’s tooth, you’ll have several options in tooth replacement, but it will depend on your son’s age and some other factors.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentists Dr. Kevin and Hillary Peck.

 

Emergency Dentist

$700 aspirin- fed up

I was in a ton of pain and my dentist wouldn’t see me after hours. I went to the emergency room. They didn’t do anything with the tooth, gave me some aspirin, and charged me $700. I’m still in tremendous pain. What do I do?

Drew- Baltimore

Drew,

I’m sorry for your experience. There are few things worse than tooth pain. Generally, hospitals won’t treat dental problems.  Though, they could have at least given you something a little stronger than an aspirin…and you’re right, the cost was ridiculous.

Your dentist should have had some emergency protocol. Surely he could have recommended a colleague that he refers after hours cases to–at the least.

You’re going to need to see an emergency dentist. If your dentist isn’t willing to recommend one, you can do a google search to find one.

I’ll be honest. If your dentist isn’t willing to help in any fashion while you’re in so much pain, you’d be better served with a different denist.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck.

Emergency Dentist

Dr. Peck- A Dentist Who Cares

Many patients say they care about their patients, but Dr. Peck goes the extra mile. He lives within a few miles of his practice, specifically in case his patients need him. He wanted to be there for his patients when they had a dental emergency.

If you’re a dental patient of Dr. Peck’s be assured he is there for you.  But, unlike some dentists Dr. Peck will be there for you even if you’re not a patient. If you’re in dental pain, call him.  He’ll see you the same day, whether or not you are a current patient.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck.

Emergency Dentist

Will an emergency dentist turn me in?

I have a dental emergency, but I got into this situation doing something not quite legal.  I think my dentist will need to know what happened in order to fix it. Will an emergency dentist turn me in?

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I’m glad you’re willing to be honest with your dentist even though the situation is touchy.  Be assured that your dentist is a medical professional.  If he or she feels that you are not a danger to yourself or anyone else, they’ll not have any reason to turn you in.

If, however, they think you will do self-harm or are a risk to someone else’s life, then they’ll probably report the situation.

I hope this helps.  Don’t avoid going to the dentist, especially in a dental emergency  because of this.  If necessary, you could get a little creative describing the cause of the injury.  Just be sure to be competely frank about the injury itself so the dentist can treat you appropriately.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck.

Emergency Dentist

My son’s tooth is turning gray

My  4 year old son was playing Thor. I should have known something was up when he started spinning his Thor hammer. The next thing I knew he was flying across the living room and banged his mouth pretty hard on some furniture. He bled a lot, which I know is pretty common for a mouth injury. What is concerning me is now his tooth is turning gray. Do I need to take him to a dentist? Our dentist is on vacation. If so, do I need to take him to the hospital?

Farrah L – San Francisco

Farrah,

It is good you kept a clear head when his mouth was bleeding. Many parents panic when that happens. I can picture your son flying across the room.  To be honest, you probably have more cause to fear him playing Hulk and destroying your furniture than you do to worry about this.

Unless your son starts complaining, you have nothing further to do. The tooth will eventually fall out anyway.  If, however, your son starts saying it hurts, or you see signs of swelling or an abscess, that is when you need to see a dentist right away. It is likely your son will then need to have a root canal procedure.

If that happens and you can’t reach your dentist, you can go to an emergency dentist. There won’t be a need to go to the emergency room and, to be honest, they won’t treat a dental issue anyway. Make sure the emergency dentist enjoys treating children, so your son will have a better experience.

If your son is not a complainer, you may want to keep an eye out for him avoiding using the injured tooth. That is a sign it bothers him, but he’s not saying anything.

This blog is brought to you by Phoenix Dentist Dr. Kevin Peck.

Emergency Dentist

How to get swelling to go down from toothache?

I had my top two wisdom teeth pulled on Tuesday and I go in for surgery to pull my bottom ones in a couple of weeks. My lower left wisdom tooth is infected causing severe pain and swelling. I look rather ridiculous.

I’ve been taking antibiotics since Wednesday and taking Norco for pain around the clock. I’ve got a busy weekend coming up and can manage the pain with Meds but what do I do about the swelling? How long does it take for the antibiotics to help with swelling?

Thanks, Darren

Dear Darren,

The antibiotics are for the infected wisdom tooth to help clear up the infection; however antibiotics do not dissipate the swelling completely. Tissue that’s inflamed around a tooth can be reduced by taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen or Advil every six hours. You should also place an ice pack on your check where the infection is. Keep it there for about 15 minutes and repeat several times a day to keep the swelling down. We recommend a salt water solution as well. Take a teaspoon of salt and mix it with 8 ounces of warm water. Swish and spit until the entire glass is empty and repeat a few times a day. If your symptoms are not decreasing over the next several days we advise you to see the oral surgeon sooner to have the tooth extracted because some infections can be more severe than others making it difficult for the swelling to decrease.

Post courtesy of Peck Family Dentistry, P.C.