Questions About Dental Emergencies

What are considered dental emergencies?
Dental emergencies can be a toothache or a dental abscess causing pain or swelling of the face. Also, a fracture of a part of a tooth or the entire tooth getting knocked out due to trauma is an urgent dental emergency. Any of these conditions would require immediate attention. Call us, and we are here to help immediately.

Is tooth pain considered an emergency?
To treat a toothache, your dentist has to find and diagnose the underlying cause of the toothache. We will do an exam focused on what is causing your pain. If the pain is from a dental abscess or a large cavity in the tooth, the tooth might require a root canal treatment. In certain cases of severe damage to the tooth, we may need to extract the tooth. In those cases, we will discuss all treatment options with you to make an informed decision to replace the missing tooth.

Would a dental emergency require going to the ER?
Most dental emergencies do not require a trip to the ER and your emergency dentist can manage or treat it by simply contacting us. However, if you are experiencing swelling of the face or below your eyes due to an untreated dental infection, we advise you to go to the nearest Emergency Room immediately. Facial swelling is very dangerous and requires more aggressive treatments such as incision and drainage.

The nearest hospitals in North County San Diego will be Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, and Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas.

What should I do if I have a knocked-out tooth?
In case of a knocked-out tooth, don’t throw away the tooth! Instead, find the tooth and clean it under running water. Once clean, try to place it back in the socket. If you are unsuccessful in returning the tooth to its place, don’t despair. In this case, submerge the tooth in milk to preserve the living elements on the tooth. Then, make sure you see your dentist within the following 24 hours. He will re-plant the tooth in the socket. Also, it would be best to keep the socket clean to prevent an infection.

What to do in case of a dental emergency?
If you experience any of the above dental emergencies, call us immediately. For an emergency during our weekday business hours, rest assured that we will always see you on the day of your dental emergency and provide treatment. We are also here for emergency coverage after hours and during the weekend.

Read more about our urgent dental care at San Marcos Dental Studio.

Call our office at (760) 471-9560 and follow the instructions for what to do in an emergency outside our business hours. We will promptly reply to you.