When you have an injured tooth, you have a dental emergency. We can offer emergency dental care for situations that result in damage (that’s not life threatening) to your teeth or gums. Often, we help patients with cracked or chipped teeth, or even a knocked-out tooth. Before you even see us, there are steps you can take to alleviate discomfort.
Chipped Teeth
If you chip a tooth see if you can recover any pieces of the tooth and bring them with you. If you can’t, don’t worry, we can still repair the tooth. You can use gauze to stem any bleeding and place a cold compress against the side of your face or reduce swelling.
We can often fix the damage in one visit with dental bonding. For more serious breakage, we may need two visits to create and place a lifelike and custom-made dental crown. Remember, repairing a damaged tooth is important, as the damage could expose sensitive inner layers of tooth structure, making the onset of tooth decay and infection more likely.
Knocked-Out Teeth
If a tooth is knocked-out, remember or pick it up by the crown, never touch the root. Then, rinse the tooth under running water to remove dirt and foreign debris, but take care not to remove any tissue. You can place the tooth back into the socket, or in a glass of milk or salt water. Bring the tooth with you to the office. If we can’t return the tooth, then we can discuss replacement options.
Addressing tooth loss is important, as a gap in your smile can increase the risk of misalignment, TMJ disorder, bruxism, and other common oral health concerns.
See Us Right Away
Don’t delay treatment. Contact us and we can schedule a visit to see you as soon as possible and administer emergency treatment.
DO YOU HAVE A DENTAL EMERGENCY?
At Vi Mai-Truong, DDS, we can offer emergency care for damaged teeth. For our patients who don’t speak English, our office is fluent in both Spanish and Vietnamese. To schedule an appointment, call our Garland, TX office today at (972) 530-0552.
