If you are experiencing a dental emergency, what do you do? Sometimes accidents happen resulting in the need for emergency dental care. However, some dental emergencies occur because of waiting too long to seek care. Dental emergencies are pricey, the best way to save money and avoid emergencies is through proper care and maintenance.
According to American Family Physician, about 22 percent of people have experienced dental or oral pain in the last six months.
What is a Dental Emergency?
Dental emergencies are anything that needs immediate attention. Dental emergencies include:
- Bleeding that won’t stop
- Alleviate severe pain
- A knocked-out tooth
- Missing or damaged crown
- Broken, dislodged, or loose tooth
- Severe infection
A dental emergency can be confusing, scary, and overwhelming. At Commonwealth Dentistry, we promise to make an emergency visit as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Our Commonwealth Dentistry team will offer the best possible care should an emergent issue ever arrive. Urgent dental care is often painful therefore seeking professional care immediately is key to properly treating the issue.
Are you experiencing a dental emergency? Ask yourself:
- Are you in severe pain?
- Have you lost a tooth?
- Do you have an infection?
- Are you bleeding from the mouth?
If you are unsure whether your problem results in an emergency visit or not, please call our office.
How to Avoid Potential Emergencies
Dental work doesn’t have to come as a surprise. While some dental emergencies are true accidents and cannot be avoided, others are the result of neglect and improper care. The best way to prevent a dental emergency is by staying proactive in your oral hygiene. This includes both at-home care and maintaining regular visits with your dentist.
Schedule and Keep Regular Appointments
During a regular check-up with your dentist, we will thoroughly check your mouth for any unforeseen problems. This includes checking for loose fillings and crowns as well as signs of decay, infection, and gum disease. A custom treatment plan will be created to address these problems before they result in an emergency.
Although a comprehensive dental hygiene routine can help keep these circumstances at bay, dental emergencies happen. If you’re dealing with a dental emergency, time is of the essence to prevent the situation from getting worse. Commonwealth Dentistry has eight locations to assist you with an emergency.
Cost of Emergency Visit vs Regular Maintenance
Maintaining your teeth is always more cost effective than emergency visits. In the case of a dental emergency, knowing what to expect can help soften the blow of the emergency itself, especially concerning cost. If you don’t have dental insurance, it can be frightening to opt for an urgent dental service.
The biggest difference in cost between regular dental care and an emergency visit is the fee to be seen immediately. Just like a medical emergency, dental emergencies cost more. Of course, true accidents are unavoidable but waiting to deal with an issue will only make the problem worse. Overall, the best way to reduce or avoid these costs is with twice-daily brushing, daily flossing, and having your teeth professionally cleaned by a dental hygienist twice a year.
Knowing in advance what to expect when paying for dental emergencies may help encourage you to seek treatment when necessary and to practice regular preventative oral hygiene habits. We would love to help you maintain a healthy smile and avoid a dental emergency.
At Commonwealth Dentistry, we understand that life happens especially when dealing with urgent dental care issues. That is why we offer same-day, urgent care appointments for both patients and non-patients.
