Emergency Dentist Port Orange
Here to Help Your Hurting Smile
An emergency can really put a damper on your day, but for people experiencing a medical emergency, there is a clear course of action. Call emergency medical services or proceed to your local urgent care. But what about a dental emergency? Many patients waste time and money on urgent care appointments when something has gone wrong with their oral health. While medical professionals are happy to help patients with dental emergencies, they are not the most equipped to deliver the smile-repairing services you need. To get the smile back on your face, you need help from a trusted emergency dentist. At Water’s Edge Dental, our team provides Port Orange dentistry patients with emergency care whenever they need us most. Simply call our team, and we’ll do our utmost to quickly help!
Why Choose Water’s Edge Dental for Emergency Dentistry?
- Comfortable Dental Office with Patient-Friendly Amenities
- Same-Day Emergency Appointments Available
- Insurance Accepted and Flexible Financing Options
How We Handle Dental Emergencies
Here’s how our team can quickly help you deal with an unexpected dental emergency:
- Call Our Office – Don’t delay; call our office as soon as you’ve discovered abnormal symptoms affecting your smile. We’ll do everything we can to see you on the very same day and provide you with first-aid tips over the phone if necessary.
- Attend Your Appointment – When you’re here, we can perform a quick and thorough emergency examination to determine what’s going on with your smile. This may involve taking X-Rays to determine the extent of the damage.
- Receive Urgent Care – We’ll review our findings with you and begin explaining which treatments might be able to help. This treatment plan will also include cost estimates and an expected timeline. We can then begin treating you and getting your grin back on track, no matter what it takes!
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
You are the best judge when it comes to determining whether or not your emergency situation requires urgent treatment in our office. We often provide treatment for patients experiencing the following dentistry emergencies:
Understanding the Cost of Emergency Dentistry
It’s very common for patients to have questions about the cost of emergency dentistry in Port Orange. Rest assured, our team will provide you with an estimate before providing the restorative or cosmetic dental care you need. Plus, we offer several financing solutions, which you can learn more about in this section! You’re also welcome to give us a call if you’d prefer to speak with a helpful member of our team.
Why Every Dental Emergency is Different
Since no two situations are exactly the same, there isn’t a flat fee for emergency dentistry. In order to provide you with an estimate of the cost, our dedicated dentist, Dr. Mike Rolfes, will need to learn more about what brought you in, complete a comprehensive oral exam, and review your treatment options. Then, he can discuss the price in-depth, including the different ways to make it more affordable.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?
Some dental insurance providers do cover a portion of the cost, whether it’s the emergency exam or the restorative care needed. Of course, there are often also rules and restrictions that need to be considered, including waiting periods and annual maximums. So, it’s important to read through the fine print on your plan.
Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable
With us, there are several ways you can save, including:
- Signing up for flexible financing: With trusted third-party financiers like Cherry and CareCredit, you can space out the cost of your care into smaller, monthly chunks.
- Joining our membership plan: When you join, you get immediate access to several cost-saving benefits, including one emergency exam per year.
- Taking advantage of our special offers: Throughout the year, we offer periodic specials, like a $55 new patient emergency exam with X-ray.
How Taking Care Of Your Smile Can Save You Money
Taking good care of your smile will protect your teeth and gums from harm as well as your wallet from a large, unexpected bill. If you aren’t sure where to start, do the basics: brushing twice a day, flossing every night before bed, and rinsing with mouthwash consistently. Then, incorporate other healthy habits into your routine, like wearing a nightguard if you grind your teeth, cutting back on added sugar, and exercising caution with crunchy foods. Finally, schedule a dental checkup and cleaning at our Port Orange dental office every six months (or sooner if you start to experience abnormal symptoms, like pain when biting down).
Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies
Unfortunately, not all dental emergencies can be prevented. That said, there are some habits that dramatically reduce your risk of sustaining a painful dental injury. That’s why we encourage our patients to:
Visit Your Dentist Regularly
Your biannual visits are crucial for several reasons. To start, they allow us to periodically complete a comprehensive oral exam, which ensures tooth decay, damaged restorations, and other common problems are detected in the early stages. We also remove built-up plaque and tartar during the cleaning to help keep your smile healthy between visits.
Important reminder: If any unusual symptoms develop between appointments, like a sharp, stabbing pain when you bite down, don’t wait – call our emergency dentist in Port Orange right away.
Brush and Floss Consistently
Taking good care of your smile at home also helps protect it from harm. The best place to start is by using a soft-bristle toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste to brush your teeth for two full minutes each morning and evening. Then, clean your tongue, floss, and rinse with an antimicrobial mouthwash.
Tip: Do not use sharp objects to remove stuck food or other foreign items (such as toothpicks). Instead, brush your teeth, use floss, and swish with water. If this does not remove the stuck item, give us a call.
Avoid Extremely Crunchy Foods
Oftentimes, patients are only warned about the damage that sugary foods and drinks can cause. However, hard pretzels, peanut brittle, and other extremely crunchy foods can lead to serious dental damage as well. So, it’s important that you avoid them or, at the very least, exercise caution when eating them. It’s also a good idea to incorporate lots of nutrient-dense, smile-friendly foods into your diet, like cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, and cooked carrots.
Wear a Mouthguard To Protect Your Smile
Whether you enjoy playing tennis with your friends on the weekend or you prefer to stay active with a solo sport, like riding your bike, it’s important that you wear a mouthguard to protect your smile. If you don’t have one already, that’s okay – we can have a custom one made for you. We can also have a nightguard made to reduce your risk of chips, cracks, and fractures from grinding/clenching your teeth while you sleep!
Break Bad Habits
Remember, even seemingly harmless habits can lead to serious dental damage. For that reason, we advise against chewing on your fingernails, ice cubes, and other hard objects that can lead to unintentional damage. Additionally, you shouldn’t use your teeth as tools, whether it’s to remove a bottle cap or tear into plastic wrapping.
Dental Emergency FAQs
Will a Toothache Go Away on Its Own?
Since your teeth cannot heal themselves, toothaches generally don’t go away. In fact, if there is a change in your symptoms, it’s likely due to something more dire: the nerve dying. For that reason, we recommend calling us when you first realize that something is wrong. That way, our emergency dentist in Port Orange, Dr. Rolfes, can diagnose and treat the root of the problem before it progresses any further.
Can I Pop a Dental Abscess on My Own?
Popping a dental abscess can cause the infection to spread throughout your mouth, throat, and head. That’s why you should NEVER attempt to do so at home. If you notice a pimple-like bump on your gums, the best thing to do is schedule an emergency appointment at our office. From there, Dr. Rolfes can determine how severe the infection is, open and drain the abscess, and provide any additional care that’s needed, like a root canal.
Do I Need to Go to The Dentist for A Small Chip in My Tooth?
You should schedule an appointment, yes. However, the urgency of the situation depends largely on the size of the chip and the symptoms you’re experiencing. For instance, if the damage is significant and you’re dealing with immense sensitivity and discomfort, an emergency appointment is warranted.
If that’s not the case, then you should still schedule an appointment with us before the end of the week. Over the phone, a helpful member of our team will give you instructions on what to do to protect your tooth from further harm in the meantime, like avoiding hard pretzels, raw carrots, and other crunchy foods.
How Long Can a Tooth Last After It Has Been Knocked Out of Your Mouth?
Your tooth starts to die after only 15 minutes of being knocked out. That’s why it so important that you call us right away! Over the phone, we will schedule an emergency appointment at our office within the hour. We’ll also share what to do to preserve the root surface cells, like placing the tooth in a small, clean container filled with milk.
What Is Causing My Jaw Pain?
Chronic jaw pain is usually caused by nighttime teeth grinding, impacted wisdom teeth, or TMJ dysfunction. Once you arrive at our office, we will complete a comprehensive oral exam and learn more about the symptoms you’ve been experiencing, including how long they’ve persisted. From there, we can determine what the culprit is as well as the best way to alleviate the discomfort you’re experiencing in the short and long term.
What Does Chronic Bad Breath Mean?
If you have a slight odor on your breath when you first wake up or after you eat something pungent, like garlic, that’s completely normal. However, if the odor persists, even after brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash, then there’s a chance that it’s due to an untreated oral health problem. The best thing to do in this situation is to schedule an exam with our team at Waters Edge Dental so we can determine if that’s the case.