Hospitals and urgent care centers don’t have dentists on staff to handle a dental emergency. Unless you have a life-threatening condition, schedule an appointment with our office. The only thing a physician can do is prescribe pain relievers and antibiotics.
However, our emergency dentist in Kalamazoo, MI, will be able to provide urgent dental care by diagnosing and treating the root cause of your dental pain.
Continue reading to learn where you need to go in the event of a dental emergency. While we hope you never have to use this information, it’s better to prepare for the worse and hope for the best. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call Kalamazoo Smiles.
When to Go to the Hospital for a Dental Emergency
Go to the hospital if you have a life-threatening condition. For example, a large dental abscess can limit your ability to breathe and swallow. Likewise, you would need to visit the ER after breaking your jaw. Serious medical issues like these are best addressed by hospital staff.
Visit the hospital for these emergencies:
- Fractured jaw
- Dislocated jaw
- Deep cuts to the mouth and face that won’t stop bleeding
- A large dental abscess that makes it difficult to breathe or swallow
Don’t visit an ER or urgent care center for a toothache. These facilities don’t hire dentists and can’t treat the underlying causes of toothaches. Most states ban non-dentists from extracting teeth and performing other dental work. The only thing a medical doctor can do is prescribe antibiotics and pain relievers. They’ll then refer you to an emergency dentist.
It actually costs more money to visit the ER first before seeing our emergency dentist. Save yourself the hospital bill by calling us first. Our dentist will be able to diagnose and treat the source of your dental pain, restoring oral health.
Visiting the ER first can also cost you valuable time, especially if you need right away. For example, it’s best if you’re able to see Dr. Bandos within 30 minutes of knocking out your tooth for the best chance of reimplantation. Otherwise, it’ll be too late to try saving the tooth.
When to Call Our Emergency Dentist
Our emergency dentist will be able to diagnose the underlying cause of your pain. For example, you may have an infected tooth if a cavity is deep enough to penetrate the pulp. Likewise, experiencing dental pain upon waking up could mean you grind your teeth at night. The only way to know for certain is to request an appointment with our emergency dentist.
Visit our dentist for these emergencies:
- Severe tooth pain
- Dental abscess
- Swollen gums
- Loose tooth
- Knocked-out tooth
- A broken tooth or large piece of the tooth is missing
- A large chip or crack in the tooth
Don’t put off seeing our emergency dentist. The sooner you seek urgent dental care, the sooner we’ll be able to treat issues before they worsen. This could mean the difference between you needing a filling and an emergency root canal. We always try to save as much natural tooth structure as possible. Yet, this can be difficult if you wait until the last minute to seek emergency dental care.
Schedule Urgent Dental Care
Our office understands that each minute is critical when responding to emergencies. If you’re not sure if you need , call us anyways. We can help walk you through your next steps.
Our , is accepting new patients! To schedule an appointment with Kalamazoo Smiles, call (269) 353-3700.
This blog post has been updated.
