44 Everett St., Southbridge, MA 01550
(508) 764-4600
Open Mon-Thurs: 8am-5pm, Every Other Fri: 8am-5pm, Every Other Sat: 8am-1pm
Oh no! You just lost a filling. Or maybe, a family member just knocked out one of his or her teeth. You may question whether you need to get to the dentist immediately or if the problem can wait. Usually, when there’s a dental emergency, the health of a tooth is at stake. At Southbridge Dental Care we offer emergency dental services and encourage our patients to recognize when they should be concerned over a dental problem.
- Lost a Tooth
- Broken Tooth
- Lost Filling
- Extreme Pain
- Bleeding That Won’t Stop
Accidents can cause tooth loss but in many cases, it’s possible to save your tooth if you act quickly. Generally, you only have an hour or two to save the tooth. Once you get the bleeding to subside, you should gently try to reinsert the tooth. Rinse it off it with milk or water if it’s dirty but don’t touch the root end! It can be easily damaged. Place gauze in between the upper and bottom teeth with the tooth back in the socket. Bite down on the gauze. If that doesn’t work, place the tooth in milk or saline solution and get to our office as soon as possible. If neither is available, place the tooth in your mouth between your gums and cheek. It’s important to keep the tooth moist. Even if the tooth goes back into the socket, come visit our office as soon as possible.
A broken tooth may occur if you bite down on something, fall and hit your tooth, get hit in the face (as illustrated above!), or several other ways. Even a tiny break may cause you pain, and it can worsen. We advise patients who have a broken tooth to visit an emergency dentist. Generally, our dentist will repair the tooth with bonding, a veneer, or a crown. We’ll discuss your options and help you determine the best solution to fit your needs and budget.
Unfortunately, decay can arise underneath your filling, which alters the shape of your cavity. As a result, your filling might no longer fit snugly. It could fall out when you bite down on something hard or chewy. The decay will continue without your filling. Not to mention, you could experience tooth pain or extreme sensitivity. We recommend patients treat a missing filling as a serious problem and seek out our emergency dental services promptly. To correct this problem, we’ll refill the tooth, possibly with a different material. We’ll try to save your tooth and do all we can to prevent pain and discomfort.
If you’re suffering from extreme dental pain, you should seek out the assistance of an emergency dentist in Southbridge immediately. You don’t need to suffer when emergency dental care can stop the problem. Sometimes the root of your dental pain is an infection or another serious issue that will only get worse.
While bleeding gums can occur due to gum disease, the bleeding usually stops shortly after it begins. However, if you have bleeding that won’t stop after you apply pressure to it for at least 15 minutes, emergency dental care may be needed. The bleeding could be the result of a deep laceration.
Emergency Care in Southbridge, MA
If you have any of these dental emergencies or another serious cause for concern, we advise you to seek out our emergency dental services. Emergencies are stressful enough on their own so we don’t want you to stress about paying for one. We offer an array of payment options to make paying for your emergency more affordable.