Imagine having a nice dinner at home, and you bite down on something and realize with horror that you’ve cracked a tooth. Or perhaps you’re out for a jog, trip, and chip a tooth. Maybe your filling or crown was knocked out, and now there’s a gaping hole in your tooth.

What are your options? Especially if the injury happens late in the evening or over the weekend, your regular dentist’s office may be closed. How can you wait until Monday or their next opening?

Fortunately, there are emergency dental providers. By doing an online search for emergency dental near me, you can find an office nearby that should be able to see you more quickly. 

What Constitutes Emergency Dental Services?

Reasons you may need emergency dental services to include:

  • Knocked out tooth
  • Lost filling or crown
  • Toothache/tooth pain
  • Fractured or chipped tooth
  • Injuries from sports

If you’ve knocked out a tooth, the best thing to do is rinse it with saliva or milk—don’t scrub it! If you can, put it back into the socket, but if not, placing it between your mouth and cheek can help keep it moist. If all else fails, put the tooth in a glass of milk and try to find an emergency dental office. This can be done by searching for things like emergency dental near me.

This is called reimplanting and should only be done with adult teeth. The sooner this happens, the more likely the tooth will re-embed itself into the gums. The dentist will take x-rays to ensure it’s placed correctly and split it into the neighboring teeth, similar to splinting fingers. This will hold it in place while it heals.

Is Chipping a Tooth Still Serious?

A chipped tooth still warrants action as quickly as possible. If you can find the part that broke off, put it in milk as soon as possible so the dentist can try and reattach it. If you can’t, a filler is used to rebuild the tooth. A crown is used in the back part is broken.

Speaking of crowns, if you’ve lost a filling or crown—usually due to wear and tear over time—do not panic. Sometimes the height can simply be reimplanted, but if not, a new one can be fashioned and put onto the tooth.

Sports Injuries—Painful and Inconvenient

Being hit in the face hard enough to break a tooth is painful enough without dealing with the dental repercussions. Unfortunately, athletes run this risk depending on their sport—soccer, baseball, basketball, and American football can all involve objects flying at your head. 

To reduce the likelihood of injury, wear a mouthguard made from a model of your teeth when playing. But if the worst happens, get to a dentist right away while using the suggestions above to preserve the tooth.

Don’t Panic—Look for Emergency Dental Near Me

If you have a dental emergency, you don’t necessarily need to wait for hours or even days to seek treatment. Search for emergency dental near me, and you’ll find offices close by that can help.