Help! I Need Same-Day Emergency Dental Care in Allentown, Pennsylvania

You visit your dentist twice a year for an oral exam, X-rays (as needed), and teeth cleaning. But when you have a dental emergency, you can’t afford to wait for care until your next scheduled appointment — or even the next available appointment on your dentist’s calendar.

You need emergency dental care in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and you need it now. So what do you do? Head to the emergency room or urgent care clinic with your broken tooth in hand? No. Head to your emergency dentist, instead.

At Advanced Oral Dynamics, Dr. Tejas Patel and our team provide same-day emergency dental services in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Some dental emergencies require you to get to the dentist within the hour, and we’re here for you.

What should you do in a dental emergency? Follow this guide.

Call us — or just show up

If your dental emergency occurs during office hours, get someone to whisk you to our doors ASAP. If you have a traumatic emergency — like a knocked-out tooth — time is of the essence.

A knocked-out tooth can be placed back in its socket and treated so that it regrows and remains in your mouth for life. However, you have to be quick to rescue that avulsed (i.e., knocked out) tooth: Dr. Patel must have it in hand within the hour (ideally within 30 minutes) in order to rescue it.

If your emergency occurs after hours, call us immediately. We may be able to come to the office to save your tooth.

Take the proper steps

Unfortunately, to save a tooth or fragments of a broken tooth, you must not only act quickly but correctly. That’s why it’s a good thing you’re reading this blog now, hopefully before a dental emergency has occurred.

The better prepared you are for a dental emergency, the more quickly you can react. If your tooth — or your child’s tooth — gets knocked out, here’s what to do:

• Pick it up by its crown, not its root
• Never touch the root
• Rinse in cold water, if necessary
• Never scrub or use soap
• Try to replace the tooth in its socket
• If you can’t, hold it in your mouth, or…
• Put it in a jar of milk, or…
• Put it in a jar and cover with your saliva
• Never put the tooth in tap water
• Get to our office ASAP

The steps are similar if your tooth gets broken: Collect as many pieces as possible, rinse if necessary, and place the fragments in milk or saliva.

Don’t delay seeking help

You may think you don’t really have a dental emergency if you “just” have a toothache. A toothache can be a potentially dangerous situation; you may have an abscess or other infection that can spread through your blood to other organs, and even cause a life-threatening condition called sepsis.

Broken dental work, including bridges and crowns, may also pose a threat to your oral or overall health. Broken appliances may puncture the soft tissues in your mouth, causing pain and possible infection.

Gather the pieces of your broken appliance in a jar or a bag and get to our office as soon as you can. We may either repair the device, or give you a temporary replacement.

Add to your first aid kit

Your first aid kit may not have all of the items you’d need to handle a dental emergency. Be sure it includes:

• Painkillers
• Gauze to stop bleeding
• Small jar to collect broken or knocked-out teeth
• Bandana to tie broken or injured jaw in place on head
• Sterile water for rinsing

Be sure you take your emergency dental kit wherever you go. Pack one in the car and keep one in your home. 

Plan ahead

You’ve read this blog: You’re almost ready for your dental emergency. You should take two other steps: 

• Enter our number into your phone for quick dialing: 610-632-1608
• Think ahead to who can drive you to our office in case of a dental emergency; add “dental emergency” to their contact info in your phone
• If necessary, add a car service number to your phone in case no one is able to drive you, and you’re in too much pain to safely do so yourself

If you need emergency dental care in Allentown, Pennsylvania, we can provide it. Either you or a companion should call 610-632-1608 for an emergency today, or use our easy online form to book a consultation for non-emergency care with Dr. Patel at your convenience.