Emergency Dentist – Hanford, CA

Toothaches

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? If you have been experiencing sharp or stabbing toothache pain for more than 24 hours, reach out to our Hanford dental team for an urgent appointment. There can be many reasons for your toothache, and scheduling an urgent appointment can help us diagnose the problem quickly, so we can relieve the pain before it gets a chance to worsen or cause more damage.

How You Should Handle a Toothache: The first step to toothache relief is to schedule an appointment with one of our caring dentists. Next, take care of your tooth by taking an over-the-counter pain medicine, applying a cold compress to your face , and by avoiding chewing with that side of your mouth.

How We Treat Toothaches:

Toothaches can be caused by many things, including infections, tooth decay, or accidental injury. If your pain is due to decay or infection, you may need a tooth-colored filling or a dental crown. For a more serious issue, we may recommend a root canal or extraction.

Learn More About Same-Dental Crowns

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Chipped Tooth

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? While a chipped tooth is always considered an urgent matter, exactly how urgent largely depends on how severe the chip is and where it is located. To determine how soon you need to be seen, give us a call and we’ll help assess the situation and get you scheduled as soon as possible.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth: First, call your Hanford dental team and schedule an appointment. Then, keep your mouth clean by rinsing with room-temperature water. You can protect the tooth from further damage or from becoming infected by covering it with sugar-free gum. If you eat anything before your appointment, avoid anything sticky, sugary, crunchy, or acidic.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth: This depends on how big the chip is and where it is located on your tooth. In some cases, we may be able to repair it with direct bonding, a procedure that uses the same materials as used in tooth-colored fillings. You may also want to consider a veneer, which is a thin porcelain shell that fits over the front face of the tooth to hide chips, cracks, discoloration, or other damage.

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Cracked Tooth

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? A broken or cracked tooth is always considered a dental emergency and repairing it should be done as soon as possible. If your tooth cracks, call our Hanford office as soon as possible to schedule an appointment. We will provide further care instructions that you can do at home until your arrival.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth: To prevent any further damage to your tooth, be sure to avoid chewing on that side of your mouth, only eat soft foods, and do not smoke or use your teeth for anything other than food, such as biting your nails or chewing on pen caps.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth: In some cases, we may be able to repair your tooth with the help of a dental crown or filling. If the damage is very extensive, you may require an extraction and dental implant or bridge.

Learn More About Dental Crowns

Learn More About Tooth Extractions

Very Sensitive Teeth

Are very sensitive teeth a dental emergency? While slight tooth sensitivity isn’t an emergency, highly sensitive teeth can be. The latter type stems from things like deep cavities, cracked teeth, and gum disease – major threats to your oral health. That being the case, see us at once if your teeth become very sensitive.

How you should handle very sensitive teeth: The right move is to call our office. Based on your descriptions, we’ll confirm whether your sensitive teeth need dental care or not. Whatever our final diagnosis, our team can also suggest lifestyle changes to help you manage. These would include drinking warm water, avoiding certain foods, or taking over-the-counter pain relievers.

How we treat very sensitive teeth: Based on their cause, we have several ways to treat sensitive teeth. One of our go-to options for mild cases is to provide (or suggest) special oral products – desensitizing toothpaste, prescription mouthwash, etc. When the sensitivity is severe, we’ll often advise procedures like root canals or gum disease treatment; infections are often the root issue in those cases.

Learn More About Fluoride Treatments

Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings

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Learn More About Root Canal Treatment

Knocked-Out Tooth

Is a knocked-out tooth a dental emergency? As you’d expect, yes – a knocked-out tooth is a very severe dental emergency. It affects both your smile’s look and your long-term oral health. Unless you treat the condition quickly, it’ll lead to permanent tooth loss and costly dental care. You’d thus be wise to see a dentist for same-day care if (or when) it occurs.

How you should handle a knocked-out tooth: It’s typically simple to handle a knocked-out tooth at home. Firstly, find the tooth and pick it up by its crown; touching the roots would cause damage. You should then rinse the pearly white and store it in milk or saline solution. Alternatively, you could use a tooth preservation kit with the ADA seal of approval.

How we treat knocked-out teeth: If the lost tooth is viable, we’ll first try and re-implant it in your mouth. It could then re-integrate with your smile and restore your oral health. Our team will only suggest replacement options (dental bridges, implants, etc.) if it can’t be salvaged; prosthetics would help you avoid untreated tooth loss.

Learn More About Dental Bridges

Learn More About Dentures

Learn More About Dental Implants

Lost Filling or Crown

Is a lost filling or crown a dental emergency? A lost filling or dental crown isn’t often an emergency, as such restorations aren’t meant to last forever. That said, you should still see your dentist for help when you can; lacking a filling or crown can lead to a tooth infection.

How you should handle a lost filling or crown: When missing a dental crown, please locate and bring it to your appointment; we can reseal it if it’s in decent shape. On the other hand, please leave your missing dental fillings alone; they can’t be resealed once they’ve fallen out.

How we treat lost fillings or crowns: If your restoration is intact, we could recement it into place. However, you may need a new filling or crown if the old one is lost or too damaged and weak.

Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings

Learn More About Dental Crowns

Broken Dentures

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency? Broken dentures may not be an emergency, but you shouldn’t wear them if they’re damaged because you could damage your gums, jaw, soft tissues of your mouth, or remaining natural teeth. Call us to make an appointment as soon as possible so we can repair or replace them for you.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture: Don’t try to fix it at home because many glues and other household supplies can be toxic and are not intended to be ingested or applied orally. Instead, contact our office so we can schedule an appropriate time to see you.

How We Treat Broken Dentures: If the teeth of your dentures are chipped or crack, we might be able to mend them with tooth-colored dental bonding. We can also reline the base so it fits properly. Other more severe breaks might require that we provide a new restoration altogether. You might be a good candidate for implant dentures if yours tend to have problems.

Loose Permanent Tooth

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency? Also referred to as extruded or partially dislodged, you should call us immediately if you have a loose adult tooth because it’s at risk of falling out. Whether due to tooth decay, gum disease, or physical trauma, you need to be seen right away.

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth: As tempting as it is to check on your tooth periodically, you should avoid touching or wiggling it. Also, avoid eating anything too hard or sticky, and try not to bite or chew with the troubled tooth. Brushing and flossing isn’t recommended, but you can keep your mouth clean by swishing gently with warm salt water.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth: If you have a loose dental implant, a bone graft might be needed to stabilize it. For natural teeth, we can sometimes provide a stint to hold it in place long enough to reintegrate with your jawbone. Otherwise, you may require extraction and replacement.

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency? Lacerations in the tender tissues of your mouth can bleed, which can be quite alarming but is common if you are an athlete or participate in close contact sports or activities. We’re happy to help with minor cuts and abrasions.

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue: Rinse your mouth gently with warm water to rinse away debris and bacteria. Then, apply pressure with a folded piece of gauze or clean washcloth to slow the bleeding. You can also apply a cold compress to reduce aches and inflammation.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue: We can stitch small lesions closed so you heal properly. However, if you have bleeding that hasn’t stopped within 10 minutes or sustained a life-threatening injury, you should head to the closest ER.

Learn More About Mouthguards

Jaw Pain

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency? A sore jaw can impact your daily life but doesn’t always constitute an emergency. However, if your discomfort is persistent or severe or your jaw feels stiff, you should contact us for an appointment.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain: We’ll discuss special care instructions over the phone when you call for you to follow based on your unique circumstances. For example, we might recommend over-the-counter pain meds or alleviating aches with an ice pack. If your jawbone is broken or dislocated, you should visit the ER right away.

How We Treat Jaw Pain: The treatment can depend on the cause. For instance, if the throbbing is due to bruxism (chronic teeth grinding), we can provide a nightguard that provides a layer of cushion between your teeth to alleviate stress on your TMJ (temporomandibular joints). If it’s due to an infected or damaged tooth, it may require extraction and replacement.

Something Stuck Between the Teeth

Having food or some other object jammed between your teeth may not seem like an emergency, but plenty of patients have inadvertently harmed their teeth or gums trying to pry it out. Don’t use household items like tweezers, utensils, or toothpicks to try to remove it, because you might chip a tooth or cut your gums. Instead, rinse your mouth out with water or try gently flossing. If that doesn’t help, contact us for an appointment so we can safely whatever was trapped.