Emergency Dentistry at Chatswood Dental Associates
Dental emergencies can be both scary and painful. Depending on the cause, they can potentially even be life-threatening.
One of the things we do differently is provide ongoing proactive, preventative dental care. This approach minimises our patients’ risk of experiencing emergencies, since everything is well looked after. But traumatic injuries and accidents can still happen. Even if you’re a new patient that’s never been to our practice before, we’re able to attend to your emergency dental needs.
How Soon Can I Be Seen?
Depending on the severity of your emergency, we can arrange to see you the same day. Something major typically requires coming straight to our office for immediate attention. Please do give us a call on (02) 9412 4488 first so that we can make the necessary arrangements. Less-traumatic injuries or chipped teeth are typically manageable as long as we’re able to see you within the next business day.
When you contact us, we’ll discuss what’s going on and walk you through the next steps. In nearly 99% of cases we’ll arrange to see you on the same day.
Urgent, Traumatic Oral Injuries
Severe dental emergencies need to be treated immediately. If you have serious facial trauma or an oral infection that’s compromising your airway, please go directly to the nearest hospital. Perhaps you’ve fallen over and hurt both your face and your teeth, or there’s such a severe pain from an abscess that it is affecting your ability to swallow. In those instances we need to see you as soon as you can get to our office. Contact us straight away.
Sports injuries are a common example. Being that orofacial injuries are frequent in athletes, having a family dentist on call can give you the peace of mind you need. Especially if you or your child suffers a blow to the mouth. Regardless of the time of day or day of the week, we’ll be here when you need us.
Special Service for our Existing Patients
Here at Chatswood Dental Associates, together, we and our patients take great care in the maintenance of good oral and dental health.
This means that the vast majority of our existing patients rarely have sudden, unexpected emergencies. If this were to occur, our existing patients have access to their Dentist’s personal mobile number.
Broken, Cracked Teeth and Minor Trauma
Generally speaking, there are some types of dental emergencies that still need to be seen to but might not require immediate treatment. Instead it’s alright to wait a day or so between calling our office and being seen by our dentist.
Common examples include
- A broken or chipped tooth
- Hypersensitivity to cold or hot temperatures
- Pain when chewing or biting down
- Broken dental fillings
- An infection that came on suddenly
See Us Straightaway
No matter your dental emergency, the sooner we see you and the quicker the issue is treated, the better the outcome is going to be. Compromised teeth are at an even higher risk for fractures or cracks. Biting down on one of them could multiply the damage that has already been done. It’s best to place a smaller, minimally invasive restoration and help preserve as much healthy tooth structure as possible.
If You Knock Out a Tooth
The best thing you can do if you knock out a tooth is to immediately place it into a cup of milk and come straight into our office. The milk will help to keep the cells of the tooth alive, making it possible to try and reattach it into the socket. Treatment must be performed within the next 1-2 hours in order to be successful. Time is of the essence.
Any time a tooth is knocked out, you want to be sure not to handle it by the root. When you’re picking it up, only handle it by the crown (the part of your tooth that you see above the gums). Do not attempt to scrub or clean it, as you can potentially damage the small fibres that aid in reattachment.
Preventing Dental Emergencies
Most dental emergencies come from untreated dental infections or cavities. A painful abscess can easily flare up from a cavity that has been growing over the past few months. Cracked teeth can split in two from biting on an old filling that has been on your to-do list to change out. By keeping on top of your dental health, you can significantly lower your chances of a painful emergency in the future.
Additionally, we encourage athletes to wear a sports mouthguard during their activities. Custom-fitted mouthguards offer better protection against broken and knocked-out teeth, as well as lip lacerations and concussions.
FAQ’s
Do I need to make an appointment?
How can I manage pain at home?
Should I come straight to your office?
All Ages Welcome
For emergency dentistry in Chatswood, contact our office today. We’re committed to providing timely and compassionate care for all ages.
* Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.