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What to do in an Emergency 

Dental Emergency, what to do when you think you need a dentist right away.

Contact us via phone, email or messages if you might need a dental appointment.

We will do our level best to determine if we need to squeeze you in as soon as possible or if we can fit you into our calendar where there is an opening.

Here is a list of important factors we need to know to help make this assessment:

  1. Was trauma involved? If you or a family member has been damaged by accidental

    trauma to the face, for example falling off a bicycle, we need to know right away. Depending on the trauma, early treatment can make a big difference in outcome.

    1. What caused the trauma? When?

    2. Is there swelling? bleeding? pain? tooth loss?

      If yes to the above: Put ice on the swelling, administer appropriate dose of ibuprofen, carefully clean an open wound with water and bandage if outside the mouth, place gauze or cotton to apply gentle pressure if bleeding inside the mouth. Place a dislodged tooth in milk in a clean plastic baggie, keep at body temperature (next to the skin under clothes).

  2. Is there any swelling, redness or fever? These are indicators of an infection. We will see you right away. You may have to wait in the waiting room for an opportunity to squeeze you in, but it is better to be prompt in these situations. If we cannot see you right away because we aren’t open, please seek prompt medical attention. For after hour urgent care, please go to https://www.kzvbw.de/zahnarzt-notdienst/stuttgart/

  3. Do you have pain that prevents you from falling asleep or wakes you up? Is it throbbing? Impossible to bite down? Non-stop or coming in waves? These are symptoms of a tooth with irreversible pulpitis. This is arguably the worst type of toothache. These teeth demand treatment because the pain is so severe, normal functional life is impossible. We will see you right away. The tooth will most likely require a root canal or extraction to ease the pain. If we cannot see you right away because we aren’t open, please seek emergency dental services at the central emergency office in Stuttgart (https://www.kzvbw.de/zahnarzt-notdienst/stuttgart/)

  4. Did a crown come off of a tooth? Clean it and replace it on the tooth with toothpaste as a temporary glue. We will see as soon as possible, but this is not a true emergency. Keep it clean and on the tooth to “hold the space open”. If possible, take it out for chewing to avoid accidental damage. As a general rule, if you have been flossing that crown diligently, we will be able to re-cement it. If you haven’t been great with floss, it might not be salvageable due to decay. Let us look and see

    Those are the main dental emergencies that would require an appointment ASAP.

    

There are other reasons for people to be concerned and want to be seen by a dentist. If your dental concern doesn’t fall into the above four conditions, we will want to know a few more details:

  1. When did you first notice this dental problem?

  2. How would you rate the pain on a scale from 1 to 10?

  3. How would you characterize the pain? Sharp? Dull? Achey? Radiating?

  4. Whatmakesitworse?Chewing?Cold?Hot?Sweets?

  5. Do you know what the problem is and what you would like to have done about

    it?

  6. Have you had this problem in the recent past? Have you been seen already for

    this same problem?

  7. Can you identify the causal event that led to this problem? For example, when

    eating pizza, something broke and a filling fell out.

  8. Do you think this is specific to a tooth? Could it be jaw pain? Sinus pain?

  9. Is it worse in the mornings? Afternoons? Does it come and go randomly, or does

    it show up only when chewing?

  10. Do you personally think this requires urgent attention? Can you explain why you

    think so? Sometimes it is good to be seen urgently if only to alleviate fears you may have that it is much worse.

If there are some questions above you are able to provide answers for, please put them in an email or text or have them ready to discuss over phone. Most of our patients tell us that they have better results with our email or text than phone because it is often busy. We are working on getting another phone line, but until then, try writing to us.

As a general rule, when there is pain involved, we try to get you in as soon as possible and may attempt to squeeze you into an otherwise already filled schedule.

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