Emergency Dentistry – Spring House, PA
Emergency Care Without the Wait
If you or a loved one was suddenly in a lot of dental pain, what would you do? If like many you decide to head to your local ER, you’ll likely spend hours waiting before being seen by someone with little to no dental training. Fortunately, you have a much better option in Spring House. For people in need of urgent dental care, they can get the professional attention they need right away just by calling NeoSmile Dental Care. We’re happy to see patients the same day that they call in, and in particularly urgent situations, we can get people in on the weekend as well.
Why Choose Neosmile Dental Care for Emergency Dentistry?
- Same-day & weekend appointments available
- Open both early & late
- All dental insurances accepted
How We Treat Dental Emergencies
Every dental emergency is unique, and we’ll always tailor your treatment according to your needs. Having said that, the process can generally be divided into four main stages:
- Same-Day Appointment: When you call us, we’ll ask about your symptoms and give you first-aid advice as needed. We’ll make arrangements to see you as soon as we can. For your convenience, we offer same-day and weekend emergency appointments as well as early and late hours.
- Emergency Exam: As soon as you get to our office, we’ll work to narrow down the underlying cause of the problem. We’ll examine your mouth and might take X-rays if we need to.
- Review Findings: We’ll explain what we found during our examination and go over the recommended treatments. You’ll always be told the estimated price and length of a given treatment before you’re asked to decide on a plan.
- Get the Care You Need: Emergency dental care can mean something as basic as placing a filling or as advanced as root canal therapy. Our aim will be to relieve your pain and get your oral health back on track in as little time as possible.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
here are two main types of dental emergencies. Some can develop in the blink of an eye, like with a motor vehicle accident or collision while playing sports. Others take months to progress and only become apparent when they start to cause major pain. Our team is more than capable of handling both, and you should give us a call right away if you or a family member ever experience any sudden problems with your teeth. Below are some of the most common dental emergencies that we’ve seen over the years.
Understanding the Cost of Emergency Dentistry
Since each dental emergency is different, we have no way of knowing how much yours will cost until we see you in our office in Spring House. However, we offer a $49 emergency special for new patients that includes the necessary X-rays and exams. After we’ve had the chance to evaluate your oral situation, we’ll be able to determine the appropriate treatments for your needs and provide you with a personalized cost estimate. We’ll make sure you know how much you will pay before we begin treatment, and we’ll do everything we can to make the process as affordable as possible. Avoiding necessary dental care can allow the problem to become worse, eventually making more expensive treatments necessary. Contact our team to learn more.
Every Dental Emergency Is Different
It is essentially impossible to predict how much treating your dental emergency will cost before we examine you in our office. While some dental emergencies can be resolved with quick, simple, and inexpensive solutions such as dental fillings or prescription mouthwash, more severe issues may require extensive treatments like extractions or root canals along with restorations like dental crowns or dental implants. We’ll thoroughly review your treatment options before we begin.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?
Most dental insurance plans include some coverage for dental emergencies. While many plans offer coverage for one yearly emergency dental exam, they may cover common services like root canals, crowns, and extractions by anything from 50% to 80%. Since every plan is different, it is important to confirm what your insurance company offers as well as any yearly maximums before committing to treatment. We’ll be happy to help you through this process.
It's also worth remembering that preventive care such as routine exams and cleanings are covered by 100% with most plans because they can reliably prevent dental emergencies. It’s wise to take advantage of this.
Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable
While we accept many forms of insurance, we also offer several other options for paying for emergency dental services. These include:
- In-office savings plan: For a flat fee of $299 a year, you can receive two oral exams, two routine cleanings, a set of X-rays, and a 20% discount on all restorative and cosmetic treatments.
- Financing options: We offer financing plans through CareCredit and Sunbit, third-party financiers that break dental bills into easily manageable monthly payments with little or no interest.
- New patient special: We offer new patients a $49 emergency visit that includes all necessary X-rays and exams.
Taking Care of Your Smile Can Save You Money
While some dental emergencies are unavoidable or unpredictable, most can be prevented with proper oral hygiene and by protecting the teeth from injuries. Practicing excellent oral care at home, seeing your dentist regularly, and wearing a mouthguard when playing sports or riding a bike may save you thousands of dollars over the years.
Once you notice dental damage or oral pain, it’s important to address the issue right away. While emergency treatment may sound expensive, waiting to treat the problem will only make the necessary care more costly. For example, having a toothache treated immediately can make the difference between needing a root canal or a much more expensive treatment such as extraction and tooth replacement.
Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies
It’s always better to prevent a dental emergency than to deal with one. Luckily, observing a few smart habits can do a lot to prevent dental emergencies and other oral health issues. By making the effort to keep your teeth healthy, you can minimize your risk of experiencing an oral health crisis and avoid the expenses that come with treating it. Here are a few habits that can keep your teeth healthy and strong, but feel free to contact our staff for more information.
Visit Your Dentist Regularly
The American Dental Association recommends seeing your dentist at least twice a year for routine exams and cleanings. These checkups allow a trained professional at our Ambler office to monitor the health of your teeth and correct any small problems before they can bloom into full-blown oral health crises. In addition to keeping your oral hygiene on track, these visits have prevented countless dental emergencies.
Maintain Good Oral Hygiene at Home
Your dental hygiene routine at home is part of the foundation of your oral health. Be sure to stick to a daily regimen of brushing, flossing, and using antibacterial mouthwash to eliminate plaque, food debris, and harmful bacteria that can lead to unpleasant oral infections like gum disease and tooth decay. While this will certainly prevent many dental emergencies such as throbbing toothaches, it will also keep your smile presentable and your breath fresh for social situations.
Stick to a Nutritious Diet
Nutritious foods like fruits, veggies, and lean meats are as great for your teeth as they are for the rest of your body. Acidic beverages like soda, sports drinks, and alcoholic drinks begin eroding your enamel on contact, making your teeth weaker and uncomfortably sensitive. The sugar in items like pastries and candy can also feed the growth of harmful oral bacteria. Healthy, fibrous foods can clean food residue and bacteria away from your teeth during the chewing process, helping to prevent infections like tooth decay and gum disease.
Wear a Mouthguard
If you play contact sports or enjoy riding your bike, wearing a mouthguard can provide your teeth with a powerful cushion against oral injuries. If you grind your teeth in your sleep, wearing a nightguard to bed can protect them against the gradual damage this involuntary habit causes. We offer customized mouthguards that deliver superior protection to store-bought varieties.
Use Tools to Open Packages, Not Your Teeth
Your teeth are designed for smiling and chewing, and using them for anything else counts as dental abuse. Never use your teeth to open packages or bottles or to chew on non-food items like ice, paperclips, or writing utensils, as these habits can lead to painful cracks, chips, and fractures in your teeth. If you need an easy way to open bottles, try investing in a bottle opener keychain. These devices are cheap, durable, effective, and a great way to meet people at social events.
Tooth Extractions
While our team always strives to save teeth, some can’t be salvaged or repaired. You may have a tooth that’s too decayed, infected, or damaged for dentistry to fix. Should that happen, Drs. Patel and Gandhi will suggest our extraction treatment as a solution. This option would get rid of the problem tooth (or teeth) before you suffer major harm to your oral health. Once it’s done, we could then move forward and place one of our custom tooth replacements.
Dental Emergency FAQs
My chipped tooth doesn’t hurt. Do I still need to visit?
Whether it hurts or not, you should always schedule a dental visit for a chipped tooth. The problem is urgent even if the damaged site doesn’t feel pain.
You see, there’s still a chance that your chipped tooth’s innards are exposed. You have no way of knowing for sure without an oral exam. If you skip a visit because the tooth doesn’t ache, you’d put yourself at risk of an infection.
All that said, you can likely afford to wait a day (or two) for your appointment. Just make sure to schedule the visit and see a dentist soon.
Is my tooth pain from an infection?
If your tooth is throbbing or feels sore, it likely is infected. Still, whether your pain points to an infection depends on the situation. A patient’s toothache could have other causes.
Aside from tooth pain, common symptoms of a tooth infection are:
- Chronic bad breath (i.e., halitosis)
- Tooth sensitivity
- Loosening of teeth
- A sore on the gums near the aching tooth
Ultimately, you should see a dentist to confirm if your pain points to an infection. They can capture X-rays and provide a detailed diagnosis.
Can I fix dentures that are broken in half?
If a denture is fully broken in half, you aren’t equipped to fix it. You’ll need a skilled prosthodontist to repair it on your behalf.
You see, your entire denture will likely need to be replaced. Only a qualified dentist can contact the lab that makes your new ones, so they’re crucial to have. You’ll also want a prosthodontist’s advice on managing without dentures in the meantime.
While a dentist repairs your denture, you can wear a spare (if you have one). Just don’t use this alternative often – it could cause problems for your mouth.
Are toothpicks safe to use?
Toothpicks have been around for decades, so you may assume they’re safe to use. However, the truth is that these little sticks can put your smile at risk. You’re better off going without them.
Firstly, toothpicks aren’t designed with your oral health in mind. They can easily damage your enamel and gum tissue if used carelessly. Worse, wooden ones could splinter and break off inside your mouth. That’d cause pain, bleeding, or worse.
There’s also the fact that toothpicks are less useful than imagined. In many cases, they can push food debris further between teeth or under the gum line. You’d then increase your risk of tooth decay and gum disease.
More to Explore
I Need a Checkup & Cleaning I Have a Cavity or Broken Tooth I am Missing One or More Teeth I am Interested in Improving My Smile I am Looking for a Dentist for My Child I am Anxious or Afraid of the Dentist I Want a Straighter Smile I Want to Learn About Sleep Apnea View Our Services
