Weekend Dental Emergencies
What kind of Emergency Dental Care can your weekend dentist offer me?
Usually emergency dental care is broken down into a few categories:
-Just an examination and prescribing antibiotics for dental infections
-Extraction of painful teeth (AKA pulling teeth)
-Root canal treatment
-Crowns or fillings to fix broken teeth
-Cleaning out a gum infection around a painful tooth
While we cannot guarantee that we will perform one of these dental procedures when you come in on a Saturday. We will certainly do our best to bring you some pain relief. We know it's no fun to have a toothache, specially on the weekend!
I'm having a toothache on the weekend, what medicine should I take?
Luckily, Brookhaven Family Dentistry is open on Saturdays, so we should be able to get you in the same day. However, if you can't come and see us, then usually ibuprofen is a great over the counter medication to use for a toothache. Most adults who weigh over 140 pounds, can take 600mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours. The over the counter pills are usually 200mg each. Ibuprofen is also known by the brand names Motrin and Advil. DISCLAIMER: Please check with your regular doctor to see if you can take ibuprofen.
Should I put my tooth in milk if it has fallen out?
If your entire tooth (root and all) comes out intact and is not broken, then yes. Gently place it in milk and bring it in to the dentist as soon as possible. We may be able to replant it if it’s handled properly. But this situation is very rare in adults. Most often, when a large portion of a tooth breaks, the root remains in the bone, and putting a fragment in milk won’t help.
For children, it depends on the type of tooth:
-If it’s a baby (deciduous) tooth, we do not reinsert it.
-If it’s a permanent tooth, then it’s worth trying the milk method and getting here quickly.
Luckily Brookhaven Family Dentistry is both open on Saturdays AND is conveniently located in Chamblee, which is roughly twenty minutes from most areas in metro Atlanta. So if it's a Saturday morning and your child has a dental emergency at the ball game, then give us a call and bring them over.
If I have a toothache on a Saturday, is it better to go to the Emergency Room or Brookhaven Family Dentistry?
If you have a toothache on a Saturday, the best place to start is usually a dental office rather than the emergency room. Most toothaches are caused by dental problems such as cavities, cracked teeth, infected teeth, gum infections, or food trapped between the teeth. An emergency room can help with serious medical symptoms, but most hospitals are not equipped to diagnose and treat the actual dental cause of a toothache.
At Brookhaven Family Dentistry, we are open most Saturdays and regularly help patients in Chamblee, Brookhaven, and the Metro Atlanta area with urgent dental problems, including toothaches, broken teeth, dental infections, lost fillings, and painful gums. Our team can take dental X-rays, evaluate the tooth, explain what is causing the pain, and discuss the most appropriate treatment options.
However, you should go to the emergency room right away if you are experiencing serious symptoms such as difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, severe facial swelling, swelling that is spreading toward the eye or neck, uncontrolled bleeding, a high fever, or trauma involving the jaw or face. These symptoms may require immediate medical attention.
For most Saturday toothaches, calling a dentist is usually the better first step. If you are in Chamblee, Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Tucker, or the surrounding Metro Atlanta area, Brookhaven Family Dentistry may be able to help you avoid an unnecessary emergency room visit and get closer to solving the actual dental problem.
