If you or a loved one experience any kind of dental trauma, whether it’s due to a sudden accident or a small problem that has slowly become something major, you can always turn to The Castleberry Center to get the immediate and professional help you need. Dr. Castleberry and our team have handled all kinds of dental emergencies over the years, and our goal is always the same: to see a patient as quickly as possible and get them out of pain.
Dental emergencies are certainly stressful, but you can have a little peace of mind knowing that you have an emergency dentist in Louetta who is ready to help. Should the unexpected ever happen to you or a loved one’s smile, be sure to give us a call right away.
Why Choose The Castleberry Center for Emergency Dental Care?
Same-Day Emergency Appointments Available
Advanced Dental Technology
Insurance Welcome & Flexible Financing Available
What to Do in a Dental Emergency
Contact our office. If you ever find yourself experiencing a dental emergency in Louetta, you should give us a call as soon as possible. We’ll pencil you in at your earliest convenience. Over the phone, we’ll provide first-aid instructions to help you manage your situation in the meantime.
Have an emergency exam. When you get to our office, Dr. Castleberry will conduct an oral examination to identify the cause of your emergency. Using our findings, we’ll create a custom treatment plan to get you out of pain.
Get the care you need. Our team might be able to temporarily address your emergency during your appointment. However, you may have to return to our office for additional treatment depending on the situation at hand. Some common services include fillings, dental crowns, root canal therapy, gum disease treatment, and tooth extractions.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies often fall into one of two categories: those attributed to an infection or those sustained from physical trauma of some kind. For example, maybe you have a serious toothache that became worse over time, or you suffered a sports injury that resulted in a broken or knocked-out tooth. Regardless of the type of emergency you’re facing, we ask that you call our office right away to make an appointment and get helpful advice from our team. In the meantime, here’s what you can do to improve your situation.
Naturally, emergency dental care comes with a price. It’s important to be aware of the costs involved before you agree to any sort of treatment. Sometimes only a minor filling will be required, but, in other situations, treatments such as root canal therapy may be necessary. At The Castleberry Center, the cost of emergency dentistry in Louetta will be explained to you ahead of time so you know what to expect when the time comes for payment.
Every Dental Emergency is Different
Believe it or not, visiting your emergency dentist in Louetta is, in most cases, relatively inexpensive. During your appointment, our team will evaluate the extent of your condition and determine which treatments are necessary to get your smile back on track. Since every case is unique, it’s impossible to provide an accurate cost estimate until you come in for an exam.
However, some common solutions for dental emergencies include root canal therapy, extractions, dental crowns, and TMJ treatment. We will explain our findings and the recommended treatment plan, plus provide a cost estimate in advance so there won’t be any surprises!
Taking Care of Your Smile Can Save You Money
Not every dental emergency is entirely avoidable. Although some happen because of accidental injuries, the majority are the result of unchecked infection or damage. Fortunately, you can keep your smile healthy and save thousands of dollars over the years by investing in routine dental checkups.
On top of that, you can avoid breaking the bank by visiting our team as soon as you notice something wrong with your oral health. Taking care of a problem right away will help you avoid needing more expensive and extensive treatment later on.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?
The good news is that most dental insurance plans offer some level of coverage for emergency situations. At least one yearly emergency exam is typically fully covered, while common services associated with hurting teeth, like root canal therapy, extractions, and dental crowns, are eligible for 50-80 percent of coverage. Of course, every policy is unique which is why you should confirm the details with your insurance provider before committing to anything. Our team is more than happy to help with this process if needed!
Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable
Don’t have dental insurance? No problem! We offer flexible financing through CareCredit, Lending Club, Greensky Financing, or United Medical Credit. These third-party financiers provide patients with low-to-no-interest payment plans. We’ll help with the application process – simply contact our team!
Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies
Even if you’re diligent about brushing and flossing, a dental emergency can happen when you least expect it to. While it often seems like there’s nothing you can do to prevent these urgent situations, some problems are avoidable if you take the right precautions. To lower your risk of a dental emergency in Louetta, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Visit Your Dentist Every Six Months for a Checkup and Cleaning
Something that’s crucial when it comes to protecting your teeth and gums is coming into our Louetta dental office every six months for a dental checkup and teeth cleaning. These periodic appointments are crucial for a number of reasons, including that they ensure tooth decay, gum disease, damaged restorations, and other common oral health problems are detected and treated right away. They allow our dental hygienists to clear away built-up plaque and tartar as well, which is crucial when it comes to maintaining a healthy, happy smile.
Practice Good Oral Hygiene
Simply put, if you don’t take good care of your teeth and gums, you’re significantly more likely to sustain a serious dental injury, like a cracked tooth or infected gums. For that reason, we strongly recommend practicing good oral hygiene each and every day. That starts with brushing consistently and extends to flossing daily and rinsing with an antimicrobial mouthwash each evening. Technique is important too, so don’t hesitate to give us a call if you’re unsure of the best way to brush and floss.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
Although you don’t need to completely eliminate sugar from your diet for the sake of your oral health, it is a good idea to keep your consumption of added sugar to a minimum. After all, this sweetener is one of the leading causes of cavities! The good news is that there are plenty of nutrient-dense foods that are delicious and can benefit your teeth and gums. Apples, celery, and carrots are great examples because they are packed with vitamins, and they remove debris from your teeth (which is why they are sometimes referred to as “nature’s toothbrush”).
Wear a Mouthguard to Protect Against Oral Injuries
It goes without saying that you should wear a mouthguard during contact sports, like wrestling and football. However, you should also wear one while skateboarding, running, surfing, or participating in any other kind of non-contact sports. After all, you want your smile to be protected in case you accidentally fall!
Avoid Poor Dental Habits
Lastly, make sure to avoid poor dental habits to protect your teeth and gums from harm. That includes smoking, biting your fingernails, chewing on ice cubes, and using your teeth as tools to open things. Refraining from habits like these will dramatically reduce your risk of sustaining a serious dental injury, like a cracked molar.
Dental Emergency FAQs
When you’re suffering through a sudden dental emergency near Houston, the very last thing you want to deal with is more confusion. At The Castleberry Center, we want our patients to be as informed as possible. That’s why we have gathered some of the questions that we get asked the most often by patients with dental emergencies and answered them down below for your convenience.
What Is Considered a Dental Emergency?
Since oral pain and discomfort can be relatively common, it can be difficult to determine whether you need emergency treatment. If you can honestly answer yes to any of the following questions, you most likely have a dental emergency on your hands that requires urgent care:
Are you in severe pain?
Is your mouth bleeding?
Have you lost or damaged a tooth?
Do you have loose teeth (as an adult)?
Do you have signs of an infection, such as a fever or swelling?
Do I Need to Go to the ER for a Dental Emergency?
While the staff at your local emergency room are medical professionals, they usually don’t have the specialized training to treat specific dental emergencies near Louetta Road. This is why, in most cases, you should see your emergency dentist instead of going to the hospital. If, however, your dental emergency also threatens your life, such as swelling that impacts your ability to breathe, you should get to an emergency room right away.
What If My Toothache Goes Away on Its Own?
Unlike most general medical problems, dental issues typically worsen the longer you put off getting treatment. When you have a toothache that suddenly stops, it might seem like the problem has cleared up, but the truth is it has gotten a whole lot worse.
A severe toothache is often caused by an infection reaching the sensitive inner portion of the tooth, called the pulp, where the nerve is located. As the nerve succumbs to the infection, it gradually begins to die, resulting in declining feelings of pain. At this point, a root canal might be the only treatment that can save your tooth from needing to be extracted. If you have a toothache that suddenly goes away, it’s more important than ever that you contact us for treatment.
What Can I Take to Help Alleviate Dental Pain?
Ibuprofen is often considered the best medicine for treating oral pain. You could also take other over-the-counter pain medications like aspirin or acetaminophen. Keep in mind that if you take aspirin, do NOT place it directly on the aching tooth. Doing so could irritate your gum tissue and actually increase your dental pain!
Do I Need to Be an Existing Patient to Be Seen for a Dental Emergency?
Not at all! We know that it can be stressful to find a new dentist, especially during an emergency, which is why we’re more than willing to treat you no matter your situation. We make it easy by accepting all major PPO plans, as well as military plans. If you don’t have dental insurance, we also partner with third-party finance plans like CareCredit and Lending Club to pay for the care you need. No matter what kind of dental emergency you’re going through, don’t hesitate to give us a call!
Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? Possibly! One of the main signs that you should schedule an emergency exam with Dr. Castleberry is if your pain has persisted for more than 24 hours. There’s a good chance that the source is a cavity or another untreated oral health issue.
How You Should Handle a Toothache First, don’t attempt to ignore it in hopes that it will go away on its own. Instead, call our Louetta emergency dentist to schedule an appointment and take proactive measures to protect your tooth in the meantime, like sticking to softer foods and rinsing with warm saltwater every so often.
How We Treat Toothaches When you arrive at our office, Dr. Castleberry will take X-rays, conduct an oral exam, and determine what treatment is necessary to restore the health and function of your tooth. Whether it’s a dental crown or root canal treatment, you won’t have to worry – he earned the nickname "Painless" because of his gentle, efficient, and pain-free care!
Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? Sometimes, yes! For example, if you are in pain, then it warrants a call to our Louetta dental office. If you aren’t, then you don’t need to schedule a same-day appointment, but you should still come in for an exam within a day or two.
How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth To remove lingering shards of your tooth from your mouth, rinse gently with clean, room-temperature water. After that, cover the sharp edge of your tooth with some sugar-free gum. This will serve two purposes: preventing sensitivity and avoiding soft tissue injuries.
How We Treat Chipped Teeth If the chip is minor, then dental bonding is a great option because it’s quick. In fact, it allows us to restore your tooth on the same day as your visit! However, veneers are also a great option, especially if the chip is more significant. Although it takes more than one appointment, the results can last you well over a decade.
Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes, a cracked tooth is a dental emergency and warrants an immediate call to our Louetta dental team. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that the tooth will become infected or crack even further.
How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth Periodically, rinse your mouth with clean, lukewarm water. This will help keep the area clean, especially if the size of the crack is so significant that you can’t brush and floss as usual. It also goes without saying that you shouldn’t eat anything like raw nuts, peanut brittle, or hard pretzels, especially on that side of your mouth.
How We Treat Cracked Teeth Priority number one is saving your tooth, which is why we will first see if we can restore its function with a dental crown. If we can’t, then we will need to explore the other options available, like gently removing the tooth and putting a dental implant or bridge in its place.
Are very sensitive teeth a dental emergency? Teeth sensitivity isn’t always a dental emergency, but it could indicate a bigger issue that needs to be treated. If your sensitivity is new, lingering, or sharp, give us a call so we can check it out.
How you should handle sensitive teeth: To reduce pain from tooth sensitivity, avoid foods that are particularly cold, hot, spicy, acidic, and sugary. Maintain an excellent oral hygiene routine and drink plenty of water throughout the day. If needed, take an over-the-counter pain reliever to reduce your discomfort.
How we treat tooth sensitivity: Before we can treat your tooth pain, we need to determine what’s causing your sensitivity. After we examine your smile, we may recommend specialized dental products, prescription toothpaste, or a filling. Other treatment options include fluoride treatment, a nightguard for bruxism, gum disease treatment, or root canal therapy.
Is a knocked-out tooth a dental emergency? Yes! A knocked-out tooth is an urgent dental emergency that needs to be addressed right away. If this happens to you, give us a call immediately!
How you should handle a knocked-out tooth: If you are able, find your tooth and rinse it with warm water. Make sure that the water isn’t too hot. If possible, place your tooth back in its socket. If you’re unable to put it back, place it in a container of milk or saliva. You shouldn’t use water because it can cause additional damage to the root surface cells.
How we treat knocked-out teeth: If you are able to see us quickly, we will attempt to reimplant the tooth. Your dentist will do this by carefully positioning your tooth back into the socket and splinting it to the neighboring teeth. This way, it will remain stationary so it can heal. If we aren’t able to save your tooth, we can discuss tooth replacement options, like dental implants and bridges.
Is a lost filling or crown a dental emergency? This is something you should address at your earliest convenience. Even if it doesn’t hurt, having your filling or crown repaired or replaced can help prevent additional damage. Fillings and crowns are made to last a long time, but they eventually need to be replaced.
How you should handle a lost filling or crown: If possible, find your filling or crown and rinse it with water. Try to put it back in its place with dental wax. This can be found in the dental section of your local drug or grocery store. Avoid chewing on that side of your mouth with the missing restoration and drink plenty of water to keep your mouth clean.
How we treat lost fillings or crowns: If your restoration is still looking good, we might be able to place it back. However, we will also determine the reason it came out to prevent this from happening again. If necessary, we can provide you with a new restoration.
Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency? It’s very common for patients to assume that a broken denture isn’t a dental emergency, especially if the damage seems relatively minor. However, wearing a broken restoration can result in numerous problems, which is why we recommend getting in touch with us sooner rather than later.
How You Should Handle a Broken Denture In addition to calling our Louetta dental team, we recommend storing your broken dentures somewhere safe (like a small, clean container) and wearing your backup pair in the meantime. You may find that sticking to softer foods during this time is helpful as well.
How We Treat Broken Dentures There are actually a few options, including repairing your broken dentures, having new dentures made, or upgrading your dentures with dental implants!
Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency? Since a loose permanent tooth poses a number of risks, it is definitely considered a dental emergency and warrants an immediate call to our Louetta dental team.
How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth First, call us. We’ll walk you through what to do until you arrive at our office over the phone, from avoiding that side of your mouth when you chew to periodically rinsing with lukewarm water to help prevent an infection.
How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth A loose permanent tooth can sometimes be saved, but other times the best thing for your oral health is to remove it. In that case, we will need to fill the open space with a dental bridge or implant as well.
Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency? Since soft tissue injuries can usually be handled at home, the answer is “no.” Of course, there is an important exception: if you’ve been applying pressure to the area for 10 minutes but the bleeding persists.
How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue There are three main steps: rinse your mouth with clean water, use a damp washcloth to apply pressure to the cut until the bleeding stops, and place a cold compress over the area to alleviate swelling.
How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue In rare situations, we can stitch the wound back together. However, if the cut is severe enough that it continues to bleed even after 10 minutes of applying pressure, then you should head to the ER for medical attention.
Jaw Pain
Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency? Jaw pain definitely shouldn’t be ignored, but it also doesn’t necessarily warrant a same-day visit to our office. That’s why we recommend scheduling an appointment with us once your discomfort has persisted for more than 24 hours or it’s negatively impacting your day-to-day life.
How You Should Handle Jaw Pain Using a cold compress (or towel-wrapped ice pack), avoiding crunchy foods, and taking OTC pain medication can help alleviate your jaw pain in the short-term. For long-term relief, however, we need to treat the root of the problem.
How We Treat Jaw Pain For some patients, their jaw pain is the result of chronic teeth grinding. For others, it’s due to TMJ dysfunction. That’s why we need to take X-rays, conduct an exam, and learn more about your symptoms before creating a treatment plan.
If a piece of food or debris gets lodged between your teeth, it can be quite painful. Plus, the longer it sits there, the higher the chances are of your teeth decaying or your gums developing an infection. Fortunately, rinsing with some warm saltwater and flossing between your teeth should easily remedy the situation. If it doesn’t, then don’t use sharp objects, like tweezers or a toothpick. Instead, schedule an appointment with Dr. Castleberry.
