Emergency Dentist – Jacksonville, FL
Immediate Dental Care Right When You Need It
At North Jacksonville Complete Dentistry, we make all attempts to see emergency patients as soon as possible. We know that these situations can be stressful. Tooth pain is not fun. Additionally, swelling, broken teeth, and trauma can be unsettling. Who should you call when you’re experiencing a dental emergency? An experienced emergency dentist, that’s who! Dr. Bradberry and Dr. Baxter provide urgent care when you need it most—because when something’s gone wrong with one of your teeth, time is of the essence. Remember to keep calm and call our office as soon as you or a loved one have experienced a dental emergency.
Why Choose North Jacksonville Complete Dentistry for Emergency Dental Care?
- Same-Day Appointments Available for Emergency Patients
- Advanced Technology Leads to Faster & Higher-Quality Care
- Team with Decades of Emergency Experience
How We Treat Your Dental Emergency
- After you get in touch with our dental team, they’ll be able to get you scheduled for a dental appointment, more often than not the same day. We offer same-day appointments and are open five days a week, so it’s always best to get in touch even if you aren’t sure if you’re having a dental emergency. When you call, you can also get helpful first-aid tips to perform in the meantime.
- When you arrive, one of our dentists will perform an exam of your mouth, then determine whether X-rays are needed to find the exact location and cause of your dental emergency.
- As they perform the exam, our dentists can determine which dental services would most effectively get you out of pain and prevent the problem from worsening or coming back. This could include dental fillings, tooth extractions, root canal therapy, or something else.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
Both Dr. Bradberry and Dr. Baxter have decades of experience practicing dentistry, and in that time, they have seen pretty much every dental emergency you can imagine. For that reason, you should always give us a call to get your dental emergency handled. In the meantime, there are steps you can take to manage your symptoms before your visit.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies
How much will your emergency visit to North Jacksonville Complete Dentistry cost? We know that the last thing you’ll want to do during such a stressful situation is worry about your finances, but you do need to fully understand the costs involved before agreeing to any procedure. Our team will discuss the factors contributing to the final price with you after putting together a treatment plan.
Every Dental Emergency is Different
During your emergency visit (which by itself is typically not very costly), we will go over your needs and determine what kind of treatments are needed. The final cost is wholly dependent on the service included in your treatment plan; we’ll make sure that you have a reliable estimate to consider before making your final decision. Depending on the nature of your dental emergency, you might need:
- Root canal therapy to remove a tooth infection.
- Dental crowns or other restorations to repair broken or decayed teeth.
- Extractions to remove teeth that are beyond salvaging.
- Other forms of care that we deem necessary.
Save Money by Taking Care of Your Smile
A lot of dental emergencies are the result of unforeseeable accidents, but by practicing good oral hygiene, wearing a mouthguard when playing sports, and staying away from ice crunching and other habits that can crack the teeth, you can protect your teeth and gums. If you can prevent emergencies from occurring in the present, you can save a lot of money on dental care in the future.
When you do end up suffering from dental pain or damage, don’t ignore it. True dental emergencies don’t heal on their own; they only get worse over time and can even lead to worse emergencies. For example, if a toothache isn’t treated with a root canal, the infection may spread to other parts of the mouth, and the tooth itself could be lost altogether. The treatments you receive for a dental emergency in its early stages will likely be less expensive than what you’d need later on.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?
Dental insurance does normally offer a yearly emergency exam, and many services that are normally performed on broken, decayed, or missing teeth tend to at least receive partial coverage. A minor service like a filling might be covered up to 80%, while the more advanced treatments are usually around 50% coverage. Be mindful of the yearly maximum, as that puts a limit on how much your plan is willing to pay for your care during the year.
How Else Can Dental Emergencies Be Made Affordable?
If you need emergency dental work but don’t have the money you need to pay for treatment right away, ask about applying for a CareCredit plan. It splits the fees for your care into a series of installments, which are usually separated into six or twelve months. CareCredit plans have little to no interest to attached, so there’s no reason to worry in the long term.
How to Prevent Dental Emergencies
If you’ve dealt with an injured or hurting tooth before, the last thing you want is for the same problem to occur later on. That’s why it’s important to take the right steps that can help you prevent dental emergencies in Jacksonville. No dental emergency is 100% avoidable, but these five simple precautions can minimize the risk of harm to your smile.
Visit Your Dentist Regularly
All too often, patients avoid going to their dental checkups because their teeth feel fine. However, if you wait until your tooth starts hurting to visit a dentist, then it’s too late – serious damage has already been done. At your routine checkups and cleanings, our team can detect cavities and gum disease in their early stages and remove built-up plaque and tartar, both of which prevent dental emergencies. Remember, it’s much better to have two scheduled appointments with us each year rather than an anxiety-filled visit later on.
Maintain Good Oral Hygiene Habits at Home
Sometimes, you might feel too tired right when you wake up or right before bed to brush and floss. It can be tempting to skip these habits, but doing so even once gives harmful bacteria in your mouth the chance to wreak havoc on your teeth and gums. They can feed on lingering food particles and produce an acid that erodes tooth enamel and inflames gum tissue, leading to cavities and gum disease. No matter how tired you feel, take the time to brush your teeth every morning and night and floss before bed.
Stick to a Nutritious Diet
Ice-cold soda and sweet treats are delicious, but due to their high sugar content, consuming too many of them can spell disaster for your smile by causing painful cavities and infections. Try swapping most of these items out for nutrient-rich alternatives like lean meats and leafy greens.
Wear a Mouthguard
If you play sports or have been diagnosed with bruxism, it’s in your best interest to protect your teeth by wearing a custom mouthguard. This small plastic appliance can mean the difference between keeping your smile safe and having to drop everything to visit our emergency dental office in Jacksonville. Once this personalized device is placed over your teeth, it shields your smile from sports-related injuries as well as the damage caused by long-term teeth grinding.
Use Tools, Not Teeth to Open Packaging
Opening a package or a bottle with your teeth might seem more convenient, but it’s not worth the risk. One wrong move and you could scratch your gums or break your tooth. Instead, take the time to reach for the proper tool for the job or ask for a helping hand.
Dental Emergency FAQ’s
Whether you have a question about a potential dental emergency that you aren’t sure how to handle or you want to be better prepared for the worst-case scenario, North Jacksonville Complete Dentistry is more than ready to answer any questions you may have about urgent dental issues or treatments related to emergency dentistry. For your convenience, we have included a series of the most common questions our practice hears. If your question isn’t mentioned or you think you may be experiencing a dental emergency, don’t wait to call us right away.
Should I visit the emergency room instead?
The reality is emergency rooms are mainly equipped to handle medical emergencies, not dental ones. That means in most cases, they won’t be able to help you with your dental pain or address the root cause of your dental emergency. Instead, they will more than likely offer you painkillers and tell you to visit a dentist. This is because most professionals in emergency rooms don’t have the training or credentials to perform emergency dental services, such as root canal therapy or tooth extractions. With that said, if you are bleeding profusely from the mouth, believe you have a broken or fractured jaw, or have an infection that’s making it difficult to breathe, go to the emergency room before coming to our office.
How long can I wait before visiting an emergency dentist?
It depends on the type of emergency you’re experiencing. For example, a knocked-out tooth or a dental infection needs to be handled by a dentist right away. However, there are other situations where you can afford to wait until the next day, especially if you are not able to get to a dentist the same day the problem appears. If your toothache is very dull or a restoration has come off, you should be okay for the next 24 hours. With that said, we encourage you to call regardless; our team is happy to provide guidance on how to manage your concerns until your appointment.
Will my dental insurance cover treatment?
Dental insurance plans have varying levels of coverage that vary from company to company and plan to plan. However, many insurance companies do provide coverage for an emergency exam at least, usually one to two exams a year. Certain procedures necessary to resolve an emergency issue can be either minor or major, depending on the treatment. Minor procedures (i.e. removing tooth decay and placing a filling) can receive 70% to 80% coverage, while major procedures (i.e. root canal therapy and tooth extractions) can receive up to 50% coverage.
Will my toothache go away without treatment?
Most of the time, a dental issue will not go away on its own, which means you’ll need a dental professional to resolve any dental discomfort you’re experiencing. Tooth pain can be a sign of many different problems, including decay or infection, so the only way to know for sure what’s occurring with your tooth is to call our office and set up an emergency appointment. The longer you put off care for a dental emergency, the more likely your issue will only worsen, potentially increasing your overall dental care costs.
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