When you face a dental emergency, a thousand thoughts might race through your mind. First, you may wonder what you can do to get out of pain. After you call your emergency dentist in Ponte Vedra Beach to schedule an appointment, you may begin to wonder about other things. What will your dentist do to treat your condition? What can you expect during your procedure? Let’s talk about some common emergency dental treatments and the conditions that they are used to address.
Root Canal Therapy
Root canal therapy gets a bad rap, but thanks to modern techniques and anesthesia, it’s actually a quite comfortable procedure. During it, your dentist will clean out the damaged or infected tissue from a tooth’s interior chamber. They’ll also remove the tooth’s nerve and fill in the tooth with a special material called gutta percha. Root canal therapy is often the best way to address a severe, throbbing toothache. It may also be used to preserve a broken tooth.
Extraction
Your dentist wants you to be able to enjoy your natural teeth for a lifetime. Hence, they will do everything they reasonably can to help you keep your complete smile. However, if a tooth is severely decayed or damaged, extraction may be the best course of action. Local anesthesia makes the procedure as comfortable as possible; you may not feel anything as your dentist grips the tooth and carefully removes it. Following the extraction, you and your dentist can discuss your options for future tooth replacement.
Tooth Replantation
If one of your teeth gets knocked out of its socket, there is a chance that your dentist will be able to splint it back in place if you receive treatment within an hour or two of losing the tooth. During the replantation procedure, a dentist uses a special framework to hold the tooth in place. Then, the surrounding tissues may be able to naturally reattach to the tooth, allowing it to continue to serve as a functioning member of your smile.
Replacing Restorations
Fillings and crowns are designed to stay in place for many years. Occasionally, however, they can suffer damage or become dislodged altogether. If that happens to you, your dentist might be able to replace your crown on your tooth. Or they might determine that it is best to provide you with an entirely new restoration.
There is no way to know for sure how your dentist will treat your emergency until you arrive at the office for your appointment, but you can rest assured that they have your best interests at heart. Their goal is to relieve your pain and protect your oral health.
Meet the Practice
Drs. Kristopher Harth and Eric Townsend have many years of combined experience, and their extensive training equips them to handle a broad range of dental issues. In most cases, they are able to see emergency patients on a same-day basis. If you would like to learn more about how they may be able to benefit your oral health, contact our practice at 904-285-7711.