Emergency Dentist – Saint Peters, MO

Quickly Treating Toothaches and Broken Teeth

Woman who needs emergency dentist in Saint Peters sitting on bench and holding cheek in pain

When suffering from a stressful and potentially painful dental emergency, knowing who to call and what to do can help you stay calm when it matters most. The Klassik Smiles team is here to offer guidance to patients with urgent dental problems who need help managing their pain and protecting their health until they arrive at our office. As an emergency dentist in Saint Peters, we’ll always do our best to see you as quickly as possible – ideally on the same day – to give you the best chance of recovery. When a dental disaster occurs, contact our dental office without delay!

Why Choose Klassik Smiles for Emergency Dentistry?

  • Nitrous Oxide Sedation Dentistry Available
  • Dentist with More Than Two Decades of Experience
  • Advanced Diagnostic Dental Technology Used In-Office

How We Treat Dental Emergencies

Woman in pink tank top holding side of face in pain

The first step you should always take if you find yourself battling with a dental emergency in Saint Peters is to call our dental office. We’ll fit you into our schedule as soon as possible to take care of your pain and restore any harm to your smile. Once we’ve had a chance to examine the damage and create a treatment plan, we’ll discuss it with you, along with the cost, before moving forward. Our team will ensure that you have a pain-free experience and restore your smile to as good as new.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Maybe you got hit in the face with a ball and lost a tooth as a result, or maybe you’re suffering from a toothache as a result of poor oral hygiene. Whatever the case, as soon as a dental emergency hits, you should call our office immediately. Here are some first-aid tips that can help you while you’re waiting for your appointment.

Toothaches

When you first realize “I have a toothache,” try flossing around the affected area to remove any trapped food particles. If that doesn’t help, there’s a good chance that the pain is being caused by an infection. Until you can get to our office, you can control the discomfort with over-the-counter painkillers. If there’s any swelling, use an ice pack.

Chipped/Broken Tooth

Use a piece of gauze to stop any bleeding. Try to save any big pieces of the tooth that you can find. If you need to eat, avoid biting or chewing on the side that has the damaged tooth. Take extra care not to damage the tooth further; if it can’t be repaired, it’ll need to be extracted altogether.

Cracked Tooth

Very Sensitive Teeth

Knocked-Out Tooth

Call your dentist right away; the tooth will need to be replanted within roughly an hour. Only touch the chewing end when picking up the tooth. After rinsing it off, you can try and put the tooth back in its socket. This isn’t always possible, though, so you’ll need to preserve it in a glass of milk or by holding it in your cheeks.

Lost Filling/Crown

Sometimes, if the crown is still intact, you can use dental cement to temporarily put it back in place until your dentist can perform more permanent repairs. Cover any sharp edges with dental wax so that they don’t cut the soft tissues in your mouth. Avoid using the exposed tooth; it’ll most likely be sensitive or fragile.

Broken Denture

Is a broken denture a dental emergency? Though this isn’t considered an urgent or life-threatening problem, you’ll want to fix a broken denture as quickly as possible. Leaving it untreated or not replacing it can make normal daily tasks more difficult to do, such as eating, talking, and smiling. Wearing damaged dentures can also risk harm to your gums and other soft oral tissues.

How to handle a broken denture: Avoid putting the broken denture back in your mouth. DO NOT try to fix it on your own with household products, such as super glue. These materials are hazardous to humans and shouldn’t be ingested. Keep the parts of your prosthetic safe and bring them to your dentist so they can help.

How we treat broken dentures: Our team can sometimes repair a broken denture depending on the extent of the damage. We can use composite resin to address minor chips and cracks. If this isn’t viable, then we’ll need to replace your denture with a new one. We can also consider alternative options like dental implants.

Learn More About Dentures

Learn More About Dental Implants

Learn More About Implant Dentures

Loose Permanent Tooth

Are loose permanent teeth a dental emergency? Your teeth should never feel loose, so you’ll want to schedule an emergency visit with your dentist right away to address your situation. The last thing you want is for the tooth to fall out completely. Even if you don’t currently feel discomfort, call our team immediately for help.

How you should handle a loose permanent tooth: Once you notice something is off with your tooth, notify our team right away. Avoid touching and moving the tooth, and don’t eat hard or sticky foods. Refrain from chewing on that side of your mouth until you can get the tooth treated. Instead of brushing and flossing, gently rinse your mouth with water to keep the area clean.

How we treat loose permanent teeth: Our team will do everything we can to preserve your tooth. If we aren’t able to, we might have to extract it and replace it with a restoration, such as a dental implant. If the root of the problem was gingivitis, then we’ll perform periodontal therapy to get you back to oral health.

Learn More About Tooth Extractions

Learn More About Dental Implants

Learn More About Periodontal Therapy 

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an injury to the gums, lips, or tongue a dental emergency? Common injuries to your lips, tongue, or gums can usually be addressed on your own at home. However, if you’re concerned about a tooth being injured, make sure to schedule a visit with our team so we can check your situation.

How you should handle an injury to the gums, lips, or tongue: Be sure to rinse the injury with clean water to remove any debris and bacteria. Use a clean washcloth or gauze pad and apply gentle pressure to the spot to control the bleeding. You can also use a cold compress to minimize swelling and discomfort.

How we treat injuries to the gums, lips, or tongue: If your injury is minor, our team can typically suture your oral tissue for treatment. But if the damage is more serious or you won’t stop bleeding, then head straight to your local ER instead.

Jaw Pain

Is jaw pain a dental emergency? Though jaw pain isn’t considered an urgent situation, experiencing it for too long can indicate an underlying problem that’ll need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Make sure to schedule an appointment with us to get the treatment you need.

How you should handle jaw pain: Take over-the-counter pain relievers and use a cold compress to help reduce discomfort in your jaw. Of course, if you believe you’ve dislocated or broken your jaw, head to your local ER right away for help. We can help treat your smile once you’re done.

How we treat jaw pain: Many cases of jaw discomfort can be addressed with TMJ therapy. If you have impacted wisdom teeth that are affecting the rest of your smile, then we might need to extract them.

Learn More About TMJ Therapy

Learn More About Wisdom Tooth Extraction

Something Stuck Between the Teeth

While it might be tempting, you should avoid trying to use toothpicks, tweezers, forks, and other sharp items to remove something stuck in your smile. This can lead to minor or serious injuries to your gums, teeth, and other soft tissues, which can require more costly treatments. Instead, try rinsing and flossing around the area to dislodge the object. If this doesn’t work, visit our team for help!

Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies

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Do you need a root canal to get rid of an infection? Does a tooth need to be extracted altogether? Different dental emergencies require different procedures; we’ll take all the factors into account and give you a reliable estimate for your treatment. We accept a wide variety of dental insurance plans, but we also offer an in-house dental savings plan that covers an exam and necessary X-rays during an emergency dental visit.

Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies

Woman in white bathrobe holding a string of dental floss
  • Brush your teeth twice daily. Fluoride-based toothpaste is the most effective at fighting cavities. Soft-bristled toothbrushes are less likely to damage the tooth’s enamel.
  • Remember to floss to clean the areas in the mouth that a toothbrush can’t reach.
  • Limit your intake of sugary or starchy foods that can lead to cavities.
  • Don’t bite down on ice, popcorn kernels, peppermints or other especially hard foods.
  • Never open packages with your teeth.
  • Wear a mouthguard when playing sports or participating in other kinds of physical activity.

Dental Emergency FAQs

Do you have questions about what you should do in case you experience a dental emergency? When you contact our friendly emergency dentist at Klassik Smiles, we’ll schedule your appointment for as soon as possible and provide you with over-the-phone first-aid guidance. We’ve also answered some of the most common questions that we receive from our patients below for your convenience.

Should I visit the ER?

In stressful moments, it can be hard to determine where you should go to receive help. Although your first thought during a dental emergency may be to visit your local ER, this may prevent you from getting the specialized care you need immediately. While certain life-threatening cases, such as a broken or fractured jawbone or deep facial laceration, require a visit to your emergency room, toothaches and other oral emergencies are best treated by a dentist. Not only will they provide you with timely, pain-relieving treatment, but they will also make sure that the issue doesn’t re-develop down the road. If you’re questioning which facilities you should visit for care, don’t hesitate to contact our office.

What should I do if my dental emergency happens outside of office hours?

Dental emergencies always happen at the least convenient moments, which is why it wouldn’t be surprising that one would occur while our office is closed. If you feel that the damage you’ve sustained is life-threatening or impacting your ability to breathe or swallow, visit your local ER immediately. Otherwise, be sure to contact our office and leave us a message. One of our friendly team members will call you back first thing on our next business day.

How can I bring down facial swelling?

Facial swelling is a common side-effect of several oral problems, including tooth infections and dental trauma. If you’re experiencing this issue, you can bring down any puffiness by placing a cold compress on the outside of the affected area of your face for 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off, for up to an hour. The cooling effect will also help ease any discomfort you may be feeling.

Is it a good thing that my toothache went away on its own?

If you have a severe toothache that suddenly disappears, it may seem like a miracle, but it’s best not to get your hopes up. This is usually a bad sign that your tooth is no longer viable. When oral health problems such as toothaches caused by infections go untreated for long enough, it can attack your tooth so severely that it kills the root. In these cases, instead of being able to preserve it with a root canal, you may need to have it extracted. That’s why we recommend scheduling an emergency appointment as soon as possible if you experience any dental pain or out-of-the-ordinary symptoms.

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