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Emergency Dentist — Midland, TX

Immediate Care When You Need It

Woman with a toothache in Midland touching her cheek

Dental emergencies can be sudden, frightening, and often inconvenient. If you or your child is experiencing serious oral related pain or injury and are in need of an emergency dentist in Midland, please don't hesitate to contact our dental office as soon as possible. Our team will do everything we can to see existing patients and their families as soon as possible from the time of your initial call for emergency dentistry in Midland, TX. And in the meantime, we will try to provide guidance for how to best manage your emergency and minimize your discomfort.

Why Choose John K. Drisdale D.M.D. for Emergency Dental Care?

  • We Treat Patients of All Ages
  • Multiple Dental Sedation Methods Available
  • Fast Treatment for Patients in Discomfort

How We Treat Dental Emergencies

Woman with a dental emergency in Midland holding a mug

  • Get an appointment scheduled ASAP: After you call our dental practice, our team members will do everything they can to get you scheduled for an appointment. Ideally, we’ll ask you to come in the same day you contact us. In the meantime, we’ll be ready to offer you first-aid tips over the phone to help manage your situations ahead of your arrival.
  • Complete a detailed emergency exam: When you arrive at our office, we’ll bring you to one of our operatories, perform an emergency exam, capture digital X-rays (if needed), and confirm the source and extent of your symptoms.
  • Stopping discomfort, reviewing our findings: We’ll go over your findings with you directly so you know exactly what’s going on with your oral health. We’ll also work to get you out of any immediate discomfort so you can have a clear head during this process. We’ll break down your estimated costs and expected timeline so you can set expectations before making any decision on your future care.
  • Scheduling your future dental visits: No matter what treatment you need to address your dental emergency, whether it’s a dental filling, crown, root canal therapy, extraction, or another service, we’ll work quickly to get it completed.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Feeling scared or unsure of what to do when a dental emergency occurs? Whether it is a broken tooth, abscess, busted lip, or severe toothache, all you can think about is getting relief from the pain. Dr. John Drisdale and his team understand, which is why they want to ensure you have what you need to care for your problem until you’re able to reach our dental office. If you’re ready to feel a bit more confident the next time an injury occurs, here are a few tips on how to handle common dental emergencies in Midland, TX.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies 

Midland emergency dentist helping a parent and child

Most dental insurance companies understand that accidents happen, which is why they will most likely cover all or part of your dental emergency. Depending on the specific problem and type of treatment you will receive, you will need to contact them to find out how much you can expect to spend on out-of-pocket costs. Our dental team is happy to assist if you are unsure where to start or what questions to ask. We will be more than willing to work on your behalf with the insurance company to ensure your needs are met while keeping your dental care affordable.

How to Prevent Dental Emergencies

Family preventing dental emergencies in Midland by brushing their teeth together

It’s always comforting to know that your dentist is ready and able to take care of your dental emergency when the time comes; however, wouldn’t it be much nicer to prevent them in the first place? If you want to know what you can do to ensure your teeth remain fully intact and your soft tissues damage-free, here are a few things to remember:

  • Practice good oral hygiene at home by brushing twice a day for two minutes, flossing at least once a day, and rinsing with an antimicrobial mouthwash
  • Keep up with your six-month dental checkups and cleanings
  • Avoid eating too much sugar or starch-based foods, as these can result in bacterial infections
  • Quit smoking, as this weakens your immune system and increases your risk for gum disease
  • Wear a mouthguard while playing sports or a nightguard if you are prone to bruxism
  • Avoid chewing on inanimate objects or hard, crunchy foods (i.e. ice, hard candy)
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Toothaches

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency?: A toothache can have many different causes, and while most of the time they’re the result of decay, the only way to know for sure is to have the tooth examined. A toothache counts as an emergency if:

  • It lasts more than 24 hours.
  • You feel pain whenever you bite down.
  • You regularly experience tooth sensitivity for more than 30 seconds at a time.
  • You see a small bump near the affected tooth.
  • You are noticing swelling, fever, fatigue, or other signs of a serious infection.

It’s always best to call your dentist if you’re not sure whether your pain counts as an emergency.

How You Should Handle a Toothache: Floss around the painful tooth to remove any food debris that might be stuck in the gaps between your teeth. If the pain continues, take some over the counter medication such as ibuprofen. Rinse with salt water to ease any inflammation and kill off some of the harmful bacteria that may be in your mouth.

How We Treat Toothaches: There are several different ways to treat a toothache, such as root canal therapy, gum disease treatment, and even extractions (in cases where the tooth is beyond saving). We’ll let you know what your options are once we have performed a complete examination of your tooth and figured out the root of the problem.

Learn More About Root Canal Therapy

Learn More About Gum Disease Treatment

Chipped Teeth

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency?: Compared to other dental issues, chipped teeth are generally not an urgent emergency, so you don’t necessarily need a same-day appointment. That said, you still need to see a dentist quickly before the problem has a chance to grow worse, as even small chips can eventually lead to larger damage and decay.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth: Rinse your mouth with water; even if the chip is minor, it could still allow bacteria to enter the tooth. Do not use the injured tooth to chew, as doing so could make the chip worse. If a chipped tooth is irritating the inside of your mouth, you can cover it with dental wax or a piece of sugarless gum.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth: Chipped teeth can often be repaired fairly quickly with a small amount of composite resin in a process called dental bonding. However, if the tooth that was chipped is very visible when you smile, a veneer might be the better option for hiding the damage and improving your overall appearance.

Learn More About Dental Bonding

Learn More About Porcelain Veneers

Cracked Tooth  

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency?: Even small cracks that don’t cause any pain should be treated like potential emergencies because they can easily put the tooth at risk for further damage. Call us immediately if you notice that your tooth has been cracked in any way. If you experience dental pain or sensitivity after getting hit in the face, there may be a crack where you can’t see it.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth: You need to keep the area around the crack clean, so make sure that you’re rinsing on a regular basis. If your tooth is in pain, a cold compress or over the counter medications like ibuprofen can help. Do not eat or chew with the injured side of your mouth; it may lead to further damage.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth: Normally, a crack in your tooth is repaired with a restoration. Most of the time a crown will be used, although a filling might be an option if the crack is relatively minor. If we find that a tooth is so badly fractured that it cannot be repaired, we can extract it and discuss your options for replacing it.

Learn More About Dental Crowns

Very Sensitive Teeth

Are Very Sensitive Teeth a Dental Emergency?: Tooth sensitivity can happed if the enamel is eroded or if the tooth roots become exposed. It’s not always a major problem, although you shouldn’t wait too long before figuring out why it’s occurring. Sensitive teeth should be treated as an emergency if it causes severe pain or lasts for multiple days.

How You Should Handle Very Sensitive Teeth: Since sensitive teeth can point towards multiple problems, the proper way to handle them will vary depending on the situation. Call our office first so we can give you advice based on your symptoms. We can also advise you on whether or not you should schedule an emergency appointment.

How We Treat Very Sensitive Teeth: Weakened enamel can be strengthened with fluoride treatments or special kinds of toothpaste. Other possible solutions might include gum disease therapy, root canal therapy, or a type of restoration. We can give you more specific suggestions once we have a clear idea of what caused the problem.

Learn More About Gum Disease Therapy

Learn More About Root Canal Therapy

Knocked-Out Tooth

Is My Knocked-Out Tooth a Dental Emergency?: A permanent tooth can be knocked out of your mouth during an accident. This is always an emergency, and swift action is required if you want to save the tooth. Call our office immediately and make whatever arrangements you need to in order to et to us within an hour or two; waiting any longer could cost you the chance to salvage the tooth, as the cells on the roots might die. You need a full set of teeth for optimal oral health, so if a knocked out tooth can’t be saved, we’ll start looking into tooth replacement options right away.

How You Should Handle a Knocked-Out Tooth: Locate the tooth, pick it up by the crown (not the pointed root), and rinse it under warm water. Do not remove any tissue that you see attached to the roots, and don’t scrub the tooth while you’re rinsing it. The best place to put a knocked out tooth is back in its socket, but if that doesn’t work you can use a container filled with milk or a saline solution instead.

How We Treat Knocked-Out Teeth: We will attempt to replant the tooth as long as it’s still viable by the time you get to our office. Of course, if the tooth is beyond saving, we’re more than happy to discuss dentures, dental implants, or bridges as a means to fill in the empty space in your mouth.

Learn More About Dental Implants

Lost Filling or Crown

Is a Lost Filling or Crown a Dental Emergency?: Losing a crown or a filling after you’ve had it for several years is completely normal. After all, dental restorations do become damaged over time and are expected to need to be replaced eventually. Losing one is not an emergency, but you should act quickly to prevent harm to the tooth.

How You Should Handle a Lost Filling or Crown: Find the restoration right away and take steps to protect it until you can get it to our office. A lost crown can be temporarily reattached with dental cement. If you lost a filling, keep the affected tooth clean and focus on chewing with the opposite side of your mouth.

How We Treat Lost Fillings or Crowns: If you still have the restoration, we’ll check to see if it’s still in good enough shape to try and reuse. A broken or older restoration will likely need to be replaced altogether. And if you lose the original restoration, then replacing it is your only viable option for keeping your tooth safe.

Learn More About Metal-Free Dental Crowns

Broken Dentures

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency?: If your false teeth or the denture base supporting them have been damaged in any way, you should call our office immediately to schedule an appointment. Wearing a broken denture can lead to serious issues with your gums, jaws, and any remaining natural teeth.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture: Keep your denture somewhere safe so that you can bring it with you when it’s time for your appointment. Do not try to wear it, and do not attempt to fix it on your own.

How We Treat Broken Dentures: Sometimes we can repair a denture if the damage is minor enough. But in severe cases, such as a denture that has been snapped in half, your only option will be to get a new one.

Learn More About Dental Implants

Learn More About All-on-4 Implant Dentures

Loose Permanent Tooth

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency?: Permanent teeth might come loose due to trauma or gum disease. Even if they don’t hurt, they could easily fall out if they aren’t treated in time. As such, you should call our office immediately if you notice that a tooth is loose.

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth: While you’re waiting for your emergency appointment, try to avoid touching the tooth in question with your fingers or tongue. Don’t eat anything hard or sticky that might make the problem worse.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth: There are steps we can take to try and help the tooth bond with the jawbone again, but if it can’t be saved for any reason, the only choice may be to extract it and have it replaced.

Learn More About Dental Implants

Learn More About Gum Disease Therapy

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency?: If an injury is causing severe bleeding that won’t stop, you should call the nearest emergency room. In the case of smaller injuries that only cause minor bleeding, we may be able to help.

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue: Rinse your mouth out with water to get rid of any debris that could cause an infection. Apply pressure to the injured area with a clean washcloth or a piece of gauze.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue: Smaller oral wounds can sometimes be stitched shut. As noted above, though, more severe injuries that could potentially be life-threatening should be handled by a hospital emergency room.

Jaw Pain

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency?: Jaw pain by itself isn’t usually considered a dental emergency. But if it becomes chronic, you should schedule an appointment at our office as soon as possible so that we can address the problem before it turns into a more serious issue.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain: If you think you have a broken or dislocated jaw, call the emergency room. Otherwise, get in touch with our office; one of our team members can give you tips for managing your pain based on the symptoms you describe.

How We Treat Jaw Pain: The treatment we recommend depends on the cause of your pain. For example, sometimes it might be the result of clenching and grinding your teeth at night. In these cases, we can help you find relief with a personalized mouthguard.

Learn More About TMJ Therapy

Something Stuck Between the Teeth

Having food or another foreign object stuck between your teeth is rarely considered a dental emergency unless it is causing a lot of pain. You can try and remove the object yourself, but do not use tweezers or toothpicks to do so; you could end up injuring your gums by mistake. Instead, floss between the teeth in question and then vigorously rinse out your mouth with water. If you can’t remove the object by yourself, call our team. Based on the circumstances, we can either schedule an appointment for you during our regular business hours or make arrangements to see you right away.