Emergency Dentistry Services
Anchorage Midtown Dental Center is committed to helping you access fast emergency care and pain relief, right when you need it. We take time to listen to you, and create a treatment plan that fits your needs and budget. Our goal is to help you offset the possibility of unforeseen pain or broken teeth in the future, saving you money and unexpected emergency visits to the dentist.
A dental emergency, like a broken or infected tooth, can cause pain or discomfort in any patient, but it’s best to remain calm, and call our office immediately. The sooner you get care, the easier it is to prevent additional damage to the tooth and further costly treatment in the future.
Emergency Dental Care for Quick Pain Relief
Dr. Burk and his team of experienced dentists will take the proper measures to comfortably manage your dental pain and start you on the road to optimal oral health. Once we alleviate your discomfort, we can focus on restoring your smile.
Common Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies can come in all shapes and sizes, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t equally impact the lives of our patients. Some examples of emergencies that we treat on a regular basis include:
Toothaches: One of the most common reasons for tooth pain is an infection, such as an abscess or cavity. Other times, toothaches result from trauma. A tooth fracture can happen from bumping your mouth, or the failure of an old silver filling. If it has been more than 10 years since your fillings were placed, it is a good idea to see us for a checkup and exam. This way we can perform any necessary treatment to prevent fractures or emergency treatment later on. Waiting too long to replace worn out fillings usually results in dental procedures that take longer to complete and are more costly.
Broken, Fractured or Avulsed Tooth: For a tooth that has been knocked out completely, place it in milk or saline immediately and then bring it into our office within the next hour. If the tooth is clean and no debris is present, you can place it back into the socket. Do not attempt to clean the tooth off, as this can damage fibers that aid in reconnection. Rinse your mouth of any blood or other debris and place a cold cloth or compress on the cheek near where the injury has occurred to keep swelling down. Taking ibuprofen will help you to manage any pain or inflammation until you can make it into the office. If your tooth has broken or fractured, we can usually save your smile with a filling, crown, or dental implant. It may even be possible to bond the broken tooth segment back into place.
Wisdom Tooth Pain: Anchorage Midtown Dental Center offers in-house wisdom tooth removal. Impacted 3rd molars can cause severe discomfort, infection and even pain. If they are not erupting properly, it may be necessary to remove the teeth before other problems start. Our team of family dentists, Dr. Guy Burk, Dr. Blair Tudor, and Dr. Adam Jensen, remove most wisdom teeth right here in our office. As licensed sedation dentists, we are able to keep you comfortable the entire time. Most of our oral surgery patients have a great experience and require little pain relief afterward. Post op visits are free and we are open 7 days a week to fit appointments around your school or work schedule.
Pain Control: The most extreme dental pain usually results from an untreated dental infection, rather than trauma to a tooth. This is because the infection is trapped in the bone and pushes directly on the nerve. That’s why we usually use an antibiotic to eliminate active infection, in combination with restoring the tooth. A damaged dental nerve must be removed through endodontic therapy, or the infection can spread or cause an abscess. Pain medications can help lessen the pain in the short term, but until the pressure is relieved from the nerve, the pain and infection will continue to recur.
800mg of ibuprofen (Advil) every 8 hours and 1000 mg of Tylenol every 6 hours can be taken together or staggered to manage pain from a acute toothache. These two medications are responsible for 90% of the pain relief in prescription pain relievers and are extremely effective.
Ultimately, to get rid of dental pain, you must first get rid of the source of the infection. Treating the pain with medication is a temporary band-aid, but does not resolve the problem. For severe infections or trauma, our Anchorage emergency dentists can prescribe prescription strength pain medications and antibiotics to keep you comfortable until you can get to our office for treatment. Anchorage Midtown Dental Center is the ONLY emergency dental office in our area open 7 days a week. We even have an after hours emergency line so you never have to be in pain!
Don't suffer through chronic tooth pain. Contact Anchorage Midtown Dental Center right now if you are suffering a dental emergency. We are your choice for the most experienced and painless emergency dentists in town.