Emergency Dentistry – New Braunfels, TX

Pain-Relieving Care When You Need it the Most

If you find yourself in the midst of a dental emergency in New Braunfels, know that our experienced, compassionate team at Comal Dental is here for you. We offer same-day emergency appointments for those who are in pain because your comfort and well-being are our top priority. No matter what situation you face, we’ll make quick work of diagnosing the issue at hand and treating it. Please don’t hesitate to call our office immediately if you’re experiencing any out-of-the-ordinary pain or symptoms.

Why Choose Comal Dental for Emergency Dentistry?

  • Same-Day Dental Emergency Appointments
  • Sedation Dentistry Available
  • Advanced Diagnostic Technology

How We Treat Dental Emergencies

Give our office a call. It’s best to contact us as soon as you notice something wrong with your oral health. Over the phone, we’ll provide first-aid instructions to help you manage your situation while you wait for your appointment.

Have an emergency exam. When you get to our office, we’ll thoroughly evaluate your condition and take X-rays to identify the root cause of your problem. Based on our findings, we’ll create a custom treatment plan to get your smile back to normal.

Get the care you need. During your visit, we may administer pain-relieving treatment to temporarily ease your discomfort. However, you might need to return for additional care to fully address your problem. Some common solutions for dental emergencies include fillings, dental crowns, root canal therapy, gum disease treatment, or extraction.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Dental emergencies can be a very stressful experience, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do before coming to our dental office. Our team is more than ready to help you manage your dental emergency over the phone and provide useful advice however possible. In the meantime, you can review our helpful tips below for managing some of the most common dental emergencies we see.

Toothaches  

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? You might be surprised to learn that there are some cases where a toothache warrants an immediate visit to our New Braunfels dental office. For example, if your discomfort has persisted for more than 24 hours or you’re experiencing other abnormal symptoms, like bleeding gums, you should contact us right away to schedule an exam.

How You Should Handle a Toothache The worst thing you can do is take the “wait and see” approach. Instead, closely monitor your symptoms and reach out to us if they persist or worsen. Until your appointment, do what you can to alleviate your discomfort, like sticking to soft foods and taking OTC pain medication as directed.

How We Treat Toothaches There actually isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. To determine the best treatment, we need to first conduct a thorough oral exam. Then, we can make a recommendation, like a tooth-colored filling or same-day dental crown.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SAME-DAY DENTAL CROWNS

Chipped Teeth  

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? If the chip is substantial in size or you’re in pain, then don’t hesitate to contact us ASAP. If that’s not the case, then we still recommend coming in for an exam. That way, we can make sure the tooth isn’t at risk of breaking further.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth After contacting us, we recommend rinsing your mouth thoroughly to remove any lingering shards of your tooth. Furthermore, you should avoid crunchy, hard, and sticky foods entirely to help prevent further dental damage.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth One of the most popular treatments for chipped teeth is veneers, which are custom-made, can be placed in three visits or less, and can last for more than a decade with proper care.

Cracked Tooth  

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? Although there is some gray area with certain dental injuries, there isn’t any with cracked teeth. In other words, this always necessitates a visit with one of our emergency dentists, Dr. Aaron Haag or Dr. Sarah Hansen. That way, they can intervene ASAP, hopefully saving your tooth in the process.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth In addition to getting an appointment at our New Braunfels dental office on the calendar, you should avoid chewing on that side of your mouth to help protect your tooth from further damage. You also should rinse your mouth periodically with clean, room-temperature water to prevent debris from collecting on your tooth.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth That depends! If your tooth can be saved, then we may place a custom dental crown over it to protect it from further harm. If it can’t be saved, then we will need to find a different solution, like removing the tooth and replacing it with a dental implant.

Very Sensitive Teeth

Are Very Sensitive Teeth a Dental Emergency? In the majority of cases, tooth sensitivity isn’t a dental emergency. However, it can be quite uncomfortable and is often a sign of a bigger issue that needs to be addressed. If your sensitivity is new or worsening, or you feel sharp pain, you should have the area examined at your earliest convenience.

How You Should Handle Very Sensitive Teeth: To reduce discomfort, you should avoid foods that are particularly hot, cold, spicy, acidic, and sugary. It’s also important to maintain an excellent oral hygiene routine and drink plenty of water. If needed, over-the-counter pain relievers can help.

How We Treat Very Sensitive Teeth: Before we can treat your tooth sensitivity, we need to figure out exactly what the issue is. We will begin by examining your smile. Then, we may recommend specialized dental products, prescription toothpaste, a dental filling, or another treatment.

Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings

Knocked-Out Tooth

Is My Knocked-Out Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes! A knocked-out tooth is an urgent dental emergency that should be addressed as soon as possible. For any chance of saving your tooth, you should see an emergency dentist immediately.

How You Should Handle a Knocked-Out Tooth: If possible, find your knocked-out tooth. Rinse it with water and try to return it to the socket. Your tooth needs to remain moist. If you are unable to get it back into the socket, place it in a container of milk or saliva. Alternatively, you can keep your tooth in your cheek. Just be sure not to keep it in water because this can result in additional damage to the root of your tooth. Give your dentist a call to let them know that you are on their way.

How We Treat Knocked-Out Teeth: If you can see us quickly, we will do everything in our power to reimplant your tooth. This is done by carefully repositioning it in the socket and splinting it to the neighboring teeth. This way, it can remain stationary so it can heal back into place. If we are unable to save your tooth, we can discuss tooth replacement options, like dental implants and dental bridges.

Lost Filling or Crown

Is a Lost Filling or Crown a Dental Emergency? You don’t need to drop everything you’re doing and sprint directly to the dental office, but you should still call to let us know what’s going on. Even if your lost restoration isn’t causing you pain, it is leaving your tooth vulnerable to additional damage. Fillings and crowns are long-lasting, but they eventually need to be replaced.

How You Should Handle a Lost Filling or Crown: If you can, try to put your restoration back into place using dental wax. Avoid chewing on that side of your mouth until you have it fixed.

How We Treat Lost Fillings or Crowns: If your restoration is still in good shape, we might be able to put it back into place. However, we will also take the time to figure out why it came out in the first place. This way, we can take steps to keep it from happening again.

Broken Denture

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency? If there is a small hairline crack in your denture, a same-day visit may not be necessary. Outside of that, however, we typically recommend calling our New Braunfels dental team ASAP so we can start the process of repairing or replacing it.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture In addition to calling us, we recommend taking active measures to protect your denture from further harm, like putting it in its designated case instead of wearing it. Naturally, that means you should also stick to extremely soft foods, like plain yogurt.

How We Treat Broken Dentures Hopefully, we’ll be able to repair your denture at our office. If we can’t, then we’re left with one other choice: replacing it with a new partial, full, or implant denture.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTURES

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Loose Permanent Tooth

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency? Absolutely! After all, a loose tooth can negatively impact your quality of life in several ways, and there’s a serious risk of it falling out completely. So, don’t wait – contact us ASAP if you find yourself in this situation.

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth There are a few things you should do, and a few things you shouldn’t. For example, you should avoid chewing on that side of your mouth, and you shouldn’t eat anything crunchy, hard, or sticky.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth Ideally, we’ll be able to save your tooth by giving it the support it needs. If that’s not an option, then we will carefully extract it before filling the open space with a custom-made dental bridge or state-of-the-art dental implant.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TOOTH EXTRACTIONS

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency? Most of the time, soft tissue injuries are minor enough that they can be handled at home. In the rare case that it results in uncontrollable bleeding, then you should head to the ER or call 911.

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue First, rinse your mouth with clean, cool water so you can clearly see the cut. Then, use a damp washcloth (or gauze, if you have it) to apply pressure, stopping the bleeding in the process.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue Although soft tissue injuries don’t usually require a same-day visit to our office, you can give us a call if you need us to walk you through what to do or you’re unsure if you should go to the ER.

Jaw Pain

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency? If your jaw pain is negatively impacting your day-to-day life by making it difficult to chew, concentrate, or sleep, then you shouldn’t hesitate to reach out and schedule an emergency appointment.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain Try using a cold compress, sticking to soft foods, and taking OTC pain medication. The combination of these things should help keep your discomfort to a minimum until we have a chance to address the root of the problem.

How We Treat Jaw Pain That depends entirely on what we find during your exam! Oftentimes, it’s the result of chronic teeth grinding. If that’s the case for you, then we will make a custom nightguard to protect your teeth and, consequently, alleviate your symptoms.

Something Stuck Between the Teeth

Since toothpicks and other sharp objects often end up doing more harm than good, we don’t recommend using them. Instead, rinse your mouth with warm saltwater before gently flossing between your teeth. The debris should come out pretty easily. If that’s not the case, then give our New Braunfels dental team a call to schedule an emergency exam.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies

When you have a toothache caused by an oral infection or you’re suffering from an oral injury due to a bad fall, you should have a place you can call your go-to home for getting it treated effectively. At Comal Dental, we’ll make sure that your dental emergency is not only handled properly, but that you understand what you can expect in terms of cost beforehand, so there are no surprises when it comes to your care.

Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies

Man flosses

Not every dental emergency is entirely avoidable. However, there are several steps you can take to drastically reduce your chances of experiencing one. Some of those precautions include:

Visit Your Dentist Twice a Year

Woman smiling during dental checkup

Unfortunately, many patients only call us once they are experiencing abnormal symptoms, like persistent sensitivity, bleeding gums, and pain when biting down. At this point, the damage is done, and restorative care is needed to address the root of the problem. Our goal as your New Braunfels dental team is to prevent tooth decay, periodontal disease, damaged restorations, and other common oral health problems altogether with routine checkups and cleanings! So, if it’s been more than six months since you visited us, it’s time to get your next appointment on the calendar.

Practice Good Oral Hygiene At Home

Man smiling while brushing his teeth in bathroom

In addition to visiting us twice a year for a dental checkup and teeth cleaning, you need to practice good oral hygiene at home to protect your smile from harm. The first habit we recommend adopting is brushing your teeth for a full two minutes twice a day. Then, floss and rinse with an ADA-approved mouthwash each morning or evening. Together, these best practices will dramatically reduce your chances of common oral health problems developing, like a cavity between your teeth.

Stick to a Healthy Diet

Woman smiling while eating lunch at home

Simply put, what you eat impacts your oral health. For this reason, we encourage our patients not to over-indulge on sugary foods. We also recommend steering clear of extremely crunchy foods, like hard pretzels, since they can lead to a serious chip, crack, or fracture. Instead, stick to a well-balanced diet filled with foods that benefit your teeth and gums, like fresh fruits and vegetables.

Wear a Mouthguard During Physical Activities

Closeup of man putting on mouthguard

It goes without saying that you need to wear a mouthguard when you’re playing football, basketball, or another contact sport. What many patients don’t consider is the importance of wearing one during non-contact sports, like skateboarding. It may seem unnecessary, but this small dental device can prevent common dental injuries, like a knocked-out tooth, if you accidentally fall. So, if you don’t already have one, contact us so we can have a custom mouthguard made for you.

Break Bad Habits

Smiling man sitting in dental office

Smoking is a habit that can wreak havoc on your oral health, but it’s not the only one that can damage your smile. Biting your nails, using your teeth as tools, and chewing on ice cubes can also lead to dental damage, like a chipped tooth or a large crack in your enamel. Even if you haven’t had any problems yet, you could in the near future, so do your best to break habits like these sooner rather than later.

Dental Emergency FAQs

No one wants to have to endure a dental emergency, but if it happens, it helps to be as prepared as possible. We’ve treated our fair share of dental emergencies in New Braunfels, and we’ve noticed some common questions from our patients. Because being properly educated can play a huge role in effectively responding to these situations, we’ve listed the top questions we receive below. If you find yourself dealing with a dental emergency, we’re here to help you recover, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

Should I go to the ER or an emergency dentist?

In most cases, your emergency dentist should be your first choice for receiving emergency dental care. However, there are two situations that you should immediately head to the emergency room for: profuse oral bleeding that has lasted for longer than 10 minutes and a broken jaw. For any other type of emergency, you can schedule a visit to our office.

Do I need to receive emergency dental care right away?

The best way to prevent a dental emergency from becoming worse is to reach out to our office the moment you discover any troubling symptoms. Hesitation can be quite detrimental, even if any pain or other indicators have temporarily eased up. As a rule of thumb, oral health issues don’t right themselves without being treated, so don’t place your recovery on hold.

Will my dental insurance cover the cost of an emergency visit?

As the word ‘insure’ denotes, you want to know that in the event of an unforeseen situation, you have some coverage available to protect you. While the benefit levels can vary by plan, you can bank on having some form of coverage to receive the care you need to restore your oral health if a dental emergency happens.