Emergency Dentistry

Your oral health can make a turn for the worse in a matter of a few seconds. Whether you’ve dealt with a blunt sports injury or bit too forcefully into your meal, it’s crucial for your long-term health to find immediate care. Emergency dentistry can help restore the damaged tooth and prevent further damage. 

Bahr Dental eagerly offers advanced same-day treatment to quickly resolve these critical matters. If you’re in a dental emergency, call our office to schedule an immediate appointment. 

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What’s Considered a Dental Emergency?

A dental emergency is an injury that greatly inhibits your everyday life or spreads immediate infection. If you are not sure whether you are dealing with a medical emergency, be sure to call our office to get professional advice. Our staff will instruct you on the best form of care until you can get to a dentist or the emergency room. 

Here are some common examples that constitute a dental emergency:

Knocked Out Tooth

Losing a tooth whether from a blow to the face or due to poor oral health is a serious matter. Keep the tooth in milk or in your mouth if possible, and head directly to Dr. Bahr’s office. If there is severe bleeding, consider visiting the emergency room instead.

If you come to us within a couple of hours of your tooth getting lost or being knocked out, we may be able to place it back in the socket. If not, we have several restorative options available and can treat any underlying oral health conditions.

Cracked or Chipped Tooth

While less severe than a dislodged tooth, protecting or restoring a damaged tooth prevents further damage to your smile. A crack or chip can worsen quickly if left untreated. Cracks are also a prime place for infections to set in, which can infect the root of your tooth, leading to a root canal.

Dislodged Dental Restorations

If you have already had a crown, dental implant, or bridge placed, you will want to do your best to keep it safe. However, age and dental trauma can cause dental restorations to break or pop off.

Similar to chipped teeth, save any pieces of the restoration you can, ensuring that there are no pieces left in your mouth that could harm your other teeth.

We can offer replacement restorations or sometimes repair the restoration without replacing it.

Object Lodged in Your Teeth

Sometimes you may get a piece of food such as a popcorn kernel or something else crunchy stuck between your teeth that won’t come out on its own. This can cause severe pain, swelling, or even bleeding. First, try flossing at home, but if that doesn’t work, don’t leave the irritant there! Visit a dentist to have it removed and relieve your pain and discomfort.

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Infections and Toothaches

Infections and toothaches are another kind of dental emergency. They need to be treated promptly, often within 24 hours. Depending on the kind of infection, we may offer antibiotics, a root canal, or a cavity treatment.

Here are some symptoms of an infection that need to be treated quickly:

  • Swelling in the face, cheek, or gums near the affected tooth
  • Sensitivity to hot or cold foods and drinks
  • Severe, persistent toothache
  • Pain when chewing or biting
  • Fever or a general feeling of being unwell
  • Drainage from the gums near the infected tooth
  • Swollen lymph nodes in the neck or jaw area
  • Red, inflamed gums around the affected area
  • A dental abscess

Periodontal infections need urgent, but often not emergency, appointments. If you have these symptoms, schedule a periodontal visit as soon as possible:

  • Red, swollen, or tender gums
  • Bleeding gums, especially during brushing or flossing
  • Persistent bad breath or a bad taste in the mouth
  • Gum recession, where gums pull away from the teeth
  • Formation of deep pockets between the teeth and gums
  • Loose or shifting teeth
  • Pain when chewing

We have gentle periodontal care that can restore your smile’s health quickly. If you are concerned about the health of your gums or are worried about a dental infection, don’t hesitate to contact us for an urgent dentistry appointment.

Our Solutions for Dental Emergencies

Every dental emergency is different, but we have custom solutions for you! Here are some of the ways we can treat dental emergencies in Bountiful, UT.

Root Canals

Root canals clean out infected tooth roots, erasing any infection that may have been harming your tooth or surrounding gums. This process is done under local numbing, and almost immediately relieves the pain from the infection. We may recommend placing a crown on the infected tooth afterward. Learn more about root canals here.

Periodontal Care

Our gentle periodontal care makes treating periodontal disease easier. We have laser dentistry to remove areas of infected gums and we can also offer dental deep cleans.

Restorations and Implants

If you need to replace or restore a tooth, we have many restoration options, many of which use our CEREC technology that gives you restorations in one visit.

  • Dental Implants | These replace one or many teeth using a titanium rod placed into the jaw that supports a crown or bridge.
  • Dental Bridges | These also replace a tooth by anchoring the replacement tooth to the adjacent natural teeth.
  • Dental Crowns | These protect and restore a single tooth without replacing the root. They can also improve the cosmetics of your tooth.
  • Dental Bonding | Dental bonding fixes a small chip or crack in your tooth all while matching the color of your tooth.

If you have a dental emergency we will help you find a solution that restores your smile’s health and appearance.

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Trust Bahr Dental With Emergency Care

Bahr Dental stands out as a premier option to efficiently remove painful dental emergency symptoms and seal the problematic area from complications in the future. These are some notable factors of our dentistry that help build our reputation as a reliable dental provider. We find joy in service as we treat your dental emergency.

Advanced Endodontic Treatment

Endodontics are tools that perform procedures on the inside of your teeth. Our modernized endodontic equipment makes emergency dental work such as root canals as precise and efficient as ever before.

Technology for Comfort

In traditional contexts, missing or severely damaged teeth will receive a temporary tooth while the substitute tooth gets constructed in a lab. Bahr Dental speeds up this process by having all of the needed machinery in-office with the help of the Glidewell.io machine.

The Glidewell.io machine can construct dental crowns and veneers inside the office on the same day, allowing you to receive your new smile completely in a matter of hours. 

Laser Dentistry

This makes any incisions, gum treatments, or root canals pain-free and easier to recover from. Lasers instantly remove infected gum and make cleaner incisions during extractions or implant placement. Because they use heat they instantly disinfect the area and they are much gentler on your gums.

Same-Day Appointments

Bahr Dental is able to perform same-day treatment for many of our surgical procedures, such as replacing missing teeth or addressing chipped teeth. Time is of the essence when it comes to emergency dental work, so we open our availability to consider these circumstances. Patients on record are also able to receive after-hours dental work for emergencies.

Pediatric Dental Emergencies

Children are susceptible to dental emergencies as well. While we do everything to help you and your children have healthy smiles, we are prepared to handle pediatric dental emergencies. Our team loves to work with young children and has training in calming them. Thankfully, children have milk teeth that, when lost, will be replaced with adult teeth. This makes some dental emergencies less traumatic for young smiles.

Sports Trauma

Sports are some of the most common places for dental emergencies, especially dental trauma. That is why we recommend wearing a mouthguard, whether young or old. Mouth guards are an important piece of equipment for any full or high-contact sport, such as soccer and wrestling. Even if your coach doesn’t recommend it, take the time to purchase one or get a custom mouthguard from Bahr Dental.

Calming You During Dental Emergencies

We understand that dental emergencies can be stressful experiences, which is why we offer sedation dentistry at our office. Our nitrous oxide makes it easier for you to relax while we take care of your smile. We may also offer IV sedation or oral sedation depending on the type and timing of your dental emergency. 

Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, can be used during almost any procedure if you are a candidate, and it produces a calming effect. You can decide during your appointment that you would like nitrous oxide. You will still be able to communicate with our dental team and drive home after your appointment with this fast-acting solution for dental anxiety.

Preventing Dental Emergencies

While some dental emergencies are unavoidable, many can be prevented with proactive care and healthy habits. Here are key steps to protect your teeth and gums and reduce the risk of emergencies:

  • Visit Bahr Dental Regularly | Visiting your dentist every six months allows for early detection of potential issues like cavities, gum disease, or cracked teeth, preventing them from escalating into emergencies.
  • Care for Your Smile | Brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste, flossing daily, and rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash keep your teeth and gums healthy, reducing the risk of decay and infection.
  • Avoid Using Teeth as Tools | Opening packages or biting on hard objects like ice or pens can lead to chipped or broken teeth. Use proper tools instead.
  • Be Mindful of Your Diet | Limit sugary and acidic foods and drinks that can erode enamel and cause decay. Opt for nutrient-rich foods that strengthen teeth and gums.
  • Intervene Early | If you notice something wrong with your oral health, especially if you feel any pain, address it with a visit quickly.

By adopting these preventive measures, you can protect your oral health and avoid the stress and discomfort of unexpected dental emergencies. If you ever wonder about the health of your smile, it is better to schedule an appointment instead of needing to take time out of your day suddenly for an emergency visit.

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Receive Instant Care With Bahr Dental

Drs. Bahr and Segura are prepared to help address your dental concerns right when you need them. If you are experiencing a dental emergency, feel free to call our office anytime to schedule an expedited dental emergency. We will do our best to help as soon as we can!

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