How to Get Emergency Dental Treatment

When you experience extreme trauma to your teeth, you need to seek emergency dental care quickly. Emergency dental care can be very expensive, and should be reserved for cases where you are in extreme pain, or when large amounts of damage have been done. For example, a small chip in a tooth is something that can wait for a regular appointment. Sharp shooting pain throughout your mouth, or a tooth that has been knocked out, requires emergency dental care. A crown or filling that has fallen out may also be cause to seek emergency dental care.

Instructions

• 1

  Call your dentist. Many people forget this crucial step, and it turns out that it is often the best way to receive emergency dental care. If you have needed emergency dental care from your dentist before, you probably already have the number that you need in order to reach them after hours. Otherwise, when you need emergency dental attention, simply call the dentist's primary number. If it is after hours, the answering machine will usually tell you how to reach someone from the clinic in the event of an emergency. Most dentists have some way to ensure their patients can receive 24 hour emergency support. As with most medical situations, the best care is going to be available from the caregiver who knows your history.

• 2

  Search the phone book and the Internet for an emergency dentist in your area. While this method does pose the risk of receiving care from a facility that you know nothing about, when you need emergency dental care immediately it is certainly better than nothing. Simply search for "emergency dental care" or "24 hour dentist" in your region online. Alternatively, look up dentists in the Yellow Pages and see if any have a number listed to call in case of emergencies.

• 3

  Visit a local dental school. If you can't find a dentist anywhere else, many dental schools have a walk-in clinic. Some also offer emergency care services. For example, the University of Maryland Dental School mentions on its website that it has emergency care available.