Emergency Dentistry – Panama City, FL

Quality Care When It’s Needed Most

Is there pain in your mouth that just keeps getting worse as time goes on? Have your teeth or gums suffered from some kind of injury? Oral health issues such as these need professional attention if you want to find relief and protect your smile. Our dentists at Baldwin Family Dental will always make time to see you in the shortest amount of time possible in the event of an emergency, so don’t be afraid to call us for emergency dentistry in Panama City, FL as soon as you realize that you urgently need dental care.

Why Choose Baldwin Family Dental for Emergency Dentistry?

  • Two Types of Oral Sedation Available
  • Comprehensive Services Under One Roof
  • Same Day Emergency Appointments Offered

How We Treat Dental Emergencies

Man with tooth pain visiting emergency dentist in Panama City, FL

It’s vital to have a dental emergency treated in a timely manner before it can lead to even more severe consequences. If you believe that you need emergency dental care, call us right away, and we’ll follow the four steps listed below to help you find relief:

  • Schedule a Same-Day Appointment: We’ll make arrangements to see you as soon as we can. Be sure to follow any first-aid instructions that we give you so that you can protect your smile and keep your discomfort under control.
  • Perform an Emergency Exam: What exactly is the source of the problem? How much damage has already been done? To answer these questions, we will need to carefully examine your mouth. (The issue may not always be immediately visible to the naked eye, so X-rays might have to be taken.)
  • Review Our Findings: You’ll be given a full overview of the results of our examination; we want you to understand exactly what is going on inside your mouth and what treatments can be used to address the problem.
  • Get the Care You Need: After a treatment plan has been agreed upon, we’ll take the necessary steps to help you regain a healthy grin.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

There are plenty of oral health issues that can be considered emergencies, such as painful infections or any sort of injury to the enamel. Our dentists have the expertise to provide care in a wide variety of situations, but it definitely helps to be prepared for particularly common emergencies, such as those listed below.

Understanding the Cost of Emergency Dentistry

Male dental patient leaning back in chair and smiling

Like many other patients, you may have some questions about the cost of emergency dentistry in Panama City. While we can certainly provide some helpful information on the topic here, we cannot give you an exact number without completing a comprehensive oral exam. You don’t have to worry, though – we will provide you with a price estimate and discuss the different financial solutions that are available at your appointment.

Every Dental Emergency is Different – Here’s Why

Patient smiling while sitting in treatment chair

The reason we can only give an estimate of the cost of treating your dental emergency once you arrive at our office is simple: there isn’t a one-size-fits-all treatment. We need to learn about your symptoms, take the necessary X-rays, and examine your teeth and gums to figure out the extent of the damage. From there, we can discuss the different treatment options that are available, help you decide which one is ideal for you, and discuss the price.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?

Patient looking at dental insurance form on tablet

Oftentimes, dental insurance providers cover 100% of the cost of preventive care as well as between 50% and 80% of the cost of essential restorative treatments. So, if you are insured, don’t hesitate to provide us with your membership information! We’re proud to be in-network providers with Aetna, Ameritas, Cigna, Delta Dental, Guardian, and several others. As a result, understanding and utilizing your available benefits is easier than ever.

Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable

Smiling dental assistant handing patient form

Don’t have dental insurance? That’s okay – that’s just one way to save! At our office, we also offer periodic specials and have an in-house dental plan (which doesn’t come with waiting periods, yearly deductibles, and other red tape). Plus, you can break up the cost of the care you need into smaller, more manageable chunks with CareCredit and Cherry! If you are interested in learning more about any of these financial solutions, don’t hesitate to let us know when you call to schedule your appointment.

How Taking Care Of Your Smile Can Save You Money

Man smiling while brushing teeth

Fortunately, there are several ways you can reduce your risk of needing same-day care from your emergency dentist in Panama City, starting with brushing and flossing consistently. We also recommend wearing a mouthguard during sports, scheduling a dental cleaning every six months, and exercising caution with crunchy foods, like hard pretzels.

Last, but certainly not least, it’s important to have true dental emergencies taken care of right away. If you take the “wait and see” approach, then they’ll only become more complex and even pricier to treat. Regardless of the problem, we’ll always aim to provide efficient, effective care that fits into your budget.

Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies

Woman in white shirt brushing her teeth in mirror
  • Brush and floss after every meal, or at least twice a day to keep the teeth and gums clean and free of the bacteria that can lead to cavities.
  • Visit us twice a year for checkups so that small problems can be identified and treated early.
  • Get a custom mouthguard to protect your teeth while playing sports. Also, consider getting a nightguard if you grind your teeth while sleeping.
  • Don’t chew on hard objects or open packages with your teeth.
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Toothaches  

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? It might be! The best way to tell is to assess your symptoms, including how long they’ve been present. For example, if you’ve been struggling with pain every time you bite down for several days now, you should absolutely schedule an appointment with our Panama City emergency dentist.

How You Should Handle a Toothache Depending on the severity of your situation, we may recommend coming in right away for an emergency exam. If that’s not the case, then do what you can to alleviate your discomfort as well as protect your tooth from further harm, like taking OTC pain medication as directed and not chewing on that side of your mouth.

How We Treat Toothaches Toothaches are almost always the result of dental damage, like tooth decay. However, we won’t know for certain until you arrive at our office for an exam. At that point, we can pinpoint the root of the problem and determine what restorative care is needed (i.e., tooth-colored filling, dental crown, root canal treatment).

LEARN MORE ABOUT TOOTH-COLORED FILLINGS

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL CROWNS

LEARN MORE ABOUT ROOT CANAL TREATMENT

Chipped Teeth  

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? Not always. That said, it does warrant a call to our office. Our goal is to learn about what happened and the symptoms you’re experiencing so we can determine if you need to come in for an exam right away or if it’s safe to wait a day or two for an appointment.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth Remember, it’s possible for your chipped tooth to break further. So, make sure to avoid chewing on that side of your mouth. You should also cover the tooth with some sugar-free gum to help prevent dental sensitivity as well as a soft tissue injury.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth When it comes to restoring the missing structure of your tooth, we have two options: dental bonding or veneers. Our recommendation on the best way to proceed will depend largely on the size of the chip, but factors like budget and the location of the tooth also play a role.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL BONDING

LEARN MORE ABOUT VENEERS

Cracked Tooth  

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? Without a doubt, a cracked tooth is a dental emergency. In fact, even if you can’t see the damage yet, but you are struggling with common symptoms of this injury, including persistent dental sensitivity or pain when biting down, you should call us ASAP.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth Your top priority should be contacting our Panama City dental team to schedule an appointment. Until your emergency exam, focus on doing what you can to prevent your tooth from breaking further or developing an infection. A few examples include avoiding crunchy foods and not touching the tooth with your finger.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth In some cases, a cracked tooth can be saved and restored with a dental crown. In other cases, the only option is removing it before putting a dental bridge or implant in its place. Ultimately, it depends on factors unique to your case, including how significant the damage is.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL CROWNS

LEARN MORE ABOUT TOOTH EXTRACTIONS

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL BRIDGES

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Very Sensitive Teeth

Are Very Sensitive Teeth a Dental Emergency? Most of the time, tooth sensitivity isn’t a dental emergency itself. However, it can be uncomfortable and is often a sign of a more serious issue that needs to be addressed. If you have new or worsening sensitivity, or you feel sharp pain, you should have this looked at at your earliest convenience.

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

How We Treat Very Sensitive Teeth: Before we can treat your sensitivity, we need to figure out what the issue is. We will begin by examining your smile. Then, we might 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, and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible! To save your tooth, it’s crucial that you see an emergency dentist right away.

How Should You Handle a Knocked-Out Tooth: If you can, try to find your tooth. Rinse it off gently with water and try to put it back into its socket. It’s important that your tooth remains moist. If you can’t get it back into its socket, put it in a container or milk or saliva instead. Alternatively – you can keep it in your cheek. Just don’t use water because this can result in additional damage to the root of the tooth. Give us a call to let us know that you are on your way!

How We Treat Knocked-Out Teeth: If you can see us right away, 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 as it heals back into place. If we are unable to save your tooth, we can discuss tooth replacement options, like dental bridges and dental implants.

Learn More About Dental Bridges

Learn More About Dental Implants

Lost Filling or Crown

Is a Lost Filling or Crown a Dental Emergency? A lost restoration may not be the most urgent dental emergency, but you should still have it repaired at your earliest convenience. Give us a call to let us know what’s going on. Even if your lost restoration isn’t causing you any pain, it is leaving your tooth vulnerable to additional damage.

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

How We Treat Lost Fillings or Crowns: If your restoration still appears to be in good shape, we might be able to put it back into place. However, we will also take the time to figure out exactly why it became dislodged. This way, we can do our best to prevent it from occurring again.

Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings

Learn More About Dental Crowns

Broken Denture

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency? A broken denture may not seem like a cause for concern, especially if the damage is relatively minor. However, even a small crack can lead to more significant damage and cause painful mouth sores to form. So, it’s important that you call us ASAP.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture: Scheduling an appointment with us is an important first step. Between now and your visit, don’t wear your dentures. Instead, place it in its case for safekeeping and stick to a soft foods diet.

How We Treat Broken Dentures: At our office, we will examine the condition of the dentures. If we can repair them, then that’s what we will do. If the damage is more severe, however, then we will likely need to send them back to the dental lab or begin the process of having a new one made.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTURES

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Loose Permanent Tooth

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes, so it’s important that you act fast! Whether the tooth is just slightly loose or you feel like it’s about to fall out, call us ASAP to schedule an appointment with our emergency dentist in Panama City.

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth: In addition to scheduling an appointment with our team at Baldwin Family Dental, it’s important that you avoid doing anything that could cause the tooth to loosen further. That starts with eating crunchy foods, like raw carrots, and extends to chewing gum.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth: Fortunately, loose teeth can often be saved with a dental splint. In the rare cases when an extraction is the only way to restore your healthy, pain-free smile, then we will pull the tooth and discuss the restorative services we offer, like dental bridges and implants.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TOOTH EXTRACTIONS

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL BRIDGES

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency? Fortunately, soft tissue injuries can often be handled at home with a few easy steps (we’ve listed them below).

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue: First, gently rinse your mouth with clean, cool water so you can locate the cut. Then, apply pressure to it with a damp, clean washcloth or gauze to stop the bleeding.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue: Although soft tissue injuries don’t usually warrant a visit to our office, you should call 911 or head to the ER if the cut is bleeding uncontrollably or you’re experiencing any other potentially life-threatening symptoms.

Jaw Pain

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency? Jaw pain doesn’t usually require same-day care. With that said, we do recommend calling us if you’re dealing with chronic discomfort. That way, we can pinpoint the root of the problem and discuss your treatment options.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain: Until your appointment with us, use a cold compress for 10 minutes at a time and take OTC pain medication as directed, if needed. It’s also important that you avoid doing anything that has the potential to exacerbate your discomfort, like eating hard pretzels or raw almonds.

How We Treat Jaw Pain: Oftentimes, chronic jaw pain stems from TMJ dysfunction. Fortunately, we offer several solutions at our office, including occlusal splints and BOTOX® injections.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TMJ TREATMENT

LEARN MORE ABOUT BOTOX®

Something Stuck Between the Teeth

If you get something stuck between your teeth, like a piece of food, don’t use a toothpick, tweezers, or anything else sharp. Instead, rinse your mouth thoroughly with warm saltwater. Then, use some floss to gently remove the debris.