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Emergency Dentist — Charleston, SC

Get the Urgent Dental Care You Need, Fast

Woman in need of emergency dentistry holding jaw in pain

When a dental emergency strikes, the last thing you want to do is have to search for a dentist or be forced to go to an emergency room that isn’t able to treat your problem. At Daniel Island Dentistry, not only can you receive targeted care that confirms the source of your dental emergency, but get comfortable and transparent treatment backed up by modern dental technology and a corporate-free agenda.  Call  Dr. Church today to get an appointment scheduled as soon as possible for emergency dentistry in Charleston, SC!

Why Choose Daniel Island Dentistry for Emergency Dental Care?

  • #1 Nitrous Oxide Sedation Available for Maximum Comfort
  • #2 Incredibly Personable and Friendly Dentist and Team
  • #3 Fast and Precise Diagnosis and Treatment with Modern Technology

What to Do in a Dental Emergency

Man visiting dentist to prevent dental emergencies

While it’s certainly easy to panic in a dental emergency, we strongly encourage you to stay calm! When you have Daniel Island Dentistry in your corner, you can rest assured that you’ll get the urgent dental care you need, fast. Just follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Call us as soon as you can. We will do everything in our power to see you as quickly as possible, and hopefully schedule you for a same-day emergency appointment. Our experienced team will also guide you through how to handle your emergency until you can reach us.
  • Step 2: See Dr. Church for an exam. When you arrive, your Charleston emergency dentist Dr. Christiana Church will see you right away. She’ll alleviate your pain, stabilize your condition, and evaluate your situation. Then, she’ll review her findings with you and work with you to create a custom treatment plan.
  • Step 3: Get the fast, gentle dental care you need. Once you’ve agreed to a treatment plan, our team will get to work right away. We provide a wide range of emergency dental services to get your oral health back on track as soon as possible. We also have calming nitrous oxide sedation to help particularly uncomfortable or nervous patients feel at-ease.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Dental emergencies come in all varieties, from severe toothaches to knocked out teeth and everything in between! Some are easy to identify, such as a broken tooth or severe dental pain. However, others are less obvious, such as a chipped tooth that doesn’t hurt. Whether your emergency is big or small, we encourage you to call us as soon as you can, even if you are unsure if you need emergency treatment. We can help you assess your situation over the phone and offer advice on what you need to do next to keep it from getting worse. Below, you’ll find some important information about the most common dental emergencies we treat, including how urgently they need to be addressed, how you should handle them at home, and how we are likely to treat them here at the office.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies 

dentist and patient shaking over the cost of dental emergencies in Charleston

In order to determine the total cost of your dental emergency, we’ll need to complete a detailed exam of your mouth to find the cause of the problem before we recommend a treatment. Depending on the severity of the emergency, treatment may cost more or less (i.e. a dental filling vs. a tooth extraction). If a dental emergency does occur, the last thing you should do is put off your care simply because of cost. Doing so could allow the emergency to worsen and cost even more in the long-term.

How to Prevent Dental Emergencies

Woman brushing her teeth to prevent toothaches in Charleston

In most cases, dental emergencies in Daniel Island can be prevented. Keep the following tips and habits in mind and you’ll be far less likely to have to deal with one:

  • Brush twice a day using fluoridated toothpaste
  • Floss at least once a day
  • Avoid using your teeth as a tool
  • Always wear a protective mouthguard when playing contact sports
  • Avoid extremely hard or chewy foods
  • Break habits that damaged teeth, such as biting your nails or other inanimate objects (i.e. pen and pencils)
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Toothaches

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? Tooth pain can develop due to a variety of underlying causes, some more serious and urgent than others. Some key distinguishing factors as to whether you should seek out emergency treatment are if:

  • The pain is severe and lasts over 24 hours.
  • You feel sharp pain while biting down.
  • You have tooth sensitivity that lasts for more than 30 seconds at a time.
  • There’s a small bump on your gums near the painful tooth.
  • The painful tooth looks discolored and darker than surrounding teeth.
  • You have a swelling, fever, or fatigue.

How You Should Handle a Toothache: Rinse your mouth with lukewarm salt water to clear away any debris and sanitize the area. To make sure your pain isn’t the result of something lodged between your teeth, gently try to floss around the affected tooth. If your pain doesn’t subside, you can take and over-the-counter pain medication or place a cold compress on the area for 10 minutes at a time.

How We Treat Toothaches: Our treatment recommendation will depend on the cause of your toothache in Daniel Island. If it’s due to untreated decay, we may suggest a tooth-colored filling and dental crown. If your pain is caused by an infected tooth, we’ll likely suggest root canal therapy to cure it and preserve your natural dental structure.

Learn More About Root Canal Therapy

Learn More About Tooth Extractions

Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings

Learn More About Dental Crowns

Chipped Tooth

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? The need for urgent treatment depends on the extent of the damage. For example if your tooth has a small chip out of it, you can typically wait to be seen for up to a couple days. However, if the damage is causing severe discomfort and could lead to infection, it may be necessary to be seen the same day you call your emergency dentist in Daniel Island.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth: If you’re able to locate the chipped-off pieces of your tooth, pick them up, gently rinse them off, and store them in a container to bring to your appointment. Avoid using the injured tooth to try to chew or eat anything until you can be seen. If necessary, you can place a piece of orthodontic wax over the jagged tooth to keep it from irritating your soft oral tissues.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth: In most situations, we can use a biocompatible composite resin to rebuild the missing portion of your tooth. This will allow it to look natural again as well as protect the exposed inner portion of the tooth from the threat of bacteria.

Learn More About BioClear Cosmetic Bonding

Cracked Tooth

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? Regardless of whether your tooth has a large or small crack, compromised enamel can lead to big problems down the road when not addressed in a timely manner. That’s why it’s crucial that you contact your emergency dentist as soon as possible for a cracked tooth in Daniel Island. Sometimes the damage isn’t easy to see, so keep an eye out for other symptoms as well, like pain and sensitivity.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth: Clear bacteria from the affected area by gently rinsing your mouth with lukewarm salt water. If you notice swelling, place a cold compress on the outside of your face for 10 minutes at a time and avoid chewing or eating on the side of your mouth with the injured tooth.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth: Depending on how long the crack has been left untreated, we may recommend a simple dental crown or dental bonding to repair the tooth. However, if it’s badly damaged and the health of the tooth is compromised, we may recommend extracting it and replacing it with an implant-retained crown.

Learn More About Dental Crowns

Learn More About Tooth-Colored Fillings

Learn More About Tooth Extractions

Learn More About Dental Implants

Very Sensitive Teeth

Knocked-Out Tooth

Lost Filling or Crown

Broken Denture

Loose Permanent Tooth

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Jaw Pain

Something Stuck Between the Teeth