A: One of the questions I get quite a bit is: “Am I open on the weekdays?” “What times am I open?” and, “Am I open on the weekends?” So, JH Emergency Dental is open weeknights from 3 pm-9 pm and on weekends from 10:30 am-9:30 pm at night.
We find those hours to be when folks tend to have pain or need emergency treatment. Their regular dentist’s office is closed or they don’t have a regular dentist office. They tend to have pain at night or on the weekends, or they’re here on vacation. We’re here to help those folks.
There’s nothing you can do to completely avoid accidents—they’re going to happen from time to time. If you fall and break your foot, accidentally cut yourself, or something like that—you can go to the ER. However, what happens when the accident has to do with your teeth—a part of the body you would normally see the dentist for?
Accidents regarding the teeth can happen as well, a blow to the face can knock out a tooth. You can get a severe infection from untreated cavities. You could also be suffering an adverse reaction to recent dental surgery.
Where do you go when your dentist is closed, or something happens after normal clinic hours? This is where an emergency dentist comes into play.
What Is An Emergency Dentist?
An emergency dentist, in a nutshell, is the ER for dental issues. It’s a dentist that helps patients with critical conditions that flare up and need immediate care. Some emergency dentists will see you within 24 hours to avoid potential damage to your oral health. At JH Emergency Dental we offer same-day appointments to tend to your situation quickly.
We understand how scary some dental emergencies can be and peace of mind is half the battle. People have busy schedules and dental offices don’t always have convenient availability. We do, and that’s another need an emergency dentist serves.
Sometimes you don’t necessarily have to see the dentist right away. However, due to work schedules, after hours may be the only time you have to take care of an issue. We have patients come in that just need wisdom teeth pulled but work a 2nd shift. When they get off, we’re here, ready to help them.
Why Emergency Dental Care?
Other times, patients may indeed have serious dental emergencies such as a dry socket, or excessive bleeding from an earlier procedure. In those cases, an emergency dentist isn’t a convenience—it’s a necessity.
Just like with dentistry, emergency dental care is multi-faceted. It can encompass a wide range of procedures that treat numerous issues, simple to severe. Some of the situations that patients come to JH Emergency Dental with include:
Tooth Fracture
As an adult who practices good oral healthcare, your teeth should never feel like they can move or are loose. It’s normal for kids because their roots are still maturing, but for adults—that’s a sign that something isn’t right. It could be an infection but it could also be a fractured tooth—beneath the gum line where you can’t see. If it comes loose, the only thing that can save your tooth is quick work from a dentist. So an emergency dentist is a prudent call.
Severe Oral Infections
This happens quite a bit. A patient thinks they are taking care of their oral infection, it seems to be getting better—and then it hits. Pain rushes in as they’ve never felt, just radiating throughout their head, making it nearly impossible to move. That is the sign of severe oral infection and it has the potential to be dangerous. Patients that come to JH Emergency Dental usually get infections from untreated cavities or other tooth damage. This kind of infection won’t go away with a saltwater gargle, it needs serious antibiotics and maybe minor surgery.
Swollen Jaw
Many patients don’t realize this, but your oral health has a serious impact on your entire body, especially your heart. If your jaw swells up and you get radiating pain out of the blue, it’s a sign of a severe oral infection. Just like what was mentioned above, the key to treating that infection is rapid response. It could get into your bloodstream and infect your blood. That situation can get bad really fast.
Excessive Bleeding Of The Mouth
Have you ever suddenly noticed a taste in your mouth that is metallic? You might be bleeding through your gums without even realizing it’s happening. When gums are healthy, they should never bleed on their own for any reason. If they are bleeding it means you likely have gum disease, which means you should correct it quickly. It only takes a short time for one problem to snowball and cause 4 more issues. No matter the cause of bleeding in the mouth, whether it be aggressive flossing or gingivitis—it’s a red flag.
For many dental conditions and traumas, time plays a key factor in mitigating damage. That is why an emergency dentist plays such a pivotal role. With many being open after normal work hours, and on weekends, they fill a service gap. Some practices are even open 24/7 or at least have a dentist on call and walk you thru self-care to maintain until available.
The Benefits Of Treating A Dental Emergency Quickly
One of the biggest reasons an emergency dentist plays such a pivotal role is the good they do. Taking care of an acute dental problem ASAP can save you a lot of pain and strife. There are three other huge reasons you should always handle a dental emergency without hesitation.
It Can Save Your Teeth
Traumatic blows to the mouth can leave teeth broken, chipped, partially knocked out, or completely knocked out. If rapid treatment is not sought out immediately from an emergency dentist—you could lose your teeth forever.
When that happens your only remedies are dentures or dental implants. Both of which are far more expensive than emergency dental costs. Fortunately, the sooner you see someone, the higher your odds of saving the teeth go up.
You Can Avoid More Pain
It doesn’t matter if you have a minor toothache or a tooth that’s been knocked out—you’re going to feel some pain. Now, whether that is a nuisance level of pain or excruciating, the pain can be in your control. Of course, a knocked-out tooth is going to be immediate, high-intensity pain. However, a condition with minor pain can escalate to high-intensity pain the longer you leave it untreated. The takeaway here is, if you are feeling any pain— contact an emergency dentist to see if coming in is necessary.
Reduce Risk Of Infection
A common co-symptom of pain is an infection, especially in situations that don’t involve dental trauma to cause pain. Conditions such as advanced tooth decay or gum disease can lead to infection and that infection can lead to extreme pain. Infection also occurs after dental trauma that is left untreated due to exposed gum tissue getting bacteria inside. If you don’t treat infection it can spread to other areas of the body, including the heart. If an infection spreads and overloads your system, you can develop a condition known as sepsis.
This is especially dangerous. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream to fend off an infection. Sepsis develops when the infection is so great that the body releases too many of these chemicals through the blood. It ends up causing a domino effect that can destroy multiple organ systems and even cause death. Seeing the emergency dentist nearest you at the earliest sign of infection can save your life.
Finding An Emergency Dentist
Finding an emergency dentist in San Antonio may seem a bit daunting, especially if your head is throbbing from an oral infection. But, it’s not as hard as it may seem—simply Google “emergency dentist in San Antonio.” You’ll see there’s a list to choose from right on the first page.
However, keep in mind, if you have dental insurance, the best place to look is on your insurance provider’s website. It will provide you with the emergency dentists that are covered under your insurance.
JH Emergency dental is here to serve all San Antonio residents in a dental emergency, while we are not a Medicare/Medicaid provider, we do offer reasonable financing. If you are in pain or experiencing an acute, abnormal dental condition book an appointment online right now!
