Emergency Dentist – Hillsboro, OR

Providing You with Urgent,
Pain-Relieving Dentistry

Woman holding her cheek in pain before emergency dentistry in Hillsboro

Dental emergencies always happen at the most unexpected moments, which is why people become so easily panicked and aren’t able to think clearly to make the best decisions for their oral health. That’s why we suggest that our patients have our number and address pre-programmed in their phone, just in case. As an emergency dentist in Hillsboro, our team will provide you with a same-day appointment and over-the-phone first-aid guidance to make sure that no additional harm comes to your smile.

Why Choose Wolfe Dental Hillsboro for Emergency Dentistry?

  • Dental Sedation
    Methods Available
  • We Proudly Accept
    Dental Insurance
  • We Treat Patients
    of All Ages

How to Handle Common Dental Emergencies

If you experience dental trauma or any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms, always contact ourice first so we can schedule an emergency appointment for you. As you’re making your way to our dentalice, you can follow some of the tips and advice that we’ve provided below on how to handle the most common emergency situations.

How to Prevent Dental Emergencies

Although it’s impossible to completely prevent dental emergencies, there are some preventive measures you can take to reduce your risk of experiencing one, including:

  • Maintain a nutritious diet
  • Stay hydrated with water
  • Avoid chewing on sticky and hard items
  • Break bad oral habits like nail-biting and smoking
  • Visit us every six months for dental checkups and teeth cleanings
  • Keep up with your at-home oral hygiene routine

Understanding the Cost of Emergency Dentistry

Dental team member showing a clipboard to a patient

Once we’ve had an opportunity to examine your mouth and diagnose any underlying problems that may be causing your pain, we’ll be able to develop a treatment plan and determine the cost of fixing the issue. We make sure that we’re always transparent with our patients, so we will walk you through all of the details before completing any work. If you have questions about dental insurance coverage or financing, our team will be happy to answer them. In the meantime, you can read on to learn more about the cost!

Every Dental Emergency is Different

We mentioned above that we will conduct a comprehensive oral exam at your visit so we can diagnose the root of the problem. This is crucial because no two cases are exactly the same. To give you an accurate estimate of the problem, we need to have an in-depth understanding of your dental history and the severity of the damage. Then, we can review the treatment options available, help you decide how you’d like to proceed, and provide you with an estimate of the cost.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?

In addition to covering the cost of routine preventive care, many dental insurance providers cover a portion of the cost of essential restorative dentistry. Your plan may also include a free emergency exam each year, as well as red tape (i.e., yearly maximums, annual deductibles, waiting periods). So, it’s important to take a good look at your plan to see what is and isn’t covered. If you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask! We’re proud to welcome plans from Delta Dental, Cigna, United Concordia, and several other popular providers.

Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable

Our Hillsboro dental team is also happy to offer additional financial solutions, including periodic special offers, so our patients who are uninsured can get the top-tier care they need without stressing about the price. Our in-house membership plan, for example, includes an emergency exam as well as a significant discount on treatments completed at our office. CareCredit flexible financing is also a great option for patients who would prefer to space out the cost of their care into smaller, more manageable chunks. If you would like more details on any of these payment options, just let us know – we’re here to help!

Taking Care Of Your Smile Can Save You Money

A discussion about price would not be complete without touching on one thing: the impact of good oral hygiene habits. After all, brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash consistently go a long way when it comes to preventing tooth decay, gum disease, and other serious oral health problems. In other words, best practices like these don’t just benefit the look and health of your smile; they benefit your wallet too.

Important note: If you start to experience abnormal dental symptoms, like pain when biting down, don’t wait – give us a call so we can determine if an untreated oral health problem is to blame. If it is, then we can intervene with the necessary restorative care before it gets worse!

TMJ/TMD Treatment

Woman holding her jaw in pain

Do you experience pain and tenderness in your jaw joints or grind and clench your teeth at night? These are signs of a common condition known as TMJ dysfunction. To help ease your pain, weer several different customized therapies, including BOTOX injections to help overworked joints relax, occlusal adjustments, and occlusal splints. To learn more about why you’re experiencing jaw discomfort, lockjaw, or facial tension, and how we can help relieve it, contact ourice today.

Dental Emergency FAQs

Will my toothache go away on its own?

Toothaches don’t generally go away on their own. Because of this, it is best to schedule a checkup with a dentist just to ensure that nothing serious is going on. There are so many potential causes for toothaches, so you will want to rule them out with a professional as soon as you can. By doing so, you can catch underlying problems before they become serious.

How should I sleep with tooth pain?

When dealing with a toothache at night, it can be difficult to get quality sleep. Until you are able to see an emergency dentist in the morning, keep your head elevated. This prevents blood from rushing to your head and intensifying your toothache. Additionally, take over-the-counter pain relievers as needed, and avoid foods that are acidic, cold, or hard before bed. Cold compresses have also been shown to help dull discomfort.

Should I visit the emergency room first for dental emergencies?

Most emergency rooms aren’t able to address dental emergencies effectively. However, there are three main exceptions where an ER visit is a better option. You should head to the ER if you have experienced a jaw fracture or dislocation, serious cut or laceration to the face or mouth, or an abscess or infection that is swollen to the point where it is affecting breathing or swallowing. In pretty much all other circumstances, you should visit your dentist first.

Should knocked-out teeth be placed in water?

Water can be used to rinse a tooth that has been knocked out, but the tooth should not be placed in water. This is because water can damage the root surface cells of teeth, therefore reducing your dentist’s chances of being able to place it back into its socket. Instead, do your best to place it back into the open socket yourself before heading to your emergency dentist. If you’re unable to put the tooth back in the socket, keep it in saliva, milk, or a saline solution instead. By seeing your dentist within in hour, you are significantly increase the probability of your tooth being saved.

More to Explore

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Toothaches

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? Typically, persistent and severe toothaches are a sign of infections hidden deep below the enamel, which is why we don’t recommend taking the “wait and see” approach. Instead, call our Hillsboro dental team when you first notice the pain, discomfort, or sensitivity.

How You Should Handle a Toothache To dislodge any debris and clean the area, we recommend gently rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater solution. Outside of that, make sure not to chew on that side of your mouth, and use a cold compress for 10 minutes at a time. If needed, you can take an over-the-counter medication, like ibuprofen, too.

How We Treat Toothaches We always take the most conservative approach. Sometimes, that’s a tooth-colored filling. Other times, that’s a root canal. Since we utilize cutting-edge CEREC technology, the process of restoring your tooth with a dental crown can be completed in a single appointment too!

LEARN MORE ABOUT CEREC SAME-DAY CROWNS

LEARN MORE ABOUT ROOT CANALS

Chipped Tooth

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? Chipped teeth don’t always require a same-day visit. That said, you should still call us right away. This ensures that we can schedule an appointment before the end of the week and walk you through how to protect your tooth from further harm in the meantime.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth To avoid a soft tissue injury, we recommend using some sugar-free gum to cover the tooth. We also encourage our patients to stick to extremely soft foods, like applesauce, and to not touch the tooth with their fingers.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth The two most common treatments for chipped teeth are cosmetic bonding and veneers. Both can replace the missing structure in a lifelike way, but there are differences in price and process. Don’t worry – we will review the pros of each at your appointment so you can make a decision on which one is best for you with confidence.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COSMETIC BONDING

LEARN MORE ABOUT VENEERS

Cracked Tooth

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? Since there’s a chance that the crack can get larger and an infection can develop, the answer is “absolutely.” So, don’t hesitate to schedule an emergency appointment with us, even if the damage seems minor or you aren’t in any pain.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth Try to retrieve any broken-off pieces of your tooth and rinse them off. Bring them to your appointment in case we can successfully adhere them back on your tooth. If the broken tooth is jagged, you can place a piece of orthodontic wax over the area to keep it from irritating or scraping the inside of your mouth.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth Hopefully, we’ll be able to save your tooth with a dental crown. If the crack is so severe that the tooth cannot be saved, then we’ll only have one option: remove it. If that’s the case for you, we will numb your mouth so you don’t feel any discomfort. We’ll also help you decide if a dental bridge or implant is best to fill the open space in your smile moving forward.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CEREC SAME-DAY 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? Mild cases of tooth sensitivity are fairly common. While we might be able to treat you, this type of situation is usually not urgent. However, severe pain that lingers could be a cavity, infection, or other dental emergency!
  • How You Should Handle Very Sensitive Teeth: We recommend avoiding sensations that could trigger your sensitivity and taking pain medication as needed. Then contact our office so we can get you on the books for an appointment.
  • How We Treat Very Sensitive Teeth: For mild sensitivity, we might recommend a desensitizing toothpaste or fluoride treatment. Our solutions for severe sensitivity will depend on the root cause, but you can be rest assured we’ll thoroughly investigate your teeth and provide quality treatment.

Knocked-Out Tooth

  • Is My Knocked-Out Tooth a Dental Emergency? A knocked-out needs to be salvaged quickly for the best chance of successfully putting it back in place, making this an emergency situation. Call us promptly so we can arrange your appointment and help you with any necessary first-aid.
  • How You Should Handle a Knocked-Out Tooth: Time is of the essence, so be sure to quickly retrieve your tooth! Handle it by the biting surface, not the root, and rinse it under a cool stream of water. Store it in a secure container with milk or saliva to keep the tooth healthy and bring it to your appointment.
  • How We Treat Knocked-Out Teeth: We might be able to reinsert your tooth if it’s still healthy at the time of your appointment. If not, don’t worry – we’ll recommend a quality replacement option to restore your smile.

Lost Filling/Crown

  • Is a Lost Filling or Crown a Dental Emergency? Not necessarily, but your tooth is at risk of developing an infection until the restoration is repaired or replaced by a professional. Give us a call, and we’ll help you make next-step arrangements.
  • How You Should Handle a Lost Filling or Crown: If you’re able to locate your restoration, pick it up, rinse it off, and temporarily place it back on your damaged tooth using denture adhesive or toothpaste. Alternatively, you can keep it safe in a secure container and let us place it for you.
  • How We Treat Lost Fillings or Crowns: Depending on how worn or damaged your restoration is, we might be able to simply recement it. If this isn’t viable, it’ll be best to replace it entirely.

Broken Denture

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency? Broken dentures typically warrant an immediate call to our Hillsboro dental team. That way, we can start the process of repairing or replacing your restoration before it breaks further, you sustain a soft tissue injury, or the situation is made worse in another way.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture First, give us a call to share what happened and how bad the damage is. From there, we can determine if a same-day visit is necessary. If it isn’t, then we will ask you to keep your restoration somewhere safe, like a small, clean container, in the meantime.

How We Treat Broken Dentures Ideally, we’ll be able to repair your dentures at our office so you aren’t without them for long. If that’s not possible because your restoration has shattered into several pieces, then we will begin the process of having a new one made.

LEARN MORE ABOUT IMPLANT DENTURES

Loose Permanent Tooth

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes, absolutely! After all, the more time that passes, the more likely it is that the tooth will fall out completely. We want to intervene before that happens, which is why we recommend contacting our Hillsboro emergency dentist ASAP.

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth It’s of the utmost importance that you avoid doing anything that could cause the tooth to loosen further (i.e., wiggling the tooth with your tongue, touching it with your finger, chewing on that side of your mouth). Outside of that, contact us ASAP for an exam.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth Sometimes, a dental splint can be used to support a loose tooth as it heals back in place. Other times, the tooth is beyond saving and, therefore, needs to be extracted. In that case, we will discuss your tooth-replacement options as well, like a dental implant.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TOOTH EXTRACTIONS

LEARN MORE ABOUT DENTAL IMPLANTS

Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency? Not always. The main thing you want to look out for is severe bleeding. If that happens, then you should call 911 or head to the ER right away.

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue First, go to the sink and use clean, cool water to rinse your mouth. Second, pinpoint where the cut is and apply pressure to it with a damp, clean washcloth or gauze. The bleeding should stop within 10 minutes.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue Usually, soft tissue injuries can be handled at home. That said, you should call 911 or head to the ER if the cut is bleeding uncontrollably or you’re experiencing other potentially life-threatening symptoms, like trouble breathing.

Jaw Pain

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency? The answer depends largely on your symptoms. For example, if your jaw pain has progressed to the point where it’s making it difficult to eat and sleep, then you shouldn’t hesitate to schedule an emergency exam with us.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain Until you arrive at our office, use cold compresses, avoid crunchy foods, and take OTC pain medication as directed to alleviate your discomfort in the short-term.

How We Treat Jaw Pain Wisdom teeth extractions, nightguards, and TMJ treatment are the three most common treatments for chronic jaw pain. Once we conduct a comprehensive oral exam, we can determine the root of the problem and the appropriate solution for you.

Something Stuck Between the Teeth

If you have something stuck between your teeth, the best thing to do is rinse your mouth thoroughly with warm saltwater (this will help loosen the debris). Then, use your floss of choice to gently clean between your teeth. If that doesn’t work, call us. Do NOT reach for something sharp, like a wooden toothpick.