Emergency Dentist – Vero Beach, FL

Reliable Care Right When Your Smile Needs It

No one ever sees a dental emergency coming. Whether you’re dealing with a throbbing toothache or a broken denture, you need professional attention right away, and our team at Cromer & Cairns Dental is here to fill that role. When you contact our office with an urgent dental problem, we’ll do everything in our power to get you seen and treated that very same day by our emergency dentist in Vero Beach. Don’t hesitate to call us for reliable care when your smile needs it!

Why Choose Cromer & Cairns Dental for Emergency Dentistry?

  • Same-Day Appointments for Dental Emergencies
  • In-House Dental Lab for Same-Day Denture Repair
  • Dental Insurance Welcomed & Additional Financing Available

How We Treat Dental Emergencies

Man smiling outdoors after treatment from emergency dentist in Vero Beach

Once you get in touch with our dental practice, here’s how you can expect us to handle the situation:

  • Booking a same-day dental visit – A member of our dental team will ask you questions about your symptoms over the phone, determine how soon you need to see us, and schedule an appointment accordingly. We can also supply you with first aid tips for handling your dental emergency in the interim.
  • Completing an emergency dental exam – Once you arrive at our dental office, Dr. Julie Cromer will closely examine your mouth and capture digital X-rays to pinpoint the source of the issue.
  • Reviewing our findings – After her exam, Dr. Cromer will share what she found and explain her treatment recommendations. Our team will also outline the expected time and costs associated with your dental care.
  • Restoring your smile – When we’ve reached an agreement on a dental treatment plan, we’ll get started right away on relieving your pain and making your smile look and feel good as new.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell when a dental issue needs urgent attention. However, because teeth cannot heal themselves, the problem will likely only get worse without treatment. Just to be on the safe side, call us right away if you find yourself with any of the following common dental emergencies:

Toothaches

Is My Toothache a Dental Emergency? Over the years, you may have heard that toothaches can be ignored and will heal on their own. Neither are true. That’s why we recommend calling our Vero Beach dental team when you first notice the discomfort. This will allow us to intervene before the root of the problem spreads, negatively impacting your teeth and gums in the process.

How You Should Handle a Toothache Handling a toothache properly boils down to a few key steps: scheduling an appointment, taking an OTC pain reliever, not eating crunchy foods, and rinsing periodically with saltwater to keep your mouth clean.

How We Treat Toothaches In short, there are several ways we can intervene; it really depends on the severity of the problem at hand. For example, some patients have tooth decay that’s infected the pulp, which requires root canal therapy. Others may have a small enough cavity that it can be treated with a tooth-colored filling.

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Chipped Tooth

Is a Chipped Tooth a Dental Emergency? Chipped teeth are one of the most common dental injuries, but they don’t always require same-day treatment. For example, if you aren’t in any pain, then you should be fine to schedule an appointment within a day or two.

How You Should Handle a Chipped Tooth To clear bacteria from the area and remove lingering shards of your tooth from your mouth, we recommend rinsing thoroughly with clean, lukewarm water. You can also avoid sensitivity and soft tissue injuries by covering the chipped tooth with sugar-free gum or dental wax.

How We Treat Chipped Teeth After taking a look at your tooth and assessing the size of the chip, our Vero Beach emergency dentist will work with you to decide which treatment is best, like cosmetic dental bonding or a metal-free dental crown.

Cracked Tooth

Is a Cracked Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes, even if the crack seems small and isn’t causing you any pain, you need to schedule an appointment with our Vero Beach emergency dentist ASAP. Otherwise, your tooth can develop an infection, split further, or become extremely painful.

How You Should Handle a Cracked Tooth If you aren’t heading to our office right away for treatment, there are a few things we recommend doing from home, starting with rinsing periodically with clean, room-temperature water. To address your discomfort, you can take an OTC pain reliever and avoid eating anything crunchy, hard, or sticky.

How We Treat Cracked Teeth The answer depends largely on the size of the crack. If saving your tooth is an option, then we will place a dental crown over it to protect it moving forward. If saving your tooth is not an option, then we will need to carefully extract it. Once you’ve healed, we can fill the gap in your smile with a dental bridge or implant.

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Very Sensitive Teeth

Are Very Sensitive Teeth a Dental Emergency? Even “minor” symptoms, like dental sensitivity, shouldn’t be ignored. So, if the sensation persists for more than 12 hours, it definitely warrants a call to our Vero Beach dental office.

How You Should Handle Very Sensitive Teeth Naturally, you should avoid foods and drinks that will exacerbate the issue, such as hot coffee and ice cream. Additionally, try using a desensitizing toothpaste and taking an OTC pain reliever – this should help keep you comfortable until we have the chance to intervene with the necessary treatment.

How We Treat Very Sensitive Teeth After we learn more about your symptoms and conduct a thorough exam, we will be able to determine which treatment is best. While gum disease treatment can effectively eliminate an infection, a tooth-colored filling can quickly fix a decayed tooth!

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Knocked-Out Tooth

Is My Knocked-Out Tooth a Dental Emergency? Yes! There is an added layer of urgency with this dental injury specifically because we only have 60 minutes to save your tooth. So, call our Vero Beach dental team right away so we can schedule an appointment within the hour.

How You Should Handle a Knocked-Out Tooth Of course, one of the first steps is trying to find your tooth. If you are able to locate it, then you also need to preserve the root. To do this, pick the tooth up by the crown and place it in a container of milk. If that’s not available, you can try to place the tooth back in its socket, but only if you don’t need to apply force.

How We Treat Knocked-Out Teeth In order to save your tooth, it needs to be in good condition, and you need to arrive at our office within 60 minutes of the incident. If for any reason it’s not feasible to save your tooth, then we will move onto the next best solution: restoring the look and function of your smile with a dental implant or bridge.

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Lost Filling or Crown

Is a Lost Filling or Crown a Dental Emergency? Yes, mainly because that tooth is now vulnerable. Between infections and cracks, there are a multitude of complications that can arise. Simply put, even if it was just a small filling, you need to schedule an appointment with our Vero Beach emergency dentist right away.

How You Should Handle a Lost Filling or Crown Depending on what happened, you may have your restoration with you. If you do, then store it safely in a clean container or bag and bring it with you to your appointment. If you have a few hours until your appointment, then make sure to rinse your mouth with clean water regularly and stick to soft foods.

How We Treat Lost Fillings or Crowns Of course, we always have the option of providing you with a new restoration. However, if you were able to save your previous dental crown, then we may also have the option of re-cementing it back in place so you don’t have to wait for a new one to arrive.

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Broken Dentures

Is My Broken Denture a Dental Emergency?

Cracked or broken dentures definitely qualifies as a dental emergency because without them, you may not be able to eat healthily or talk clearly. You shouldn’t have to go without functioning teeth, which is why addressing the problem right away is the best choice.

How You Should Handle a Broken Denture

Give us a call right away for an urgent appointment. Do not try to wear your broken dentures in the meantime. The materials could damage your soft tissues or any remaining teeth.

How We Treat Broken Dentures

Most of the time, we will replace broken dentures with new ones. In rare cases, we may be able to make minor adjustments, but significant damage usually comes after the dentures have already been worn a long time.

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Loose Permanent Tooth

Is a Loose Permanent Tooth a Dental Emergency?

Loose baby teeth are common for children, but permanent teeth shouldn’t ever feel loose. If this happens to you, the issue needs immediate attention. Without treatment, you could lose the tooth entirely!

How You Should Handle Loose Permanent Teeth

Try to avoid disturbing the tooth as much as possible. Be careful when you brush and floss, and when you eat, don’t use that area of your mouth.

How We Treat Loose Permanent Teeth

After determining the cause of your loose permanent tooth (whether it’s an injury, advanced gum disease, or something else), we can try to save it. We may put a splint on the tooth to hold it there until the connective tissues heal. However, depending on the severity of the underlying cuase, we may need to remove the tooth and consider your replacement options, including a bridge or a dental implant.

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Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Is an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue a Dental Emergency?

Damage to your soft tissues could have a more significant impact on your smile than you may think. It’s always a good idea to have our team look at your injury just to make sure nothing else is wrong.

How You Should Handle an Injury to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

Mostly, you need to stop any bleeding. If it doesn’t subside after 10 to 20 minutes, you may need to see an emergency physician for tests and treatment. Otherwise, you can come to see us with your injury.

How We Treat Injuries to the Gums, Lips, or Tongue

First, we’ll make sure all your oral structures are okay. If necessary, we can provide stitches to facilitate your soft tissues healing.

Jaw Pain

Is Jaw Pain a Dental Emergency?

Usually, jaw pain isn’t so strong that it needs to be treated immediately. However, if the pain impedes your ability to eat, makes you miserable, or becomes localized to a particular tooth, make an urgent appointment with us. Otherwise, you can bring it up during your routine hygiene and checkup visit.

How You Should Handle Jaw Pain

To alleviate some of your discomfort, try eating softer foods like mashed potatoes, bananas, applesauce, and others. You can also take over-the-counter pain reliever as directed.

How We Treat Jaw Pain

Not always, but often, jaw pain can result from an uneven or improper bite. Fortunately, teeth can be shifted into better alignment with Invisalign, giving you a better bite, straighter smile, and less jaw pain.

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Something Stuck Between the Teeth

As you eat, little bits of food debris may become lodged between your teeth. If left in place, plaque can develop, leading to decay or infection. Plus, the pressure of something stuck could cause your teeth to shift.

Most of the time, you can get it out as you drink water or when you brush and floss. If it doesn’t come out with flossing, do not try to dig it out with a sharp instrument. You could harm your teeth or gums. Instead, give us a call, and we’ll remove it safely.

Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies

Young woman in white tank top smiling outdoors

Every patient’s situation is unique, so the cost of emergency dentistry isn’t set in stone. Depending on the cause and severity of your injury, you might only need something as simple as a filling, or maybe you need multiple teeth extracted and replaced. Naturally, these treatments come at varying price points. Before we begin any procedure, our team will review the costs of your emergency dental care. We accept several dental insurance plans and offer CareCredit financing as well as our own dental membership plan.

Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies

Man and woman brushing their teeth together
  • If you play sports, wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth from becoming broken or knocked out.
  • Wear a nightguard if you grind your teeth while sleeping. This will prevent your enamel from getting worn down and prone to fracture.
  • Every day, brush your teeth at least twice and floss at least once to keep plaque at bay.
  • Meet with Dr. Cromer for routine checkups every six months so that she can spot and treat potential emergencies early on.

Dental Emergency FAQs

Man dealing with a toothache eating dinner

When you’re not feeling very well, it can be difficult to navigate everything that emergency dentistry has to offer. Thankfully, everyone here at Cromer & Cairns Dental will be happy to take the time to help you with whatever issue you’re dealing with.

Until we’re able to see you, you’re bound to have questions about the best way to handle a dental emergency. Here are some answers that you may find useful.

Can I Fix My Dentures That Have Broken in Half?

Your dentures have been carefully designed to withstand the pressure of biting, clenching, and chewing food. If they’ve split in half, it will take the meticulous work of a skilled dentist to repair them.

You may be tempted to try and repair your prosthetic on your own, but the fact is that most people don’t have adhesives strong enough to repair them effectively, and many glues you might use aren’t safe to put in the mouth. Your best bet is to call us—we’ll have you smiling again in no time.

How Long Can A Restoration Be Temporarily Attached?

If you have a crown come loose, one of the best things you can do in the meantime is to try and put the restoration back in your mouth. This is a great way to ensure that you don’t accidentally lose or damage it further.

However, even if you manage to use temporary adhesive to put your restoration back, it’s not going to stick here for long. At most, a crown you put back in place will likely only stay there for a day or two. You also have to take care not to chew with a crown you’ve placed this way, making it a poor long-term solution. When you call us, we’ll schedule you for an appointment right away to restore your smile.

How Should I Sleep With Tooth Pain?

When you call us for an emergency appointment, we will prioritize getting you in on the same day. That said, you may not be able to come to our office immediately, or you may start to notice a toothache late at night. In that case, you may have to try and get some sleep.

Over-the-counter pain medicine can be enormously helpful, as well as ice packs and saltwater rinses. Additionally, You might try sleeping with your head elevated. This can take some getting used to but may make you more comfortable.

Should I Visit The Emergency Room First For Dental Emergencies?

Dentistry is a distinct expertise for a reason—most doctors don’t have the materials on hand to effectively treat problems with the teeth. For that reason, it’s unlikely that the emergency room will be able to help you with a dental emergency.

However, if you’re in a situation that needs to be stabilized immediately, like a jaw fracture or severe cuts to the mouth, the people at the emergency room should be able to help you.

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