Emergency Care for Tooth Pain in Clearwater, FL

Emergency Tooth Pain Clearwater FL

Have you ever felt a sharp pinch as you bit down into some food, a dull ache after you sipped an ice-cold beverage, or a persistent throb as you chewed gum? Have you ever lost a filling or broken your denture? Unexpected dental issues can and do occur. But, when is tooth pain an emergency?

It’s important to know the answer to this question—especially now, during the coronavirus pandemic. The dentists at Florida Dental Centers in Clearwater, Florida, remain available to provide emergency, urgent, routine, and elective dental care. We are also committed to keeping our patients, staff, and community safe and healthy. To help you determine when and where you should seek emergency care for tooth pain, we offer the following guidance:

How Do You Know if Your Tooth Pain Is an Emergency?

If your situation is life-threatening, you should call 911 or go directly to the nearest hospital ER. Some examples include uncontrollable bleeding, head or mouth trauma, and facial swelling that interferes with your breathing or speaking.

On the other hand, severe tooth pain may require emergency dental treatment, but not a trip to the ER, if it involves:

  • A tooth abscess (infection)
  • A chipped or broken tooth with a sharp edge that is cutting into your gums, cheek, or tongue
  • A knocked out or very loose permanent tooth
  • A loss of a temporary or permanent restoration, such as a filling, crown, or bridge
  • Dry socket after a tooth is pulled (the blood clot at the site of the extraction fails to develop, or dislodges or dissolves before the wound heals)

Urgent dental care may also be needed for removing oral sutures (stitches), repairing broken or malfunctioning dentures (especially for cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiation), or adjusting a broken dental appliance that could pierce or irritate your gums, lips, or tongue.

If you have tooth pain caused by an urgent but non-life-threatening dental issue, contact Florida Dental Centers in Clearwater, FL. We provide emergency dental care services as soon as possible.