We know emergencies of any kind can be frightening and stressful. However, when it comes to oral health emergencies, patients at Moreno & Young Dental always have recourse. Our Bellingham dentists and team are happy to help when patients need urgent dental care. If you or a loved one experience a dental emergency, don’t hesitate to contact us right away. Most dental health concerns continue to progress when left untreated, so it’s always better to begin repair as soon as possible.
If you’re not sure that your situation requires urgent intervention, we still recommend you contact our team. There are many types of dental emergencies that can occur, some of which are more common (or urgent) than others. We recommend the following tips below depending on the type of dental emergency you’re experiencing.
Wouldn’t it be nice to avoid experiencing a panic-inducing and painful dental emergency in Bellingham? Although there’s no sure-fire way to avoid experiencing an oral accident, there are several precautionary measures you can be mindful of to drastically reduce your risk of ending up in your emergency dentist’s treatment chair. However, if you do find yourself in the midst of an oral emergency, immediately contact our team at Moreno & Young Dental, and we’ll be able to help!
What you eat can impact your oral microbiome because bacteria love to feed off of carbohydrates and sugars. That means, if you have a diet that consists of mostly processed foods, you may be at a higher risk of developing dental decay or gum disease. By substituting fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks that are high in sugars and carbohydrates every now and then, you can reduce your chances of ending up in the emergency dental office in Bellingham.
At-home oral hygiene is crucial to maintaining good oral health. The American Dental Association recommends brushing twice each day with fluoride toothpaste for two minutes, flossing daily, and rinsing with an antimicrobial mouthwash regularly to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Do you play for a local sports team? Do you grind and clench your teeth at night? These can but you at-risk for damaging your teeth and experiencing serious oral trauma that could require invasive treatment. By being proactive and wearing a custom sportsguard or nightguard that protects your teeth, temporomandibular joints, and facial muscles, you’ll have a lot less to stress about.
It may be tempting to open up a package or rip a price tag off of a piece of clothing using your teeth, but it’s best to just get scissors. Using your teeth as tools can wear them down, making them more susceptible to decay and infection, and put you at a higher risk of damaging one.
The key to maintaining good oral health and staying on top of any small oral health problems that may develop over time is to visit your dentist every six months for your checkups and cleanings. At these appointments, your dentist will be able to spot and treat the earlier signs of oral issues before they have a chance to wreak havoc on your smile.
The cost of emergency dentistry in Bellingham differs depending on each patient’s unique situation. For example, if a patient has a cavity that’s making their tooth sensitive, we can easily repair that issue with a dental filling. However, a severe toothache may require root canal therapy and a custom dental crown, which will be a more costly treatment plan. At Moreno & Young Dental, we’ll make sure that you’re fully aware of all of your treatment options and walk you through pricing details. We’re also happy to discuss dental insurance coverage and financing with you!
Treatments for emergency dental situations can range from the cost of a simple examination to a tooth extraction and dental implant—it all depends on how severe the problem at-hand is. We always recommend that our patients come in for an appointment as soon as they notice anything out-of-the-ordinary, because the longer you wait to be seen, the chances are, the more serious the problem will get.
After we have a chance to examine your mouth, take X-rays, and discuss our findings with you, we’ll be able to talk through all of your options to help get your smile back on the right track. Based on this, we’ll also provide you with a cost estimate.
Many dental insurance policies extend benefits to emergency dental services, but it’s important to keep in mind that every plan is different. If you’re concerned about whether your plan will cover the cost of treatment, our team can help you find out by reaching out to your provider during your examination from your emergency dentist in Bellingham. We do everything we can to help our patients save from steep out-of-pocket costs and maximize their coverage.
In addition to being in-network with several major dental insurance plans and filing claims on behalf of our out-of-network patients, we also offer additional financing to make sure you can get the treatments you need. We work with CareCredit, a third-party, trusted financer that offers six or 12-month payment plans. We also work with Proceed Finance and accept online payments as well!
The best way to save yourself from the financial stress and shock of dealing with a dental emergency in Bellingham is to maintain your oral health by practicing a good at-home oral hygiene routine and visiting our office bi-annually for your checkups and cleanings. We also recommend getting a customized nightguard or sportsguard to protect your teeth from trauma and damage.
Are you in the middle of a dental emergency and looking for help from a local expert? Our team at Moreno & Young Dental is dedicated to providing fast and pain-relieving care when you need it the most. We’ve compiled a list of commonly asked questions that we receive from our patients below for your convenience. If you don’t get the answers you need, we welcome you to contact us!
Dental sensitivity is a common oral health problem that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a dental emergency on your hands. Some ways you can tell whether or not you should visit our office for urgent care for this issue is if you recognize any of the following symptoms or signs along with the sensitivity:
If you’re concerned but aren’t sure what to do, feel free to contact your emergency dentist in Bellingham so our team can provide you with over-the-phone guidance.
We recommend not waiting to visit your dentist in Bellingham if you have a dental emergency on your hands. Call our office immediately, and we’ll be sure to fit you in our schedule as soon as possible. More severe emergencies that require immediate treatment include knocked-out teeth, throbbing toothaches caused by infections, and oral trauma that results in a damaged tooth.
If you have a dental emergency outside of our office hours, we recommend calling us anyways and leaving a message. If the emergency is affecting your ability to swallow, breathe, or you believe your jaw is broken, you should visit your local emergency room as soon as possible. However, be sure to contact our office once you receive treatment so we can still schedule an appointment to address any lingering dental concerns. As soon as we receive your message, we’ll contact you and fit you in our schedule for as soon as possible.
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