Emergency dental care in Pearisburg

What to do before you get here

The few minutes after an accident often decide what can be saved. Find your situation below, do that, then call.

• Toothache that will not settle

  Especially one that wakes you at night, throbs, or is set off by heat. That pattern usually means the nerve, and it does not resolve on its own.

• Swelling in the face or gum

  Swelling in the face or gums usually means infection. Swelling that is spreading, closing an eye, or making it hard to swallow or breathe is an emergency room visit, not a dental one. Go now.

• A knocked-out adult tooth

  Pick it up by the crown, not the root. If it is dirty, rinse it in milk or saline for a few seconds. Put it back in the socket if you can and bite gently on a cloth. If you cannot, keep it in milk. Then call. The first hour decides whether it can be saved.

• A broken or chipped tooth

  Keep any pieces. Rinse with warm water. If there is a sharp edge, a piece of sugarless gum over it will keep it from cutting your tongue until we see you.

• A lost filling or crown

  Keep the crown. Do not glue it back with household adhesive. The exposed tooth will be sensitive, so avoid chewing on that side until it is recemented.

• Bleeding that will not stop

  After an extraction, bite firmly on clean gauze for twenty minutes without checking it. If it is still bleeding heavily after that, call.

Virginia Dental Club membership includes one problem-focused emergency exam at no charge each membership year, and members get 20% off our standard fee for palliative emergency treatment.