Emergency Dentist – Lincoln, NE
Urgent Dental Care for Lincoln Families
No one ever expects a dental emergency to happen to them or one of their loved ones, but as dental professionals, let us tell you—they pop up more often than you might think! Should you or someone in your household experience an accident or develop an infection that causes a lot of dental pain, you can take solace in the fact that emergency dental care is just a phone call away. Contact South Ridge Dental whenever you need immediate attention, and our dentistry team and emergency dentist in Lincoln, NE will do everything they can to see you right away, including scheduling a same-day appointment.
Why Choose South Ridge Dental for Emergency Dentistry?
- Able to Handle All Kinds of Dental Emergencies In-Office
- Same-Day Appointments for Emergency Patients
- Compassionate, Skilled, & Experienced Dental Team
How We Treat Dental Emergencies
If you believe you or a loved one is experiencing a dental emergency, your first step should be to call us immediately. From there, here is how we’ll likely handle your situation:
- Schedule your same-day appointment: Over the phone, we’ll assess your emergency and do everything we can to schedule you for a same-day emergency appointment. We’ll also provide you with first-aid instructions for handling your symptoms until you can reach our dental office.
- Examine the problem: Once you arrive for your appointment, we’ll perform a quick examination and capture any necessary X-rays to determine the source and extent of the issue.
- Review your treatment options: We’ll review our findings with you and explain your treatment options, as well as our recommendations for how to best treat your emergency. At this time, we’ll also go over the cost of treating your dental emergency and your payment options.
- Repair your smile: When you and your emergency dentist have agreed on a treatment plan, we’ll get to work right away so you can get back to enjoying your happy, healthy smile.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
No matter what type of dental emergency you’re facing, whether it’s a knocked-out tooth or severe toothache, don’t hesitate to contact us. Waiting will only allow a problem to get worse, and more conservative treatment options might stop being viable after too much time has passed. If you have any of the following symptoms or issues, you could be facing a dental emergency.
Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies
Emergency dental treatment varies from patient to patient, so there is no set cost for this type of care. Some patients just need a small filling, while others might require an extraction and tooth replacement. After we’ve gotten you out of pain, we can discuss your treatment options so you can decide which one is best for you and your budget. For any concerns about out-of-pocket costs, flexible financing is always available.
Every Dental Emergency is Different
In most cases, a visit with your emergency dentist in Lincoln is relatively inexpensive. This appointment will primarily consist of Dr. Ryan or Dr. Steven assessing the extent of your oral damage, determining which treatment(s) you need to get your smile back on track, and explaining the associated fees. Because of the wide variety of procedures that you may require, it’s pretty much impossible for us to give you a cost estimate unless you come into the dental office and let us examine your situation.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?
Most dental insurance companies offer some type of coverage for dental emergencies. Many plans fully cover one emergency exam per year. Additionally, many services commonly used to repair hurting teeth (such as root canal therapy or dental crowns) receive partial coverage, usually somewhere between 50% and 80%. However, every plan is different.
Our team at South Ridge Dental knows the ins and outs of dental insurance and will happily work with your provider to help you get the most out of your benefits. We’re even in-network with many of the nation’s leading insurance providers, such as Delta Dental, BlueCross BlueShield, and Ameritas.
Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable
If you don’t have insurance, don’t worry. We have other ways of helping you fit the cost of dental emergencies in Lincoln into your budget, including:
- Our in-house membership plan– As an alternative to insurance, our membership plan fully covers basic preventive care and offers discounts on most other services in exchange for a flat yearly fee.
- Low-interest financing– CareCredit has helped countless patients break up their treatment costs into monthly payment plans with little or no interest. We can help you decide on the plan that works best for you.
Being Proactive About Dental Care Can Save You Money
While plenty of dental emergencies are accidents that cannot be avoided, most of them occur as a result of infection or damage that has worsened for several weeks or months. Investing in routine checkups and diligent at-home oral hygiene could end up saving you thousands of dollars in emergency dental care over the years.
Taking care of an oral health problem as soon as you become aware of it can also save you money. You may be worried about large dental bills, but the cost of treatment tends to grow the longer you put it off. For example, getting a toothache looked at right away could mean the difference between a root canal that saves the tooth and having to extract and replace the tooth, which can be significantly more expensive.
How to Prevent Dental Emergencies
Dental emergencies are often impossible to predict and can happen when you least expect them. However, by taking certain precautions, you can reduce the risk of damaging your smile through injury or infection. Although dental emergencies will never be 100% avoidable, your actions can make a big difference! Below is some handy advice from our expert team at South Ridge Dental on how to prevent dental emergencies in Lincoln.
Visit Your Dentist Regularly
Visiting your dentist twice a year for routine checkups is key to preventing tooth decay and other oral infections that, if left untreated, could develop into dental emergencies.
Here at South Ridge Dental, Dr. Ryan or Dr. Steven Shaffer will carefully examine your teeth, gums and other oral structures for signs of trouble during every routine visit.
Of course, if an accident, injury or oral infection occurs in between regularly scheduled appointments, do not wait to contact our dental office! If you need urgent dental care, we will do everything we can to see you as soon as possible, including scheduling a same-day emergency appointment.
Maintain Good Oral Hygiene Habits at Home
While trips to the dentist are very important, maintaining a healthy smile also depends on your actions at home. Practicing excellent oral hygiene is critical to preventing harmful plaque and tartar from building up on your teeth and leading to tooth decay, gum disease, and other serious oral infections. To keep your teeth in great shape and avoid trips to an emergency dental office in Lincoln, be sure to:
- Brush your teeth twice every day for a full two minutes each time
- Floss at least once daily
- Rinse with antibacterial mouthwash once a day
Be Careful With Your Diet
Eating a nutritious, balanced diet is critical to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. The food you put on your plate every day has an enormous impact on your overall oral health. For example, harmful oral bacteria love to feast on sugary sweets and carbohydrates. So, while you do not have to give up bread and chocolate entirely, you should try to limit your consumption of these items. Tooth-friendly foods, meanwhile, include leafy greens, fish, almonds, fibrous vegetables like celery, cheese, yogurt, and other white dairy products.
Wear a Mouthguard
Unexpected injuries are especially common when playing contact sports like football, basketball or even soccer. Wearing a mouthguard from a dentist can protect your teeth when the competition gets especially fierce and the elbows start flying. Custom mouthguards are formed to fit snugly over your teeth and feel comfortable in your mouth.
Mouthguards can also come in handy at night if you tend to grind your teeth while you sleep. Grinding teeth can contribute to TMJ dysfunction and wear down tooth enamel. Wearing a mouthguard while you rest is an easy way to prevent dental emergencies Lincoln.
Use Tools, Not Teeth to Open Packaging
From chewing on fingernails to opening bags of chips, using your teeth for tasks other than eating can be dangerous. One slip and you could easily end up with a cracked tooth, or worse! When it comes to opening packages, do yourself a favor and grab a pair of scissors or other tool instead of using your teeth.
Dental Emergency Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have more questions about what you should do if you have a dental emergency in Lincoln? Fortunately, you don’t have to deal with the stress of the situation on your own. At South Ride Dental, our team of professionals will walk you through any necessary first-aid guidance and schedule your appointment that same day, so you don’t have to deal with discomfort and pain. For your convenience, we’ve answered some common questions we receive from our patients below.
Will My Toothache Go Away On Its Own?
As much as everyone would like to hope that a problem will fix itself, that’s often not the case. Oral issues typically only get worse the longer they’re left untreated, which is why it’s important to contact your emergency dentist in Lincoln as soon as you have an accident that leaves your mouth in pain or damaged.
If you’re experiencing a severe toothache that won’t go away after you’ve gently flossed around the area and rinsed with lukewarm water, then it could be a serious issue. This kind of pain is often a result of tooth infections. When these aren’t treated in a timely manner, they can cause permanent and more severe damage to your mouth and even spread to other areas of your body. That’s why it’s important to seek urgent care right away.
How Do I Know If My Problem Is a Dental Emergency?
Many people don’t contact their emergency dentist because they don’t want to make a small problem a big ordeal. However, if the problem is left to get worse, it can cause you serious pain and permanent damage down the road. If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, contact our dental office immediately for urgent treatment:
- Do you have pain while biting or chewing?
- Have you noticed sores on your tongue, cheek, or oral tissues that haven’t healed within two to three weeks?
- Are your gums swollen?
- Do you have a pimple-like bump on your gums?
- Are your teeth damaged?
- Have your gums changed in color?
What Should I Do If I Have An Emergency and Can’t Reach My Regular Dentist?
For more urgent dental emergencies such as damage to your tooth or severe toothaches, you’ll want to contact the nearest emergency dentist immediately, because time is of the essence. For more minor situations, such as a small chip out of your tooth or a damaged crown, you may be able to wait until you’re able to get into touch with your emergency dentist in Lincoln.
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