Emergency Dentist – Calimesa, CA
Providing You with Expert Care and Pain Relief
Whether it’s cracking your tooth on a hard piece of food or your child injuring their mouth in sports, a dental emergency can happen when you least expect it. Thankfully, Dr. Scott Parker is experienced in treating dental emergencies to get you out of pain and provide relief. He even provides early office hours to accommodate morning emergencies. At Scott Parker DDS, our office features a comfortable environment with state-of-the-art technology to deliver you the best emergency dental care possible. If you or a loved one is in pain, contact our office today.
Why Choose Scott Parker, DDS for Emergency Dental Care?
- Accepts Same-Day Appointments
- Takes Walk-Ins for Emergency Care
- Accepts Most PPO Dental Insurance Plans
What to Expect When Visiting for Emergency Care
- Even if you aren’t sure what you’re experiencing is a dental emergency, you should give us a call. Once you do, you will be able to get scheduled for an emergency dental appointment, ideally the same day. If you need additional guidance on how to better manage your dental emergency, our team will be happy to provide it over the phone.
- When you do arrive for your appointment at our office, Dr. Parker will start by completing a detailed exam to confirm the location of the emergency as well as determine its severity. If needed, he’ll capture X-rays. This is typically done when an infection is present.
- Once we’ve performed a detailed exam, our team will create a treatment plan that gets you out of discomfort the quickest and works to prevent the emergency from coming back. Treatments that are often performed to treat dental emergencies include dental fillings, root canal therapy, and tooth extractions.
The Most Common Dental Emergencies
When dental disaster strikes, it’s crucial that you know what to do next. There are two different types of emergencies: physical injuries like broken or cracked teeth and infections that slowly develop from a poor oral healthcare routine. Having a knocked-out tooth can change your smile permanently and infections can lead to even more serious health issues. That’s why it’s important to know what to do in the event of some of the most common emergencies.
Understanding the Cost of Emergency Dentistry
It is difficult to estimate the cost of emergency dentistry in Calimesa because of the many factors that influence what kind of treatment is necessary. It is important to remember that the longer you wait to receive treatment for a dental emergency, the higher the cost will be because of your worsening oral health conditions. It is far better to receive care early on than to wait and hope it simply “goes away.” Some simple cases may be fixed with at-home medication, while others require more extensive treatment. It all depends on which one of our services you may need. Another variable that can influence cost is your insurance. At Scott Parker DDS, we are proud to accept dental insurance, and we also provide low to no interest payment plans for those without it to provide affordable dental care.
Learn More About the Cost of Emergency Dentistry
Every Dental Emergency is Different
Dental emergencies come in all shapes and sizes, which means you and another patient in urgent need will most certainly have two completely different costs. The good news is that an emergency dental visit is not too costly, which is a welcomed reality for many individuals who might consider putting it off because they don’t believe they can afford treatment.
Scheduling an appointment with your emergency dentist in Calimesa and our team will allow us to thoroughly examine your smile and recommend treatment options that fit your budget. Whether it is antibiotics, root canal therapy, gum disease treatment, tooth extractions, or dental crowns, you can expect us to provide a detailed plan that discusses the proposed treatment, how it works, and how much it will cost.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?
It is possible, depending on your plan, for dental insurance companies to pay for one emergency exam each year. Based on what we recommend with regard to treatment, your insurer may agree to pay 50-80% of the total cost since that is the range for minor or major restorative care. However, your deductible and annual maximum will be considered before your insurance company agrees to pay. But don’t worry, as our dental team will work hard to help you maximize your benefits and save the most money.
Other Options for Making Dental Emergencies Affordable
Even if you’re uninsured, we make it possible to keep your dental emergency treatment affordable. How? With CareCredit! This third-party financier offers low and zero interest payment plans to eligible enrollees. By breaking up the cost of your emergency dental care, you can maintain manageable monthly payments while getting the care you need.
Taking Care of Your Smile Can Save You Money
Not all dental emergencies are unavoidable; however, many arise as a result of untreated infections and damage. Maintaining optimal oral hygiene habits at home as well as continuing to see us every six months for routine checkups and cleanings will not only minimize your risk for potentials problems but also save you thousands of dollars. According to Cigna Health, it is believed that adults who receive preventive care can save 31% in dental costs over 5 years. For adults who do not regularly practice preventive dental care, it is believed their annual dental costs will increase by 43% in 5 years.
Recognizing you have a dental emergency is the first step. Then, you should immediately seek help. Receiving immediate care is essential if you want to avoid complex and costly procedures down the road. It could be the difference between antibiotics or a tooth extraction that requires additional tooth replacement!
Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies
More than two million people in the United States schedule an emergency dental appointment every year. Unless you want to become part of this statistic, it’s in your best interest to be proactive about your oral health. Of course, it’s impossible to completely prevent dental emergencies in Calimesa. Accidents happen, after all. However, practicing a few basic oral hygiene and safety guidelines makes it much easier to reduce the risk of damage to your smile. Below, you’ll find five easy tips for helping you avoid dental emergencies.
Learn More About Preventing Dental Emergencies
Visit Our Dental Office Regularly for Checkups
How long has it been since your last dental checkup and cleaning? Ideally, it shouldn’t be more than six months ago. Seeing Dr. Parker twice a year for routine visits can save you a lot of pain (and money!). If our team catches tooth decay, infections, or other oral health concerns, we can treat them before they worsen and become full-blown emergencies. During your cleaning, our hygienists can remove stubborn plaque from your teeth, minimizing the risk that infections or cavities will develop in the first place.
Maintain a Daily At-Home Oral Hygiene Routine
Routine dental checkups are important, but you’ll also need to maintain a clean mouth at home. If you neglect to brush and floss, bacteria and plaque could build up on your teeth and gums, increasing the risk of needing to visit an emergency dental office in Calimesa. Make sure to brush your teeth for two full minutes in the morning and again at night. You should also floss before bed. If you don’t already rinse with mouthwash regularly, consider adding it to your routine; it can clean areas of your mouth that your floss and toothbrush cannot.
Eat a Balanced Diet
It probably comes as no surprise to hear that eating too much sugar can lead to cavities. But did you know that starchy items have the same effect? Starch breaks down into sugar in the mouth, giving destructive oral bacteria fuel to wreak havoc on your oral health. Limit your consumption of sweets, white breads, potato chips, and other sugary and starchy foods and drinks. Instead, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. They contain valuable nutrients such as vitamin C, which promotes healthy gums.
Wear a Sportsguard
You should always wear a sportsguard when you engage in physical activity, even if it’s not a contact sport. If there’s a chance that your mouth, jaw, or face could come into contact with the floor, the wall, a piece of equipment, or another player, you’ll want to shield your pearly whites from injury. Luckily, Dr. Parker can make you a custom-fit sportsguard that delivers comfort as well as protection.
Don’t Open Packaging with Your Teeth
As tempting as it may seem to tear open packages with your teeth, this habit can take a serious toll on your tooth enamel. Eventually, it may cause your tooth to fracture. You might even scratch the soft tissue in your mouth. To protect your smile, it’s always worth taking a few extra seconds to reach for the scissors if you need help opening packaging.
Dental Emergency FAQs
Although we’ve covered a lot of information on this page – from the most common dental emergencies to the factors that impact the cost of your treatment – there are a few things we haven’t covered. That’s why we’ve dedicated this next section to FAQs! You can read on to learn more about handling serious dental injuries or, as always, you can reach out to us with any questions you have.
Will my toothache go away on its own?
If you’ve been postponing a visit to our office in hopes that your toothache will go away on its own, there’s some bad news: attempting to ignore your symptoms only allows the root of the problem to worsen. For example, with enough time, a small cavity that could once be treated with a dental filling can progress to the point where root canal treatment or an extraction is needed. In other words, scheduling an appointment with us to get the essential restorative care you need is the best choice for your oral health and your wallet.
How should I sleep with tooth pain?
Our Calimesa dental team goes above and beyond to see patients who are struggling with a dental injury the very same day. However, if you’re out of town or you don’t need immediate treatment, you might be wondering how you can sleep soundly with a toothache. Well, there are a few things you can do! First, stick to soft foods that aren’t acidic or sugary, like oatmeal and hard-boiled eggs. When it comes time for bed, take an OTC pain reliever about 30 minutes beforehand and prop yourself up on a few pillows so your head stays elevated throughout the night.
Should I visit the emergency room first for dental emergencies?
There’s a common misconception that you should go to the ER if you’ve knocked-out, cracked, or fractured a tooth. However, hospitals rarely have dentists on staff! For that reason, you should only go to the ER if you are having trouble breathing, you’re having difficulty swallowing, or you’re experiencing another potentially life-threatening symptom. If you aren’t, and you’re in Calimesa, then your first call should be to us.
My chipped tooth doesn’t hurt. Do I still need to visit?
Remember, pain isn’t the only warning sign that you need to visit your dentist. With chipped teeth specifically, it’s possible for an infection to develop or the tooth to break further, even if you aren’t experiencing any discomfort. That’s why we encourage our patients to contact us right away. Once we learn more about your situation and symptoms, we can determine if you need to come in for same-day treatment with Dr. Parker.
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