There are many reasons for tooth pain and some issues require immediate attention from a dentist. It is advised that you become an established patient of record in case of an urgent dental need or true dental emergency. We set aside a number of urgent and emergency dental appointments each day to see patients of record. As we have space available, we may also be able to see patients who have not yet been established in our office. Please contact our office at (850) 385-5297 to check on availability for urgent and emergent dental appointments. If we cannot see you in our office the same-day, we will get you in as soon as possible based on your circumstances or try to recommend other options for you. If it is after-hours or on the weekend and you have an urgent dental need, press 2 and leave a message on our voicemail and we will contact you on the next business day. If you are experiencing a true dental emergency, press 1 to leave a message for the on-call provider and await further instructions.
Common Causes of Tooth Pain:
Cracked Tooth:
Chipped Tooth:
Fractured Tooth:
Trauma/ Tooth Knocked Out:
Abscess Tooth:
Tooth aches and broken teeth are never fun and even more stressful when you don’t have an established dental care provider. We always recommend becoming established with our office and getting routine dental care to minimize the need for emergency care. Seeing a dentist and having regular hygiene cleanings every 3-6 months can prevent tooth aches as we can often spot problems and treat them before you are in pain, minimizing the circumstances that lead to dental emergencies. However, things sometimes do happen, even with routine care, or before you are able to become established as a new patient. Our first priority is to have time available to see urgent care and dental emergencies for established patients of record and we will see non-patient dental emergencies as space is available in our schedule. Due to the amount of time available for emergency appointments, your first visit to our office may be for a Limited Exam and a single x-ray of the problem area. You may schedule a longer appointment time at this visit for a Comprehensive Exam and Full-Mouth Series of x-rays if you are seen for a dental emergency on your first visit.
What to do if you are experiencing an urgent dental problem or a true dental emergency:
Is it an urgent dental concern or a true dental emergency? A true dental emergency involves:
If you are experiencing a true-dental emergency, give us a call at (850) 385-5297. If it is after hours and is a true dental emergency, press 1 to leave a message for the on-call dentist or assistant and wait to hear back for further instructions. Please note: We are not able to send in narcotics prescriptions to the pharmacy after hours.
If you are experiencing pain, but it is able to be managed and/or you have no visible active infection or broken/chipped teeth, but you still feel that your dental concern is urgent, you may contact us. If it is after hours, press 2 and leave us a message in the general voicemail box and someone will return your call on our next business day to advise you or schedule a limited exam and x-rays to assess your concerns.
If you have been involved in an accident and have extensive damage to your face or mouth, you need to seek immediate care and go to the nearest emergency room. If you are a patient of record, please give our office a call to let us know, so that we may schedule a follow-up.
If it is after business hours and you are having a true dental emergency with pain that won’t subside after taking over the counter pain medication and swelling, but you are not a patient of record, please understand that we CANNOT prescribe medications to you without a full health assessment in our office. Therefore, you will need to go to an urgent care facility to be seen. You can contact us after hours by pressing 2 and leave a message in our general voicemail box and we will get back to you on our next business day to try to see you for a follow-up at our first available opening.
