Emergency Dentist – Grafton, ND

Easing Your Pain and Repairing Your Smile

Woman with tooth pain needing emergency dentist in Grafton, ND

Dental emergencies can be stressful and painful, but having a plan of action helps. At Kern Family Dentistry, we encourage patients to call our office right away if they’re suffering from a dental dilemma and aren’t sure what to do. We happily offer same-day treatment whenever possible and are always willing to walk patients through first-aid guidance over the phone until they’re able to reach our office. When our patients call and let us know they have a dental emergency, we take their word for it and act quickly and effectively to help them handle the situation and repair their smile. For immediate help and urgent dental attention, don’t hesitate to contact our office right now.

Why Choose Kern Family Dentistry for Emergency Dentistry?

Same-Day Emergency Appointments Offered
Dentist and Team with Years of Advanced Training
Comfortable State-of-the-Art Dental Office

How We Treat Dental Emergencies

Man in striped shirt with tooth pain

Same-Day Appointment: When you inform us that you’re suffering from a dental emergency, we will schedule an appointment for you (typically on the same day). We can also give you first-aid advice based on the nature of your symptoms.
Emergency Exam: In addition to addressing any immediate, severe dental pain you might have, our top priority during your emergency visit will be to figure out what’s causing the problem and how much damage has already been done. We’ll perform a full examination of your mouth; we may also take X-rays if need be.
Review Findings: We will share our findings from the previous step with you. Once you understand your situation, we can work with you to put together a treatment plan. Rest assured that no matter what kind of treatment we suggest, we will always give you an estimate of the cost as well as the timeline.
Get the Care You Need: After a treatment plan has been agreed upon, all that’s left is to carry it out and help you regain a healthy smile! Some patients may need crowns to repair damaged teeth; others might require root canal treatments for tooth infections or even extractions for teeth that are completely compromised.

The Most Common Dental Emergencies

Even if you’re not sure that you’re dealing with a true dental emergency, you can still call our office; if you describe your symptoms to our team, we’ll be able to help you figure out what your next steps should be. That said, it can certainly help to familiarize yourself with the types of dental issues that require urgent care. Below you’ll find some common examples of dental emergencies.

Toothaches

Chipped Tooth

Cracked Tooth

Sensitivity to Hot & Cold

Knocked-Out Tooth

Lost Filling or Crown

Broken Denture

Loose Tooth

Gums, Lips or Tongue Injury

Jaw Pain or Clenching

Something Stuck Between Teeth

Understanding the Cost of Dental Emergencies

Woman leaning back in dental chair and smiling

No two dental emergencies are identical, which makes it impossible to determine a set cost of emergency dentistry in Grafton. During your visit, we’ll review our diagnoses with you and discuss possible treatment plans. This will provide you with all of the information you need to determine whether your dental insurance will cover the procedures you need to restore your smile. Our team at Kern Family Dentistry also offers additional flexible financing plans that may better suit your needs.

No Two Dental Emergencies Have the Same Price

Close-up of man with glasses with tooth pain

You’ll be pleased to know that an initial appointment with an emergency dentist in Grafton is actually relatively inexpensive in most cases. After examining your smile and determining the extent of the damage, Dr. Kern will develop a personalized treatment plan to make your smile look and feel like new again. The specific procedures involved can vary greatly from patient to patient, so it’s impossible for us to give you a cost estimate unless you physically visit us. Rest assured, though, that we’ll thoroughly go over any pricing information you need to know before moving forward with treatment.

Caring for Your Smile Can Save You Money

Young woman in white shirt holding a toothbrush

While many dental emergencies, such as sudden accidents, cannot be predicted, most of them can actually be avoided with regular preventive dental care. If you maintain a diligent at-home oral hygiene routine and visit our office for twice-a-year checkups, dental emergencies like infections and cavities can be caught and treated in their early stages or even prevented entirely. As a result, you can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in dental bills over the years!

Another way to minimize the cost of urgent dental care is to give us a call immediately when you suspect something is wrong. We understand that you might be worried about the price of treatment, but dental emergencies typically worsen with time instead of getting better. Seeing us as soon as possible decreases your risk of needing costly and invasive procedures to fix your smile.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Dental Emergencies?

Dental insurance form on desk next to model of teeth

Fortunately, most dental insurance providers offer some emergency coverage. Many procedures associated with tooth pain – fillings, crowns, root canals, etc. – are typically eligible for coverage at 50 to 80 percent. Additionally, many plans cover one or two emergency exams per year as needed.

However, every plan is different. We can help you look over the details of yours and determine how much coverage you qualify for. We’re even in-network with many popular PPO plans, including:

Delta Dental
BlueCross BlueShield
MetLife
AFLAC
CIGNA
United Concordia

Don’t let worries about the cost of dental emergencies keep you from seeking the treatment your smile needs! Please call us today so that we can get your dental health back on track.

Keys to Preventing Dental Emergencies

Bearded man brushing his teeth in bathroom mirror

Although dental emergencies are impossible to avoid, you can take precautionary measures to reduce your risk of experiencing one. Here are some helpful tips to avoid stressful dental dilemmas:

Stick to a thorough daily dental hygiene routine.
Visit Dr. Kern for your checkups and cleanings every six months.
Be conscious of eating sticky and chewy foods that can damage teeth.
Don’t use your teeth to open packaging.
Wear a mouthguard to protect your teeth from nightly grinding.
Wear a protective guard if you participate in sports or hobbies that put your teeth at risk for being damaged.

Emergency Dentistry FAQs

What Counts as a Dental Emergency?

Since dental discomfort can be fairly common, it may be difficult to decide what exactly warrants emergency treatment. The most common signs that you have a dental emergency include:

Intense pain
Severe bleeding from the mouth
Teeth that are broken, loose, or even missing

Even if you’re unsure whether you truly have a dental emergency on your hands, it’s best to err on the side of caution and give our office a call anyway. We can get to the bottom of your toothache or cracked tooth to determine whether any treatment is necessary.

Should I Go to the Hospital?

In an emergency situation, your first instinct might be to call your local hospital. This is the right call if you are bleeding profusely from the mouth (even after applying pressure for more than 15 minutes), you suspect you have a broken or dislocated jaw, or you’re experiencing swelling that impacts your ability to swallow or breathe. For all other dental emergencies, you’re much better off contacting us instead. This is because the best an emergency room doctor will be able to do is prescribe you painkillers or antibiotics. At Kern Family Dentistry, we can actually get to the root of your problem.

Will I Need a Root Canal?

Root canal therapy is actually one of the most common treatments for severe toothaches. This procedure might have a daunting reputation for being painful, but the truth is that it’s no more uncomfortable than getting a filling, thanks to local anesthetic. During this procedure, we remove the damaged or decayed center of the tooth (known as the pulp), replace it with a synthetic material, and seal the tooth back up with a filling or crown. Most teeth that are treated with root canal therapy go on to last the rest of the patient’s life. However, the only way to know whether your toothache will require a root canal is to call our office and schedule an appointment.

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