At Desert Family Dental, we want to be there for your family whenever you need us. We understand that sometimes people wake up in the morning with a throbbing toothache or bite into a sandwich at lunch and pull a crown loose.

Sometimes accidents happen as well, like an errant softball chipping or breaking a tooth. Occasionally, we see patients who have had accidents and lost teeth.

These things happen sometimes, and when they do, you can count on Dr. Scott Lee and the staff at Desert Family Dental to help. We prepare for dental emergencies, building time into our daily schedule to accommodate them, and can usually get you in to see the doctor the same day.

When you experience a dental emergency, call our office immediately, even if you are not a patient of ours. Dr. Lee knows that when dealing with emergencies, patients may not have the ability to wait a day or two for an appointment. They may have excruciating pain, or a severely damaged tooth that needs immediate care.

Dr. Lee makes emergency patients a top priority, and builds time into the daily schedule to accommodate patients who need treatment right away. In many cases, the doctor can perform a quick procedure to eliminate the pain patients feel and send them on their way.

For more extreme problems, we offer free emergency exams and x-rays. The doctor can accommodate all types of emergencies, including cracked or broken teeth, teeth that have been knocked out, severe tooth pain or sensitivity, objects stuck between the teeth, and trauma to the mouth and gums.

No matter what type of dental emergency you have, you should make your first step calling our office immediately. We can fit you into the schedule and give you instructions for handling the emergency until you can make it in. Some of the most common dental emergencies include:

A toothache can result from several issues. Patients may have an abscessed or infected tooth that causes them significant pain. Dr. Lee can provide a prescription for antibiotics to help fight the infection, and if the patient experiences extreme pain, he can offer pain medication as well.

Some toothaches result from cavities or exposed nerves. Dr. Lee can treat cavities quickly with an emergency filling, easing the pain, and protecting the tooth from further damage.

In the case of exposed nerves, the doctor may need to perform an emergency root canal. During this procedure, he will remove the exposed or infected nerve endings, then cover the tooth with a dental crown to protect from further infection.

While not a typical occurrence, fillings and crowns will occasionally fail, leaving a damaged tooth exposed. When this happens, the patient may experience some intense pain. Dr. Lee will fit these patients into the schedule as quickly as possible, to replace the cavity or crown that was lost.

A patient may crack or break a tooth by biting down on something hard, like candy or ice cubes. Facial trauma, such as a hit to the face or falling may also cause teeth to crack or break.

Patients may not visibly notice cracked teeth, but will certainly take note of them when they chew. A cracked tooth typically does not hurt when the patient bites down, but when they release the bite.

Broken teeth can range in severity. The doctor can typically polish out a small chip in a tooth, but a larger break may need immediate attention. The tooth itself may not hurt, but sharp edges left by the break can cut the tongue.

If you have a badly broken tooth, call our office right away, and we will give you instructions for caring for the tooth until you can get to us. If you notice bleeding, press gauze or a tea bag on the area to stem the blood.

Whether due to a fall or an accident, a knocked out tooth needs immediate attention. If you suffer a knocked out tooth outside our business hours, you should head to the emergency room for medical treatment.

Try to put the tooth back into the socket, handling it as little as possible. If you cannot do this, place the tooth in a container of milk or ADA recommended tooth preservation product. Get to our office or the emergency room as quickly as possible. The faster your tooth receives attention, the better the likelihood of saving it.

If you have a dental emergency and need to see the doctor quickly, call our Mesa, AZ, dental office at (480) 485-7747 and we will fit you into the schedule as quickly as possible.