How can we help you?
We're experts at what we do so you don't have to be. But there's a lot to consider when making decisions about dental treatment, and you have a right to feel fully informed and have all your questions answered.
At Dr. Fairfax & Associates Family Dentistry, we're firm believers in educating our patients about the benefits of a healthy smile, so your questions are very important to us. We encourage your questions because we believe that an informed patient is a happy patient!
Here are a few of the questions we hear most frequently. Please give us a call if you're looking for other answers that you don't see here. A friendly member of our team will be happy to help you.
Other
If you recently hurt a tooth or part of your mouth, you might feel unsure about whether that injury is severe enough for a dentist to need to examine it.
As a general rule, your Fairfax dentist should always look at tooth injuries soon after they happen because it’s possible to sustain internal, invisible damage that won’t be detected without a dental x-ray. Even if you only sustain a minor injury to your smile, it’s a good idea to schedule a dental appointment within a few days.
But what about same-day or late-night dental appointments? If your damaged tooth is broken, bleeding, painful, or outside of your mouth, you probably have a dental emergency and should schedule an emergency visit for that very same day.
Common dental emergencies in Fairfax, VA include:
- Broken jaws and broken teeth
- Bleeding teeth or severely bleeding gums
- Avulsed teeth, also known as “knocked-out teeth”
- Toothaches or shooting tooth/nerve pains
- Painful, broken dental restorations
- Oral infections
- Fractured or cracked teeth
Even if you’re not positive that your dental injury is an emergency, you should call your dentist anyway. Your dental treatment team can walk through your injuries with you over the phone and help you decide what’s best to do next.
Sadly, most dental emergencies are painful.
While nobody ever wants to be in pain, the good news is that dental pain can help alert you to the seriousness of your situation and draw attention to the fact that you need emergency dental care.
Dental emergencies can cause pain for several reasons. If your tooth is knocked out, or “avulsed,” this will likely be very painful—but it will be a different kind of pain than if you have a toothache or dental infection.
If you sustain a dental emergency, you can and should take over-the-counter pain medication as soon as you can. A dose of acetaminophen or ibuprofen can reduce your pain and make your symptoms bearable until you can get to our dental office.
If you’re still in significant pain when you arrive, our clinical team will treat your pain with the appropriate medications. Dr. Fairfax can also prescribe a pain medication for after your treatment if she believes your pain will persist.
Remember, the faster you can get to our dental office for an emergency visit, the sooner we can get you out of pain. We don’t want our patients living with painful smiles or broken teeth, so we’ll do everything we can to minimize your suffering and get you feeling better.
