“…but, it doesn’t hurt.” I tell my patients all the time I almost wish things hurt a little worse a little sooner. The human body holds amazing abilities to mask important physiological issues in order for us to cope with day to day life. When these emergencies occur about 1/3 of the time the patient fears a costly dental bill. But just as likely they were too busy to address an issue before it becomes serious. Below are how I would breakdown the typical dental emergency: 1) Simple one tooth problems A dental emergency in this category is a single broken tooth, lost crown, or something smaller like a chipped filling or natural tooth. This category also includes anyone with recent dental work completed that may have some lingering sensitivity. Assuming the issue is dedicated to one tooth, normally a single x-ray can be taken. Treatment for this may vary from $0 (emergency exams are part of our In Office Savings Plan) to around $1500 (if you needed a crown) if we cannot save the existing restoration. If time is a factor, we can even treat this same day with our CEREC imaging technology minimizing your appointments. 2) Painful, throbbing tooth or teeth and extensively broken teeth Teeth in this category will need more complicated intervention. Teeth here have had large cavities or broken pieces for long periods of time and have hurt intermittently until they become unbearable. If a patient presents with this level of discomfort, we will almost always have to address the underlying pain first before we can get the tooth healthy again. For many patients in this category we would expect a root canal, post and core, and crown to save the tooth (upwards of $3000) or we may have to extract the tooth and place an implant and crown (which can start at around ($3900). Other times the tooth may not hurt at all if it had a previous root canal but broke in a way that the tooth can no longer be saved. One word of warning regarding these cases many times someone with a painful tooth has many other neglected areas and we may have to prioritize our treatment. 3) Swollen cheeks, pus, bleeding, etc. This is a serious dental and medical emergency. If there is swelling present or difficulty breathing, we will need to get you immediate care. These issues can lead to breathing difficulty and even death. If we see a patient with these symptoms, we will typically need to get you to a specialist to remove the infection. If the tooth is saveable it may mean several trips to an endodontist but in many cases we will have to send you to an oral surgeon for treatment and followup care The above information is just an initial guide to dental emergencies and obviously can be different for each individual. However, when we have the opportunities to see you sooner than later we can normally treat you safely in the office. The worse things get the more complicated and dangerous they become. Think of the above symptoms as warning lights on your car. Many times we may see a Check Engine light on and still be able to drive the car easily but as that problem persists it gets worse. The faster we can get you in to see you the easier the problem is to fix (which means less money and less time away from work or family!)