Broken tooth, sudden pain or swelling: call us first. Dr. Nelly Silva treats the problem in our office, with gentle numbing and CT imaging on site.
Most dental emergencies belong in a dental chair, not a hospital. Use this guide to decide where to go and how fast.
These steps protect the tooth and ease pain until your exam.
Hold it by the crown, not the root. Rinse it briefly and press it back into the socket if you can, or keep it in milk and come in at once.
Rinse with warm water and floss to free trapped food. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever as directed, and never put aspirin on the gum.
Save the pieces, rinse with warm water and hold a cold compress on the cheek. Cover a sharp edge with dental wax.
Rinse with warm salt water and use a cold compress, then call us that day. Swelling that reaches the eye or neck needs the ER.
Keep the crown and chew on the other side. Pharmacy dental cement can cover the tooth for a day or two.
Press clean gauze on the cut for 10 to 15 minutes. If the bleeding continues, go to an emergency room.
Eat soft foods, avoid opening wide and use warm or cold compresses. A jaw that will not open or close needs prompt care.
We ask about the pain, swelling or injury and explain how to protect the tooth on the way in.
We numb the area with The Wand, which delivers local anesthetic at a slow, computer-controlled pace. Conscious sedation is available for patients with strong dental anxiety.
When a crack, an infection or an impacted tooth needs a 3D view, our Vatech CT scanner captures it here, without a trip to an imaging center.
We stop the pain and treat the infection or injury. Then Dr. Silva explains the options for restoring the tooth, so you choose the next step.
Most urgent visits lead to one of these treatments, and all of them are done in our office, so the team that relieves your pain also completes the repair.
Clears infection from an abscessed or deeply cracked tooth so the tooth can be kept.
For a tooth too broken or infected to keep, including impacted and wisdom teeth.
Replaces a lost filling or rebuilds a chipped tooth.
Replaces a tooth lost to injury or extraction. Dr. Silva holds an American Dental Implant Association fellowship.
Gum abscesses and periodontal flare-ups, treated with non-surgical and laser periodontal care.
Jaw pain and locking, assessed by a dentist with a TMD residency through the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain.
Dr. Nelly Silva, DMDDr. Silva leads our team and asks patients to call her Nelly. She teaches oral medicine and surgery at Temple University, and her craniofacial pain training suits the jaw and facial pain that brings many patients in urgently.
Dr. Strassberg practices periodontics with our team and treats gum infections and other gum emergencies.
★★★★★"So grateful I was able to be seen same day when I called today with a broken tooth. Dr. Nelly was so kind, professional, explained everything and put in process a plan for my teeth."
Kristen K., Google Review
★★★★★"Called and was seen an hour later. If you are like me and haven't seen a dentist in an embarrassing amount of time, they will treat you like a human being and make you comfortable."
Bill M., Google Review
The cost of an emergency visit depends on what the exam finds and the treatment you choose. We review your options and what your plan covers with you before treatment starts.
Straight answers to what patients ask when something goes wrong with a tooth.
Anything that needs same-day care to save a tooth or stop pain or infection: a knocked-out adult tooth, severe pain, a broken tooth that hurts or swelling. A small chip or a lost filling with no pain can usually wait for the next opening.
Most hospital emergency rooms do not extract teeth or perform root canals. They can control pain, start antibiotics and treat facial injuries, then refer you to a dentist. For the tooth itself, a dental office is the faster route to a fix.
Do not put a baby tooth back in the socket, because that can harm the adult tooth underneath. Press gauze on the area and call us. We provide pediatric dentistry, including sedation dentistry for children.
Yes. Conscious sedation is available for strong dental anxiety. Patients who have stayed away from the dentist for years tell us our team made them feel comfortable.
Our office is closed on Saturday and Sunday. Go to an emergency room for trouble breathing or swallowing, a jaw injury or heavy bleeding. For a toothache or broken tooth, use first aid and call us when we open.
Brush twice a day for two minutes, and see your dentist twice a year. Checkups catch cracks, decay and gum infections before they become emergencies, and a custom sports guard from our office protects teeth during contact sports.
Tell us what happened and we will guide you from first aid to a finished repair.
Advanced Dentistry of Collegeville
