Emergency Dentistry

Certain dental problems cannot wait for a regular appointment. Contact our Fort Mill office right away if you experience any of these conditions:

How you respond in the first minutes after a dental emergency significantly affects the outcome. For knocked-out teeth, handle the tooth only by the crown portion, rinse it gently without scrubbing, and try placing it back in the socket if possible. If you cannot reinsert it, keep the tooth moist in a container of milk or your saliva while traveling to our office.

Broken teeth require you to rinse your mouth with warm water and collect any fragments you can find. Apply a cold compress to your face to reduce swelling and take over-the-counter pain medication if needed. For bleeding, apply gentle pressure with clean gauze for about 10 minutes.

When dealing with toothaches, rinse with warm salt water and gently floss around the affected area to remove trapped food particles. Never place aspirin directly on your gums, as this burns the tissue. For lost fillings or crowns, you may temporarily reattach a crown using denture adhesive or toothpaste as makeshift cement.

Dr. Phan begins every emergency visit with a complete examination to accurately diagnose the problem. Using digital X-rays and advanced diagnostic tools, we quickly identify issues invisible to the naked eye, including hidden fractures or infections.

Treatment options depend on your specific emergency. For infections, we may prescribe antibiotics and perform root canal therapy to remove infected tissue and preserve the tooth. Broken teeth often need immediate bonding, veneers, or crown placement to restore function and appearance. When a tooth cannot be saved, we provide gentle extraction services followed by a discussion of replacement options like dental implants or bridges.

If you're experiencing a dental emergency in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Charlotte, or Ballantyne, Lotus Dental Associates can help. Our team will assess your situation and work to see you as quickly as possible. We speak both English and Vietnamese, accept Delta Dental Premier insurance, and offer an in-house membership plan for patients without insurance benefits.

• You have roughly 60 minutes to save a completely dislodged tooth, making immediate action critical for successful reimplantation.
• Intense, persistent pain that prevents eating or sleeping often signals infection or advanced decay requiring urgent intervention.
• Significant cracks that expose inner tooth layers, cause sharp edges that cut your mouth, or result from facial trauma need prompt repair.
• Deep cuts to your lips, cheeks, tongue, or gums that continue bleeding after 10 minutes of direct pressure require professional care.
• Missing crowns or fillings expose vulnerable tooth structure to bacteria and temperature sensitivity, risking further damage.
• Bacterial infection can enter the tooth's pulp through decay or fractures, creating pus-filled pockets that spread quickly without treatment.