Emergency Dental Services in Hillman City & Columbia City, S. Seattle
If you have a dental emergency in south Seattle, call our Rainier Ave Dental right away. The sooner you can see a dentist in a dental emergency the better – to alleviate pain and to ensure the best chance that a damaged, broken or knocked out tooth can be saved.
Book an Emergency Appointment
Our south Seattle dental office provides emergency dental services even if you aren’t an existing patient.
CALL US (206) 725-3667
Lost filling or Broken Crown
If you’ve broken a crown or lost a filling, you should make an appointment with a dentist to have it fixed as soon as possible to prevent pain and further decay or damage. Loose fillings are often a sign that there is further decay in the tooth that is causing the filling to no longer fit properly.
Broken or chipped teeth
If you have broken or chipped one (or more) of your teeth, call us to book an appointment to prevent further damage or infection. Try not to bite down on the broken or chipped tooth.
If it’s causing you pain, talk to a pharmacist about over the counter pain medication until you can see one of our dentists.
What to do if your tooth has been knocked out
A knocked out tooth is a serious dental emergency. If you can’t reach our office, go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
To avoid further damage to your tooth:
- Find the tooth, and try not to touch the root (the area of the tooth that is under the gum)
- If the tooth is dirty, hold it by the crown (the smooth white part) and rinse it with milk. Do not use water, and don’t scrub it.
- If possible, put the tooth back into the socket, facing the right way. Hold the tooth in place by gently biting down or with some gauze.
- It’s important not to let the tooth dry out. If you can’t put it back in place, you can keep it moist by holding it in your mouth.
From tooth extractions to root canals, our team at Rainier Ave Dental can help. We conveniently offer oral surgery options to patients right from our dental office in Hillman City, south Seattle.
Tooth Extractions or Removals
At Rainier Ave Dental, Drs Kim & Kim may recommend tooth extractions for a tooth that is badly decayed, abscessed, affected by serious gum disease or other oral health concerns.
When does a tooth need to be removed?
Although our first choice is to repair a tooth to prevent a tooth removal, sometimes a tooth is too badly damage to be saved. If the tooth has a large amount of decay, or has been badly broken, and can’t support a dental restoration like a crown, a tooth extraction may be necessary.
Will a tooth extraction be painful?
Our team at Rainier Ave Dental strives to make your treatments as comfortable as possible, especially oral surgery like tooth removals or extractions. If you are anxious about oral surgery, talk to us – we offer services for anxious patients like nitrous oxide.
The first step in a tooth removal is to place a local anaesthetic to the area surrounding your tooth so that you will be numb while your tooth is extracted. The dentist will then carefully remove the tooth using precise instruments. If anything become uncomfortable our caring team will be listening and ready to help make you more comfortable.
Tooth extraction after-care
Taking proper care of your mouth after a tooth removal is important.
Our team will explain the aftercare needed for your specific treatment, but there are some simple steps you can follow after a tooth extraction to prevent future problems:
- Take your pain medicine as recommended by your dentist
- Leave the gauze in place for at least 3 hours (or as instructed by your care team)
- Apply an ice pack to the area
- Take it easy for the next 24 hours and limit strenuous activity for the next few days
- Don’t use a straw, rinse or spit for the next 24 hours to avoid dislodging a blood clot (unless instructed otherwise)
- Avoid smoking
- Try to sleep as flat as possible that night, avoid propping up your head with extra pillows
Eating soft foods after your extraction like ice cream, pudding, soups, apple sauce and smoothies will allow you to heal quicker. You can slowly add solid foods back into your diet – just follow your post-surgical treatment plan.
Wisdom Teeth Extractions
If your wisdom teeth are impacted, crooked or causing crowding or pain, they may need to be removed.
Wisdom teeth are the last molars to erupt, usually coming through in your late teens or early twenties. Our south Seattle dentists will monitor the wisdom teeth of our teenage and young adult patients, and if there are any concerns about their positioning, they will investigate further with additional x-rays. Depending on your age and the position of the teeth and whether or not your mouth can accommodate the teeth, we may recommend waiting to observe how your wisdom teeth progress or proceeding with treatment
Why would wisdom teeth need to be removed?
Your wisdom teeth may be impacted, misaligned and poking or rubbing on your cheeks or tongue, causing irritation. If there is not enough room for them in your mouth, the wisdom teeth can cause crowding and shifting among the rest of your teeth.
They can also be very difficult to keep clean because they are so far back in your mouth and may develop decay.
In these cases, the best course of action is usually a wisdom teeth extraction.
What is an impacted wisdom tooth?
An impacted wisdom tooth is one that is growing in in the wrong direction – sideways instead of up and down.
This can cause pain in your mouth and if it isn’t corrected, it can cause damage to the molars next to it.
What happens during a wisdom tooth extraction?
Wisdom teeth are usually removed under sedation. Our team will provide a high standard of surgical care, and will ensure that you understand the procedure and your treatment plan before proceeding.
What will I need to do after my wisdom teeth are removed?
Our team will explain how to care for your mouth after having your wisdom teeth removed. In most cases, we recommend biting on gauze (to keep pressure on the area) after surgery, icing your face, and eating soft food for a few days. We may also recommend pain medication to manage your pain effectively.
How much does a wisdom tooth extraction cost?
The cost of wisdom teeth removal varies depending on the number of teeth needing to be removed and the positioning of the teeth. Our team will discuss the options with you and ensure that you understand all the costs before the procedure.
Root Canals
Our Rainier Ave Dental dentists provide root canal therapy to treat teeth with infection or inflammation in their root canal (the area inside the tooth). If this inflammation or infection is left untreated, it can lead to an abscess in the tooth and considerable pain. By removing the infection, a root canal can stop existing pain and potentially prevent further tooth deterioration and pain.
Why would I need a root canal?
A root canal is necessary when there is infection or inflammation in the pulp of the tooth – the soft tissue inside the root canal. Bacteria can enter the tooth– either through a chip or crack in the tooth, deep decay, repeated dental procedures or even an injury to the tooth – and cause an infection. Left untreated, this infection can lead to abscesses, pain and more damage to the tooth.
How do I know if I need a root canal?
If your tooth hurts, is sensitive to hot or cold, is discolored, causes pain while chewing or when touched, or if you are experience there is swelling or tenderness around the area, you might have a tooth infection that requires root canal treatment.
What happens during the root canal procedure?
Our team is always concerned with your comfort. Using local anesthetic to numb the area, our dentist will remove the damaged and infected pulp and clean the root canal.
The space is then filled with a special material to prevent further infections. In most cases, a temporary crown will be placed and you will return for a second appointment to place the permanent crown or other restoration.
How much will a root canal cost?
Because a root canal treatment is specific to your tooth and the severity of the infection, and the final restoration (crown, inlay, onlay etc.) needed, the price will vary.
However, a root canal is usually less costly than a tooth extraction and future restoration (which may require a dental implant, bridge or other appliance).
Our team at The Rainier Ave Dental is happy to discuss the cost of your procedure with you to make sure you understand the procedure and associated costs.