What Happens at an Emergency Dental Visit in Lodi (and What Comes After)
An emergency dental appointment is usually arranged in a hurry, and the wait before it can fill up with questions about what will actually happen once you are in the chair. This article covers the visit and what follows it: the call beforehand, what to bring, how a dentist works out what is wrong, the kinds of treatment that exist for a toothache or a tooth abscess, how recovery tends to be described, and what can reduce the chance of going through it again.
It is not first aid, and it does not work out whether what you have counts as an emergency. For the hours before the appointment, see what to do before you reach the dentist.
Before you go: the call
General guidance from the American Dental Association's consumer site, MouthHealthy, is to call your dentist and provide as much detail as possible about your condition; it says that most dentists reserve time in their daily schedules for emergency patients (American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)).
At Dental Associates of Lodi, same-day emergency appointments are available Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The practice's telephone number is 862-247-8030.
What to bring
If a dental crown or bridge is broken or has come off, bring the restoration with you to the dentist (Cleveland Clinic).
The practice is at 147 Main St, 2nd Floor, Lodi, NJ 07644, and its site states that the office has an elevator and free parking.
Where dental emergencies are treated
For most dental emergencies, such as a broken or knocked-out tooth, the dentist treats you in the office. Emergency room providers can give you medications, such as antibiotics or pain relievers, but they don't perform restorative treatments such as fillings or crowns, and you will still need to see a dentist (Cleveland Clinic).
Cleveland Clinic says to head to your nearest emergency room if a tooth abscess is accompanied by a fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or higher, confusion, difficulty swallowing, an elevated heart rate or facial swelling (Cleveland Clinic).
Those warning signs are about an abscess in particular. Whether a problem counts as an emergency at all, and whether it belongs with a dentist or in an emergency room, is covered more fully in a separate guide to recognizing a dental emergency.
How a dentist works out what is wrong
What a dentist looks at depends on the problem in front of them. The two published accounts below are about a toothache and a suspected tooth abscess in particular; neither of them describes what every emergency appointment involves.
For a toothache, Cleveland Clinic says a dentist will perform an examination and ask about your symptoms, and may also take a dental X-ray to see if there are any issues going on beneath your gums (Cleveland Clinic).
For a suspected tooth abscess, Cleveland Clinic says the dentist examines the tooth and surrounding tissue for signs of infection and may also recommend a dental X-ray, which can help identify sources of dental disease and show whether the infection has spread; tap and press on your teeth, since a tooth with an abscess is often sensitive to touch or pressure; and do thermal tests to assess the health of your tooth pulp (Cleveland Clinic).
What this practice's website says a visit may include
Dental Associates of Lodi's own "What to Expect" section for emergency care states that an emergency visit may include numbing, antibiotics, temporary restorations and digital X-rays.
Treatments that exist for these problems
What follows is general published information about how these two problems are treated. It is not a description of what is done at an emergency appointment, and not a statement about which treatments this practice provides.
For toothaches, Cleveland Clinic says the treatment that is right for you depends on the severity of your situation: if you have a small cavity, or a small piece of your tooth has broken off, your dentist will probably recommend a dental filling; a larger cavity or fracture may require a dental crown; and when a cavity or crack is too big for a filling but not large enough to warrant a crown, your dentist may recommend an inlay or onlay (Cleveland Clinic).
For a tooth abscess, Cleveland Clinic lists several treatment options: incision and drainage; a root canal, which removes the tooth's infected pulp and fills the space, after which the tooth may need a dental crown to protect it; extraction, when the tooth is damaged beyond repair; and antibiotics, which may help fight off remaining bacteria but won't get rid of the cause of the infection, the affected tooth (Cleveland Clinic).
A tooth abscess won't go away on its own. Pain may stop if the infection causes the pulp inside your tooth to die, while the bacteria keep spreading, so care is still needed (Cleveland Clinic). For most pulpal and periapical conditions in adults who are not severely immunocompromised, the American Dental Association's guideline on antibiotics for dental pain and swelling recommends dental treatment rather than antibiotics, with antibiotics if a patient's condition progresses to systemic involvement, showing signs of fever or malaise (American Dental Association).
Managing pain
Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen, naproxen or ibuprofen, can be taken for dental pain (Cleveland Clinic). The American Dental Association's 2024 guideline recommends NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, taken alone or along with acetaminophen, as first-line treatment for managing short-term dental pain in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older (American Dental Association).
What recovery can look like
After treatment for a tooth abscess, Cleveland Clinic says the abscess should clear up; temporary sensitivity is common, and it may take a few days to feel completely back to normal. Healing times can vary, as every case is unique, so ask your dentist what to expect after your tooth abscess treatment (Cleveland Clinic).
Preventing a repeat
The American Dental Association's consumer site advises wearing a mouthguard when participating in sports or recreational activities, avoiding chewing ice, popcorn kernels and hard candy, all of which can crack a tooth, and using scissors, never your teeth, to cut things (American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)).
You can't always prevent toothaches, Cleveland Clinic says, but it lists visiting your dentist regularly for exams and cleanings among the things you can do to reduce your risk (Cleveland Clinic).
The practice's services page lists custom mouth guards, and its emergency page mentions custom night guards for bruxism.
Cost and insurance
The practice's insurance page states that insurance is verified before treatment and that claims are filed, gives a list of PPO plans, and mentions CareCredit and payment plans; which plans are on that list is worth asking about when you call. The site also has a dental savings club page, which lists discounts that include fillings, crowns, root canal therapy and extractions.
If you need to be seen
To arrange a visit, call Dental Associates of Lodi at 862-247-8030. Same-day emergency appointments are available Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is more about emergency dental care in Lodi on the practice's site.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic. "Dental Emergencies: What To Do ("What Is a Dental Emergency and Where To Go for Care")." Updated 2022-09-15. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11368--dental-emergencies-what-to-do
- Cleveland Clinic. "Abscessed Tooth (Tooth Abscess: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment)." Updated 2026-01-22. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10943-abscessed-tooth
- American Dental Association (MouthHealthy). "Dental Emergencies." https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/dental-emergencies
- American Dental Association. "New Guideline Details Acute Pain Management Strategies for Adolescent, Adult Dental Patients." Published 2024-02-05. https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/new-guideline-details-acute-pain-management-strategies-for-adolescent-adult-dental-patients
- American Dental Association. "Antibiotics for Dental Pain and Swelling Guideline (2019)." Published 2019. https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science/evidence-based-dental-research/antibiotics-for-dental-pain-and-swelling
- Cleveland Clinic. "Toothache (Toothache: Symptoms, Causes & Remedies)." Updated 2023-04-11. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10957-toothache
