We understand how stressful it can be to deal with a dental emergency, so during office hours, we give immediate attention to your situation, making time to see you as soon as possible. If you have a dental emergency during a time when our practice is closed, call our office and follow the instructions provided. A member of our team will return your call and provide you with further guidance.
For serious or life-threatening emergencies, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room for treatment.
Here are instructions to help you handle some of the most common dental emergencies:
If you have a toothache…
Rinse your mouth with warm water to clean the area around the tooth and floss gently to remove any food particles that may be lodged in the tissue surrounding it. If this doesn’t help or if the area around the affected tooth feels warm, call our office to schedule an appointment.
If a lip, gum, cheek, or tongue gets cut…
Use an ice pack to reduce swelling and a clean cloth or sterile piece of gauze to apply pressure and stop any bleeding. If the bleeding cannot be controlled, call your physician or go to your nearest emergency room.
If a baby tooth gets knocked out…
Call our office and schedule an appointment for your child. Baby teeth cannot be replaced once they’ve been knocked out, but we will evaluate for soft tissue damage and determine whether a space maintainer is needed.
If a permanent tooth gets knocked out…
It’s important to act quickly in order to save the tooth. Call our office immediately, then hold the tooth by the crown (do not touch the root) and gently rinse it with water. If you can, push the tooth back into the socket and bite down on a piece of sterile gauze to keep it in place. Otherwise, put the tooth in a small cup of milk or saliva and bring it to our office.
If a tooth gets broken or chipped…
Rinse the area with lukewarm water and use a cold compress to reduce any swelling. If you can find the piece of broken tooth, place it in a cup of milk or saliva and bring it to our office; we may be able to bond it back into place. If more than half of your tooth has broken off, call our office immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dental Emergencies
What are some dental emergencies?
We consider the following types of situations to be dental emergencies: unbearable pain, bleeding that won’t stop, or circumstances in which prompt treatment is needed in order to save a tooth.
Are cavities considered a dental emergency?
Cavities are not typically considered a dental emergency. The exception to this is if you have a cavity that is causing you severe pain. If this is the case, your tooth may be infected.
What helps unbearable tooth pain?
If your tooth pain is unbearable, it’s a sign that something is seriously wrong with the affected tooth. It’s unlikely that the pain will resolve without treatment. That said, you can make it more bearable while waiting for your appointment by using over-the-counter pain relievers, numbing creams, and cold compresses.
Can a knocked out tooth be put back in?
Yes, an adult tooth that has been knocked out can often be put back in successfully. The key is to act fast and avoid touching the root of the tooth. With prompt treatment, your gums and soft tissues will reattach to the tooth’s root.