Emergencies

If you unfortunately have a dental emergency, you are in good hands with us. We can provide you with the treatment you need as quickly as possible.

Toothache

Rinse the irritated area with warm salt water (½ teaspoon of table salt in 1 cup of water). Use dental floss to remove any lodged food.
Place a cold compress or ice wrapped in a cloth on the face if it is swollen.
Take over-the-counter pain medications, dosed accordingly, to cease the symptoms. Do not put heat or aspirin (or any other painkiller) on the sore area. See your dentist as soon as possible.

Remain calm. Then find the tooth. Hold it by the crown rather than the root and try to reinsert it in the socket. Make sure, the tooth is facing the right way. Never force it into the socket.
Place around the teeth a splint made from a folded strip of aluminum foil. Contact the dentist immediately.
If it is not possible to reinsert the tooth in the socket, put the tooth in a glass of milk, and bring it to the dental office. Do not try to scrub the tooth or to remove any attached tissue fragments. Avoid bruising or touching the surface of the root.
If the child is unconscious, call 911 for further support.

Do not reinsert the tooth in the socket because of the potential for subsequent damage to the developing permanent tooth. Contact your dentist.

If you can find a broken tooth fragment, place it in cold milk or water and bring it with you to the dental office. Rinse the mouth with warm water.
If there is bleeding, apply a pressure with a piece of gauze to the area for about 10 minutes or until the bleeding stops.
Apply cold compress to reduce any swelling and relieve pain.

See your dentist right away. Until you reach your dentist’s office, to relieve pain, apply a cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek in the affected area. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever (such as Tylenol or Advil) if needed.

Rinse your mouth with a mild salt-water solution.
Use a moistened piece of gauze or tea bag to apply pressure to the bleeding site. Hold in place for 15 to 20 minutes. To both control bleeding and relieve pain, hold a cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek in the affected area for 5 to 10 minutes. If the bleeding doesn’t stop, see your dentist right away or go to a hospital emergency room. Continue to apply pressure on the bleeding site with the gauze until you can be seen and treated.

If the crown falls off, see your dentist as soon as possible and bring the crown with you. If you can’t get to the dentist right away, coat the inner surface of the crown with an over-the-counter dental cement or denture adhesive then slip the crown back over the tooth. Do not use SuperGlue.

If a wire breaks or sticks out of a bracket or band and is poking your cheek, tongue or gum, try using the eraser end of a pencil to push the wire into a more comfortable position. If you can’t reposition the wire, cover the end with orthodontic wax until you can get to your orthodontist’s office. Never cut the wire, as you could end up swallowing it or aspirating it into your lungs.

Temporarily reattach loose brackets with a small piece of orthodontic wax. Alternatively, place the wax over the braces to provide a cushion. See your orthodontist as soon as possible. If the problem is a loose band, save it and call your orthodontist for an appointment to have it re-cemented or replaced (and to have missing spacers replaced).
If you are wearing a maxillary expander, and the appliance became loose, remove the appliance from the mouth and contact the dentist immediately, since the achieved expansion may relapse quickly and make re-cementation of the appliance very difficult.
If a space maintainer is loose enough to come out of the mouth, place it in an envelope, store it in a safe place, then call the office immediately. Many times a loose space maintainer can be easily re-cemented if the appliance has not been bent or broken and your child is seen as soon as possible. A delay in getting in for an appointment could cause the need for the space maintainer to be remade.

The information provided has not been designed to diagnose, treat or cure any health conditions.