Emergency Dental Care

If your child has a dental emergency, give us a call immediately. If you need urgent treatment after hours, our emergency number is on our voice mail and someone will call you as soon as possible.

We are always here to assist when your child’s dental health is at risk.

Below are tips for dealing with urgent dental situations. You may want to display this on your refrigerator or store it near your emergency phone numbers for easy reference.

Bitten Lip or Tongue

If your son or daughter has a bitten lip or tongue severe enough to cause bleeding, clean the bite gently with water and use a cold compress (a cold, wet towel or washcloth pressed firmly against the area) to reduce or avoid swelling. Give us a call to help determine how serious the bite is.

Object Caught In Teeth

If your child has something caught between his or her teeth, use dental floss to remove it gently. Never use a metal, plastic, or sharp tool to remove a stuck object. If you are unable to remove the item with dental floss, give us a call.

Broken, Chipped, or Fractured Tooth

If your child has chipped or broken a piece off a tooth, rinse his or her mouth with warm water, then use a cold compress to reduce swelling. Try to locate and save the tooth fragment that broke off! 

If you locate the fragment, place it in water or milk and bring it with you to our office. In most cases, the fragment can be bonded back onto the remaining portion of the tooth. These types of injuries are not emergencies unless the child is in pain.

Knocked-Out Tooth

If your childs tooth has been knocked out, find the tooth and DO NOT RINSE IT WITH WATER! Try to reinsert it back into place immediately and call our office. If you are unable or do not feel comfortable reinserting tooth, place it in plain milk and call our office. The best chance for a tooth that has been knocked out to survive is that it be replaced within one hour.

Loose Tooth

If your child has a very loose tooth, it should be removed to avoid being swallowed or inhaled.

Toothache

If your son or daughter complains of a toothache, rinse his or her mouth with warm water and inspect the teeth to make sure nothing is caught between them. If pain continues, use a cold compress to ease the pain.

Do not apply heat or any kind of aspirin or topical pain reliever directly to the affected area, because this can cause damage to the gums. Children’s pain relievers may be taken orally. 

Broken Jaw

If you know or suspect your child has sustained a broken jaw, use a cold compress to reduce swelling. Do not call our office; call 911 or proceed to the emergency room. In many cases, a broken jaw is the result of a blow to the head. Severe blows to the head can be dangerous and even life-threatening.

Avoiding Injury

You can help your child avoid dental emergencies. Child-proof your house to avoid falls. Always use car seats for young children and require seatbelts for older children.

And if your child plays contact sports, have him or her wear a mouthguard. Ask us about creating a custom-fitted mouthguard for your child. Finally, prevent toothaches with regular brushing, flossing, and visits to our office.