Emergency Dentistry

Common Questions About Emergency Dentistry

• What is a dental emergency?

  There are several types of dental emergencies. Dental emergencies can consist of a sudden and severe toothache, an accident that chips or cracks a tooth, a damaged or loose restoration, or a lost or damaged tooth. About 22 percent of people have experienced dental or oral pain in the last six months. To know if your situation is an emergency, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Are you in severe pain or experiencing severe swelling?
  • Do you have a painful toothache that will not subside?
  • Do you have a loose or knocked-out tooth?
  • Do you have swelling in your cheeks or face in combination with a toothache?
  • Are you experiencing extreme tooth sensitivity?
  • Are you bleeding from the mouth that will not stop?
  • Is your jaw injured?

  In general, any dental problem that needs immediate treatment to stop bleeding, alleviate severe pain, or save a tooth is considered an emergency. This consideration also applies to severe infections that can be life-threatening and constitute contacting your dental office.

• What should I do if I have a knocked out tooth?

  Don’t touch the roots or top of the tooth. The roots of your teeth are delicate, only pick up and handle your lost tooth by the sides and chewing surface.

  Clean the tooth gently. You can use water or milk to gently rinse the tooth. Do not try to rub, scrub, dry off, or use soaps or chemicals to clean your lost tooth.

  Put the tooth back in the socket, if possible.Once gently cleaned you should try to gently replace the tooth, handling only the sides and bottom. Once replaced you can softly bite down to keep it there. Make sure your tooth is oriented properly and not backward. Do not try to force it if it won’t fit properly.

  If you can’t put it back, keep it moist. Putting the tooth in a glass of milk to soak is a great option. Alternately you can softly hold the tooth between your gums and cheek. Though this shouldn’t be done with younger children who could swallow the tooth. Don’t use tap water to soak a knocked-out tooth because it could damage the roots. If you don’t have cow's milk and can’t hold your tooth in its socket or in your cheek, spitting into a container and soaking the tooth in saliva is the next best option.

  Call a dentist. Getting to a dentist as quickly as possible is critical. It is possible to reattach a tooth an hour or more after it has been knocked out. However but the sooner you can see a dentist the better the chances are of reattaching it.

• What if I have a chipped or cracked tooth?

  If you have a chipped or cracked tooth, contact your dentist right away. Chipped teeth that aren’t painful can usually be smoothed out or filled in at a regular dental appointment. A cracked tooth typically indicates that there’s damage to the inside of the tooth, as well as the outside. If your tooth is cracked please follow these steps, after contacting your dentist.

  • Rinse your mouth with warm water
  • Apply a cold compress to minimize swelling
  • Take over-the-counter medication to alleviate pain

  Do NOT apply any pain medication—including Orajel—directly to the gums, as it can damage gum tissue