Dental emergencies

Call the clinic first

If you are in pain or have had an injury, phone before travelling so the team can advise you and make time for you.

Seek immediate medical help at a hospital — not a dental clinic — if there is swelling that affects your breathing, swallowing or vision, or swelling spreading to the eye or neck, or if you have a high fever with facial swelling.

Common emergencies

Knocked-out permanent tooth. Time matters. Hold the tooth by the crown, not the root. If it is dirty, rinse briefly with milk or saline — not water, and do not scrub. If you can, place it back in the socket and bite gently on a cloth. Otherwise keep it in milk and come straight in. Do not attempt to reimplant a baby tooth.

Broken or chipped tooth. Save any fragments in milk. Rinse with warm water. Cover a sharp edge with sugar-free gum if it is cutting your tongue.

Severe toothache. Ordinary pain relief taken as directed on the packet may help until you are seen. Do not place aspirin against the gum — it burns the tissue.

Bleeding after an extraction. Roll clean gauze into a pad, place it over the socket and bite firmly for 30 minutes without checking. Repeat once if needed. If bleeding continues, call the clinic.

Lost filling or crown. Keep the crown. Avoid chewing on that side and arrange an appointment.