Should you have a dental emergency, please call our office ASAP.  If after hours, you will be instructed to leave a message for the on-call doctor who will be paged right away.

Often, parents aren’t sure what constitutes an emergency or ask us questions about what to do immediately following the incident.  Below are some of the most common injuries emergencies and appropriate responses.

 

• Permanent tooth knocked out:  for the best long-term result, re-implant the tooth into the socket it was knocked out of.  Do not touch the root and be careful cleaning the tissue.  If you cannot put it back in, keep the tooth moist in room-temperature milk and bring it with you.  Getting the tooth stable is our primary objective.

 

• Baby tooth knocked out:  Do NOT re-implant it.  It is time for the tooth fairy!  Re-implantation could potentially damage the permanent tooth and we don’t want that to happen.

 

• Tooth knocked loose or hit out of place (permanent or baby):  Try to move the tooth back into its original place gently and do your best to secure it.  Call the office ASAP to triage.

 

• Open wounds:  Rule of thumb—if you have an open wound inside the lips, call us.  If it is outside the lips, we will recommend you contact a plastic surgeon.  Outside the lips is outside our area of expertise.  However, either way we are happy to help you triage what to do and encourage you to contact us immediately.

 

• Pain or swelling:  We encourage you to call us right away if your child is experiencing pain or swelling.

 

Just so there are no surprises, please note that there may be an after-hours fee if it is necessary for a team member to come in to treat your child when the office is closed.