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What Is a Dental Emergency?
A dental emergency is a situation that requires urgent dental care. Some emergencies are more urgent than others and need immediate attention, so you should go to your nearest ER if you can’t see a dentist quickly.
Typical situations that are more urgent dental emergencies include:
- Severe toothache.
- Knocked out tooth.
- Severely cracked tooth.
- Partially knocked out or extruded tooth.
- Dental abscess.
- Soft tissue injuries to your lips, cheeks, tongue, or gums.
What to Do If You Have a Dental Emergency
Contact us as quickly as possible so we can arrange for you to get urgent dental care. We will ask about the problem and the symptoms you are experiencing, and we can schedule an appointment for you to see an emergency dentist. Even if the situation is less urgent, we can still provide useful information and schedule your appointment.
Our dental team makes every effort to see people in pain or experiencing dental emergencies promptly, ideally on the same day if possible. In the meantime, we can provide reassurance and useful information to help you manage the situation until your dental visit.
Below is some general information on how to manage dental emergencies until you visit NYC Dentistry Center, but you will receive more tailored instructions when you contact us.
Severe Toothache
Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel and apply it to the outside of your mouth to reduce any swelling. Use the pack for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.
Take over-the-counter pain relief medication as directed on the packaging. You should never place painkillers directly on the tooth or gum, as it can burn your gum tissue and will not relieve the pain.
Knocked out Tooth
Retrieve the knocked-out tooth, taking care to hold it by its crown, which is the part usually visible in your mouth. Rinse off any visible dirt under running water, but don’t remove any tissue fragments.
If you feel able, you can try to reinsert the tooth, but ensure it is facing the right way; don’t attempt to force it back into the socket. Come and see us immediately.
Otherwise, store the tooth in a small container with a cup of water and a pinch of salt or milk. You can also purchase special products over the counter for temporarily storing knocked-out teeth, which contain cell growth mediums.
Time is important when you knock out a tooth, as we have the best chance of saving it if you visit us within an hour. However, if it has been longer, still come and see us, as we may still be able to save your tooth.
Severely Cracked Tooth
Rinse your mouth with warm water to remove any pieces of broken tooth and save them to bring with you to your appointment. If the tooth is bleeding, apply a gauze pad and gently press it against the area for 20 minutes until the bleeding stops.
Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel to relieve pain and any facial swelling, applying it for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. Visit us as soon as possible.
Partially Knocked Out Tooth
Take over-the-counter painkillers to relieve any discomfort. Use an ice pack wrapped in a towel and held against your face for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off to help reduce swelling. Please come and see us as soon as possible.
Dental Abscess
A dental abscess is an infection that develops around the root of a tooth. It can also develop in the space between the teeth and gums. It can cause a pimple of pus to develop on the gum nearest the tooth.
Dental abscesses are a serious infection that can damage surrounding teeth and tissues, and can affect overall health. They require urgent dental care. In the meantime, you can try using a warm saltwater rinse several times a day, as this will help draw the pus buildup to the surface and ease the pain.
Soft Tissue Injuries
If you have injured your tongue, lips, cheeks, and gums and have bleeding, it’s important to try to control it as quickly as possible.
Rinse your mouth with a warm saltwater solution and apply a moist teabag or gauze pad to the injury, using gentle pressure to hold it in place for up to 20 minutes.
A teabag is a good option because it contains tannic acid, which shrinks blood vessels and slows down bleeding. You can also use an ice pack wrapped in a towel to relieve pain, holding it against the outside of your mouth for 5-10 minutes.
If you can’t stop the bleeding, come and see us immediately, or go to your nearest emergency room, continuing to apply pressure on the injury until you can get professional help.
Why It’s Important to Get Prompt Dental Care
It is important to seek urgent dental care, even if you aren’t sure whether it’s a dental emergency. Getting prompt dental care can:
- Relieve pain and discomfort quickly.
- Prevent infection from spreading.
- Increase the chances of saving natural teeth.
- Lower the risk of requiring more invasive, complex, and costly treatment later.
It is always better to contact us, even if an issue seems relatively minor now, so that we can provide assistance and professional dental care sooner.
What to Expect When You Visit an Emergency Dental Clinic
Step One: Evaluation
Our emergency dentist will gently assess the issue and, if necessary, take diagnostic images. These may include digital X-rays and a cone beam CT scan. We have all the necessary diagnostic equipment on-site, and the images are viewable on-screen in the treatment room for a quick and accurate diagnosis.
Step Two: Pain Relief & Stabilization
Once the problem has been identified, we can provide immediate pain relief and emergency dental care. For example, if you have a dental abscess, we may wish to drain the infection. We can stabilize loose teeth and stop bleeding.
Step Three: Follow-Up Treatment
Once we have stabilized the situation and relieved discomfort and pain, we can discuss follow-up treatment if required. Often, it’s necessary to return to our dental office for a more permanent solution, such as root canal therapy or other restorative treatments that may be needed.
Some of the emergency treatments we offer can include:
- Emergency dental exams and diagnostic imaging.
- Root canal therapy.
- Dental abscess drainage.
- Tooth extractions.
- Temporary restorations.
- Tooth repairs for fractured or chipped teeth.
- Recementing crowns and bridges or replacing them.
- Repairing damaged dental appliances like braces and dentures.
- Treating soft tissue injuries.
When Is a Dental Emergency Urgent?
Our emergency dentist can help in most situations; however, some emergencies require immediate care and cannot be delayed. In this case, if you cannot see us, you may need to visit your ER, or we may recommend going there directly.
These situations can include:
- A severe tooth infection that is causing facial swelling, a fever, difficulty breathing or swallowing, and making you feel very unwell. In this case, delaying treatment could affect your general health and, in rare circumstances, can even be life-threatening.
- Severe facial trauma, and where you may have broken your jaw. In this situation, you will need to see an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who can provide treatment in a hospital setting.
- Uncontrolled bleeding that fails to stop.
When Is a Dental Emergency Less Urgent?
Other situations are less urgent but still require expert dental care, including the following.
- Mild toothache.
- Minor soft tissue injuries that aren’t bleeding extensively.
- A small crack or chip in a tooth.
- Something stuck between your teeth.
- Broken braces.
- Broken or missing dental restorations.
In these situations, it’s still important to contact us so we can provide information over the phone and schedule your appointment. In the meantime, here’s some information on how to control the symptoms.
Mild Toothache
Try gently flossing around the painful tooth to dislodge any impacted food, and then rinse your mouth with warm water to wash away food particles. Sometimes this can help because impacted food can shift a tooth slightly out of place, causing discomfort and pain.
Take over-the-counter pain relief, but please don’t place any tablets directly on your gums, as you could burn them. Contact us to book your appointment.
Minor Soft Tissue Injuries
Rinse your mouth with antibacterial mouthwash or a warm saltwater rinse. Use a clean gauze pad or a moist tea bag to apply pressure to the injury. The bleeding should cease within 20 minutes. If it doesn’t, you need more urgent dental care.
Small Chip or Crack in a Tooth
A minor chip or crack in a tooth can be addressed at a later appointment, provided it is not causing any pain. If it feels uncomfortable or has a sharp edge, try covering it with a small piece of sugar-free gum or orthodontic wax, which can be purchased from a pharmacy.
Something Stuck between Your Teeth
Try to remove it gently using dental floss or an interdental brush, but don’t force it. Please don’t attempt to remove it using a sharp object; instead, leave it for us to remove when you visit us.
Broken Braces
A broken brace is usually not a dental emergency, but it needs to be repaired professionally as soon as possible to avoid delaying your treatment. In the meantime, you can cover any broken wire with orthodontic wax or try bending it back into place using an eraser.
Broken or Missing Dental Restorations
Broken or missing dental restorations can be uncomfortable, but they aren’t usually a dental emergency.
When you contact us to schedule your appointment, we can provide you with specific information on how to address your dental emergency. For example, if you lose a filling, you may want to protect the tooth by inserting a small piece of sugar-free gum into the cavity. Alternatively, you could use temporary dental cement purchased from the pharmacy.
Our friendly and compassionate dental team can provide you with the best advice on managing any dental issues until you can visit us.
NYC Dentistry Center6 E 45th Street, 8th Floor, Suite 2
New York, NY 10017
(212) 810-9264