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A True Dental Emergency involves:
- Pain that lasts hours
- Pain that is spontaneous or provoked by chewing
- Pain that is not relieved by over-the-counter pain relievers
- Pain that wakes your child at night
- Swelling of the face or within the mouth
- Injuries to the mouth that result in a knocked out tooth, lacerations, bleeding, or serious tooth fracture.
Pain or injury of this nature requires an office visit. Pain or injury of this nature PLUS facial swelling is an emergency and requires an office visit, a call to one of the doctors on call, or a trip to the emergency room.
These are not dental emergencies,
but they require an office visit and attention:
- Pain that lasts only a few seconds and occurs sporadically
- Fleeting pain from eating sweets or cold foods
- Abscessed teeth or "gum boils" without pain
- Oral Herpes infections
These are not dental emergencies
and can wait for a regularly scheduled appointment:
- "Double teeth"
- Mouth ulcers
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This is a serious infection of the face that requires immediate attention.
Swelling of the gums requires an office visit and treatment with antibiotics.
Injuries such as a knocked-out tooth or fracture are emergencies.
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Small cavities that may be sensitive to sweets or cold foods are not true emergencies, but require an office visit.
An abscessed tooth with “gum boils” like this is often not painful.
An oral Herpes infection with blisters and swollen gums.
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