What To Do In A Dental Emergency

A plain-English guide to the first thirty minutes — written for people who are in pain now, not studying for an exam.

Almost every dental emergency comes down to three questions: is this dangerous, does it need treating tonight, and what do I do in the meantime? Here is how to answer all three quickly.

1. First, rule out the dangerous version

Go to a hospital emergency room, not a dentist, if you have any of these: swelling closing an eye or spreading down the neck, difficulty breathing or swallowing, fever with facial swelling, or a jaw injury from a fall or crash. Dental infections can become genuinely serious, and that stage needs hospital care first.

2. Then work out if it can wait

Same-night treatment: a knocked-out adult tooth (minutes matter), pain that stops you sleeping, facial swelling, bleeding that will not stop, or a tooth broken to the point the nerve is exposed.

Usually next-day: a lost filling or crown with no pain, a chipped edge that is only sharp, a broken denture, a brace wire you can cover with wax.

If you are not sure which side of that line you are on, call (407) 903-0320 and describe it. We will tell you honestly, including when the answer is “this can wait until morning.”

3. What to do while you travel to us

Knocked-out adult tooth: pick it up by the crown, never the root. Do not scrub it. If you can, push it gently back into the socket and bite on a cloth. If you cannot, keep it in milk — not water. Come now.

Pain: ibuprofen if you can take it, and a cold compress on the outside of the cheek. Never put aspirin directly against the gum — it burns the tissue.

Swelling: cold compress, keep your head elevated, and do not apply heat. Call us immediately; swelling means infection.

Broken tooth: save any fragments in milk, rinse with warm water, and cover a sharp edge with sugar-free gum or dental wax so it stops cutting your tongue.

Lost crown or filling: keep the crown. Temporary dental cement from a pharmacy is fine for a few hours. Never use superglue — it destroys the tooth and the crown.

Bleeding: firm pressure with clean gauze for 15 minutes without peeking. If it has not slowed after that, call us.

Find your situation

Severe ToothacheGet help →Emergency Tooth ExtractionGet help →Knocked-Out ToothGet help →Broken or Chipped ToothGet help →Abscess / SwellingGet help →Emergency Root CanalGet help →Lost Filling or CrownGet help →Broken Braces or WireGet help →Denture RepairGet help →Wisdom Tooth PainGet help →Children’s Dental EmergencyGet help →

Common questions

How long do I have to save a knocked-out tooth?

Best results come from getting it back in the socket within 30 minutes. After about an hour out of the mouth and dry, the odds fall sharply — but it is still worth coming in, because even a tooth that cannot be saved needs the socket treated.

Can I just take painkillers until I get home?

For a mild ache for a day or two, sometimes. But pain that wakes you at night, or any swelling, means infection, and infection does not resolve on ibuprofen. It gets worse, and the treatment gets bigger and more expensive.

Is a hospital ER a substitute for an emergency dentist?

Not for the tooth. An ER can manage pain and infection and rule out something dangerous, but they do not have a dentist, a dental X-ray, or the instruments to treat the tooth. You would still need a dentist afterwards.

Further reading from independent professional bodies: the American Association of Endodontists on knocked-out teeth and the American Dental Association’s consumer site, MouthHealthy.

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