Dental emergencies can include toothaches, dental trauma (knocked-out or fractured teeth), facial swelling, or lost fillings.
If you experience a dental emergency, it is important that you contact your local dentist as soon as possible.
If you are unsure if you are experiencing a dental emergency, it’s best to be on the safe side and seek attention from a dentist as soon as possible.
To find out more, read our article on What To Do in a Dental Emergency.
Dental emergencies can include toothaches, dental trauma (knocked-out or fractured teeth), facial swelling, or lost fillings.
If you experience a dental emergency, it is important that you contact your local dentist as soon as possible to improve your chance of saving the affected tooth or teeth, and to prevent infections from spreading and becoming potentially serious.
Toothaches
If you are suffering from a toothache, take some painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen and seek care as soon as possible. Severe dental pain may be associated with a developing dental abscess which requires urgent assessment and appropriate treatment.
Lost Filling
A lost filling can leave sharp edges and lead to cuts on the tongue and cheeks if left untreated. If there is no pain, use a temporary filling material from the pharmacy or dental orthodontic wax to smooth the edge over until you can visit your local dentist. If you are experiencing pain, contact your local dentist immediately.
Soft Tissue Injuries
This includes cuts, tears, and punctures to the tongue, cheeks or lips. Try to clean the wound straight away and visit your local dentist or emergency department as soon as possible. If bleeding persists, place pressure on the wound using gauze.
Your dentist will be the best person to evaluate your emergency situation and provide the best possible treatment to make sure you are looked after.
Facial Swelling
If you are experiencing swelling around your jawline or cheeks, you should seek medical advice immediately.
Either contact your local dentist or visit the emergency department to get to the root of the swelling as soon as possible.
Facial swelling may be the result of an abscess (an infection inside the tooth or gums).
Some symptoms you might experience alongside facial swelling with an abscess include:
An untreated tooth abscess can be very dangerous if left untreated, and infection can even spread to other areas of the face and jaw.
One of the most common dental injuries is a lost tooth. If a tooth is knocked out it's important to act quickly. Rinse the tooth with milk to wash off any dirt. To increase its survival time, either immerse the tooth in milk or place it back in your mouth.
If your child has lost a baby tooth, do not place it back in the socket. Doing so can damage the new permanent tooth underneath.
Regardless of how damaged the tooth is, you should seek medical advice immediately.
Reposition the tooth using very light finger pressure, and hold in place with a moist tissue or gauze. Try to find any broken or chipped away pieces and rinse them with milk to remove any dirt. If you cannot find the piece of tooth, contact your dentist immediately. Depending on how damaged the tooth is your dentist may be able to repair it.
Whilst waiting to see your dentist, some ways to manage your dental pain include: