Dental care for kids: Urgent vs. emergent situations
What is a dental home?
Why is it important that my child has a dental home?
When should I contact my dentist for an urgent dental need?
- When you notice a cavity
- When your child has pain from a cavity
- If you see a pimple or red bump on your child’s gums
- If your child has pain in the back of their mouth that might be from wisdom teeth
- When your child chips a tooth
- Loose or “pokey” orthodontic wires
My child is in pain, but their dentist’s office is closed! What should I do?
How can I alleviate my child’s pain/discomfort until I can get an appointment with their dentist?
My child just knocked out a baby tooth. What should I do?
My child just knocked out a permanent tooth. What should I do?
When should you take your child to the emergency department?
- A dental infection that has spread throughout the body with symptoms such as:
- High fever (102–104°F)
- Dehydration
- Changes in mental state
- Facial swelling
- Fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing due to facial swelling
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- A dislodged intraoral appliance (such as a removable retainer) that is blocking the patient’s airway or was swallowed
- Severe facial trauma
- Knocked-out permanent teeth
- Permanent teeth that are loosened or out of normal position in the jaw and need to be stabilized
- Chipped dental teeth with pink visible or bleeding from inside the tooth
- A broken jaw
- Cuts of the tongue, cheeks, or lips that are bleeding uncontrollably and may require stitches
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