Emergency Dentistry

• Painful tooth or toothache: An over-the-counter pain reliever like Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen are great first action options for toothaches to help relieve pain. We recommend doing a mouth rinse with warm water and doing a quick floss to remove any possible food that’s stuck in your teeth or gums. You can also use a cold compress outside your mouth, or on the cheek to help relieve pain.
• Chipped or broken or loose tooth: We may be able to reattach a chipped or broken piece, so if you can find the missing piece, that’s awesome. If not, no worries – we can fix it regardless.
• Knocked out tooth: If you can, find the tooth and clean it off. If that’s possible, then you can try to place it back into the socket and bite down firmly, but gently. DO NOT FORCE IT! You can also place it in a glass of cold milk to help keep it moist until you get in to see your dentist. There is a 1-hour or so window that gives the highest chance of success for saving your tooth.
• Bleeding in your mouth: A mild warm salt-water solution rinse is a good first step. Then you’ll want to apply clean gauze (moistened) or tea bag to the source of the bleeding and hold it in place for about 20 minutes (or until bleeding stops). A cold compress can help with bleeding and pain too. Apply it to your cheek or outside of your mouth where the bleeding is and hold it for 5-10 minutes.
• Broken dental crown, veneer, or bridge: If you can find the broken piece, there is a chance we can reuse it. Try to avoid swallowing any broken pieces if you can.
• Lost filling: You can use a piece of sugarless gum as a temporary fix, placing it into the cavity. Over-the-counter dental cement is another option.
• Concerns after trauma and or injury: It depends. For example, if your jaw is affected you’ll want to keep your face as still as possible until you can be seen by a dentist.
• Gum abscess or infection: Typically are pimple-like and cause painful swelling on your gums. Use a mild warm salt-water rinse to help bring the pus to the surface and relieve pain. You will want to do this several times a day if you aren’t able to get in to see a dentist immediately.
• Any other pain in your mouth – severe tooth pain or otherwise: Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen can be your friends here, but we’ll want to assess what’s going on it.

As common as dental emergencies are, there are ways that you can help prevent them from happening. Good oral health (brushing and flossing regularly) and regular dental visits always play a key role. And can often catch issues before they become larger problems. Other ways include staying away from chewing ice, hard candy, or popcorn kernels which are known to crack teeth, wearing a mouthguard when playing sports, and using scissors instead of your teeth to open things up.

At Advanced Dental Arts, we’re here to partner with you in your oral health journey. Unsure of whether you are suffering from a dental emergency? Give our Winnipeg emergency dentists a call at 204-500-2798 or fill out the form below. Current patients in need of emergency assistance after office hours will be able to select a prompt to connect with their dentist.