Dental Emergencies: What to Do
A short, practical checklist for the most common urgent dental problems.
Is it an emergency
Uncontrolled bleeding, facial swelling, trauma or pain that keeps you awake all count. Call us the same day.
Lost filling or crown
Keep the crown, cover the tooth with temporary dental cement from a pharmacy, and avoid chewing on that side until we can re-cement it.
Abscess
A pimple-like bump on the gum with pain or swelling is an infection. It needs treatment, not just antibiotics, to resolve permanently.
Soft tissue injury
Rinse with warm salt water and apply pressure with gauze. If bleeding does not stop after fifteen minutes, seek urgent care.
After hours
Leave a message and describe the problem clearly. Life-threatening swelling affecting breathing or swallowing means the emergency room, not our office.
Written by the team at Uptown Dentistry, led by Dr. Nicki Tajalli, DDS, in Uptown Houston. This article is general information, not a substitute for an exam.