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What to Do in a Dental Emergency Before You Reach the Dentist

By Dental Associates of Lodi

7 min read

Dr. Liao seated beside a dental chair at the practice.
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A dental emergency doesn't announce itself in advance, and what helps most in the first few minutes depends on exactly what has happened. This article goes situation by situation: what to do, what not to do, and which cases belong in a hospital emergency room rather than a dental office. If the question on your mind is whether this counts as an emergency at all, that is covered separately in our guide to whether it's a dental emergency at all.

First: when to go to an emergency room

  • Go directly to the emergency room for broken facial bones (Cleveland Clinic).
  • Head to your nearest emergency room if you have a tooth abscess with a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, confusion, difficulty swallowing, an elevated heart rate or facial swelling (Cleveland Clinic).
  • Bleeding that won't stop means seeing your dentist right away (Cleveland Clinic); if your dentist isn't available, severe pain or bleeding that won't stop warrants the emergency room (Cleveland Clinic). The full steps for bleeding are below.

A knocked-out permanent tooth

Pick the tooth up by the crown, the white part, and avoid touching the root (International Association of Dental Traumatology). If you can, try to put it back in its socket, making sure it's facing the right way. Never force it into place (Cleveland Clinic).

If putting it back isn't possible, keep the tooth moist, between your cheek and gums or in milk, and get to your dentist's office right away (American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)). Milk, saliva (spat into a glass first) and saline are all suitable, convenient storage mediums (International Association of Dental Traumatology).

Time matters here. The root surface starts to dry within a matter of a few minutes, and after 30 minutes of dry time most of the periodontal ligament cells on the root are no longer viable (International Association of Dental Traumatology). Cleveland Clinic says your dentist has the best chance of saving a knocked-out tooth when it's returned to its socket within one hour (Cleveland Clinic).

A knocked-out baby tooth should not be put back. The reasons include possible further damage to the developing permanent tooth and, most importantly, the risk of the child inhaling the tooth (International Association of Dental Traumatology).

A broken, chipped or cracked tooth

Save and rinse any broken pieces of the tooth, and rinse your mouth with warm water. If there's bleeding, apply a piece of gauze to the area for about 10 minutes or until the bleeding stops. Apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth, cheek or lip near the broken tooth to relieve pain and keep any swelling down. See your dentist as soon as possible (Cleveland Clinic).

If a small chip or crack has left a sharp edge that irritates your tongue or cheeks, Cleveland Clinic says to cover the area with orthodontic wax (Cleveland Clinic).

A severe toothache

Rinse your mouth thoroughly with warm water, and gently use dental floss to remove any food caught between your teeth. If your mouth is swollen, apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth or cheek. See your dentist as soon as possible (Cleveland Clinic).

For the pain itself, over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen, naproxen or ibuprofen can be taken (Cleveland Clinic). The American Dental Association's 2024 guideline recommends NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, taken alone or along with acetaminophen, as first-line treatment for managing short-term dental pain in adults and adolescents aged 12 or older (American Dental Association).

Don't put aspirin, or any other painkiller, directly against your gum or tooth. Cleveland Clinic says it may burn your gum tissue (Cleveland Clinic).

A tooth abscess won't go away on its own. Pain may stop if an infection causes the pulp inside your tooth to die, while the bacteria keep spreading, so care is still needed (Cleveland Clinic).

Antibiotics may help, but they won't get rid of the cause of the infection, the affected tooth (Cleveland Clinic). For most infections of this kind in adults who aren't severely immunocompromised, the American Dental Association's guideline recommends dental treatment rather than antibiotics, with antibiotics if there are systemic signs such as fever or malaise (American Dental Association). That guideline is about treatment, not about where to go: if an abscess comes with any of the emergency-room signs listed above, the emergency room is still the place to go (Cleveland Clinic).

A lost or broken filling or crown

If a filling is broken or missing, stick a piece of sugarless gum into the cavity (sugar-filled gum will cause pain) or use an over-the-counter dental cement, and see your dentist as soon as possible (Cleveland Clinic).

If a crown or bridge is broken or has come off, make an appointment to see your dentist as soon as possible and bring the restoration with you. If possible, put it back in place first, coating the inner surface with an over-the-counter dental cement, toothpaste or denture adhesive to help hold it. Don't use super glue (Cleveland Clinic).

On how soon, one source here speaks to it: Cleveland Clinic lists a lost or broken dental restoration among its examples of dental emergencies and says to see your dentist as soon as possible (Cleveland Clinic).

Bleeding, or a bitten tongue or lip

If you bite your tongue or lip, clean the area gently with water and apply a cold compress (American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)). Cleveland Clinic gives a duration for a cold compress after a soft-tissue injury in the mouth: hold it to the outside of your mouth or cheek in the affected area for five to 10 minutes (Cleveland Clinic).

For bleeding from the lips, tongue, cheeks or gums, use a moistened piece of gauze, or a caffeinated tea bag, to apply pressure to the bleeding site, and hold it in place for 15 to 20 minutes. If the bleeding doesn't stop, see your dentist right away (Cleveland Clinic). If your dentist isn't available, head to your nearest emergency room (Cleveland Clinic).

Something stuck between your teeth

Try to remove it gently with dental floss; Cleveland Clinic also names an interproximal brush. Never try to remove it with sharp or pointed instruments (Cleveland Clinic).

Getting to a dentist

Once you've done what you can for your situation, call our office at 862-247-8030. Same-day emergency appointments are available Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Whatever the time of day, the instructions above come first: nothing in this section replaces an emergency-room step, or a step that tells you to be seen right away or as soon as possible.

A knocked-out permanent tooth is the clearest example: the instructions above call for getting the tooth to a dentist right away (American Dental Association (MouthHealthy)), and the timing guidance remains time-sensitive (International Association of Dental Traumatology). If our office is closed, find another provider rather than waiting for the next available date.

When the office is closed, the practice's instruction for a dental emergency is to book the next available date or find another provider; that applies to a situation the steps above have not already sent somewhere sooner. There is also an online consultation on our website. You can also read more about emergency dental care in Lodi.

The sources cited above are listed in full below.

Sources

  • International Association of Dental Traumatology (endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry). "International Association of Dental Traumatology Guidelines for the Management of Traumatic Dental Injuries: 2. Avulsion of Permanent Teeth (AAPD Reference Manual endorsement reprint; Dental Traumatology 2020;36(4):331-342, doi 10.1111/edt.12573)." Published 2020. https://www.aapd.org/media/policies_guidelines/e_avulsion.pdf
  • International Association of Dental Traumatology (endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry). "International Association of Dental Traumatology Guidelines for the Management of Traumatic Dental Injuries: 3. Injuries in the Primary Dentition (AAPD Reference Manual endorsement reprint; Dental Traumatology 2020;36(4):343-359, doi 10.1111/edt.12576)." Published 2020. https://www.aapd.org/globalassets/media/policies_guidelines/e_iadt-injuries25.pdf
  • Cleveland Clinic. "Dental Emergencies: What To Do ("What Is a Dental Emergency and Where To Go for Care")." Updated 2022-09-15. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11368--dental-emergencies-what-to-do
  • Cleveland Clinic. "Abscessed Tooth (Tooth Abscess: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment)." Updated 2026-01-22. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10943-abscessed-tooth
  • Cleveland Clinic. "Dental Trauma (Dental Injuries)." Updated 2023-12-04. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16916-dental-injuries
  • American Dental Association. "New Guideline Details Acute Pain Management Strategies for Adolescent, Adult Dental Patients." Published 2024-02-05. https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/new-guideline-details-acute-pain-management-strategies-for-adolescent-adult-dental-patients
  • American Dental Association. "Antibiotics for Dental Pain and Swelling Guideline (2019)." Published 2019. https://www.ada.org/resources/research/science/evidence-based-dental-research/antibiotics-for-dental-pain-and-swelling
  • American Dental Association (MouthHealthy). "Dental Emergencies." https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/dental-emergencies

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