Emergency Procedures
Emergency After-Hours Line:
(Must be an established patient)
(432) 272-1190 Option 5
Emergency Procedures
Emergency services are provided to current patients of record. If you are not currently a patient, we recommend going to your local Emergency Room for assistance. Our after-hours notifications are checked until 10 PM. All calls after 10 PM will be returned the following day.
EMERGENCIES DUE TO TRAUMA
Broken/Chipped Tooth
1. Try to find the broken piece and store in water or milk (do not keep dry).
2. We may be able to glue the fragment back on, or may need to place a restoration.
3. Contact our Emergency After-Hours Line, and our dentist on call will guide you on next steps.
4. Typically this isn't a true emergency and we will schedule an evaluation the very next day.
Tooth Moved/Loosened or Bleeding around Gums
1. If the teeth have moved, try to gently place the teeth back in their original position and close the mouth with a piece of gauze, napkin, or handkerchief between the upper and lower front teeth.
2. Contact our Emergency After-Hours Line, and our dentist on call will guide you on next steps.
3. We will schedule an evaluation the very next day to see the extent of any damage done to the teeth.
Knocked Out Tooth
1. If the tooth is a baby tooth, there isn't anything to do. The tooth cannot be replaced and will be given to the Tooth Fairy a little early.
2. If the tooth is a permanent tooth, you must act quickly. There is a 2-hour window of time for the best chance of keeping the tooth.
Find the tooth, and hold the tooth by the crown, do not touch the root.
Rinse the tooth briefly in water.
Immediately place the tooth back to its original place despite the bleeding.
To keep the tooth in place, close the mouth with a piece of gauze, clean handkerchief, or napkin between the upper and lower front teeth.
3. Contact our Emergency After-Hours Line, and our dentist on call will need to meet you at our office for an emergency visit.
Jaw injury
If your child suffers a significant injury involving multiple teeth, a loss of consciousness, vomiting, or your child cannot close their mouth correctly, this is an emergency and needs immediate medical attention. Go immediately to the nearest hospital. After any medical attention, contact our office to evaluate any dental injuries.
EMERGENCY TOOTHACHE OR SWELLING
Toothache
If your child is experiencing pain or a toothache:
1. Clean the area around your child's tooth by brushing and flossing.
2. Give your child acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or ibuprofen for discomfort (unless your child is allergic to these mediations).
3. Contact our Emergency After-Hours Line, and our dentist on call will guide you on next steps.
4. Typically this isn't a true emergency and we will schedule an evaluation the very next day.
Swelling
If your child is experiencing swelling, this is a true medical emergency and requires immediate medical attention.
If your child has a noticeable swelling, they will need to be administered IM/or IV antibiotics either by their Pediatrician, Urgent Care Facility, or nearest Hospital.
Once the swelling is treated, our office will need to evaluate the underlying cause of the swelling and will schedule an evaluation the very next day.
EMERGENCY FOLLOWING TREATMENT
Lip Injury
If your child experiences pain and swelling with their lip, cheek, or tongue following treatment, this is a common sign that your child may have bitten themselves while the numbing medication was still working.
Typically your child will have a swollen area surrounding a white or yellowish area that was bitten. Because some discomfort is expected, you may give your child acetaminophen (Tylenol®), naproxen (Aleve®, Anaprox®, Naprosyn®), or ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®). Do NOT give aspirin to your child. Follow the instructions on the bottle for dosing based upon your child's age/weight.
An over-the-counter medicine, Zilactin B, can be placed over the injured area to help healing occur faster and give pain relief.
Encourage fluids to help avoid dehydration. Soft foods are ideal the first day. By the second day, consistency of foods can progress as tolerated. Avoid any citric, salty, spicy, or crunchy foods that may irritate the area and delay healing.
Slight swelling and inflammation may occur for the next two days. If swelling occurs, ice packs may be used for the first 24 hours (10 minutes on then 10 minutes off) to decrease swelling. If swelling persists after 24 hours, warm/moist compresses (10 minutes on then 10 minutes off) may help.
Crown Comes Off
If your child has a crown come off, try to locate and save the crown. If you cannot locate the crown, it is not critical, as we know exactly what size and type of crown was placed for your child (if it was placed in our office). Often, we can put a new crown on without a procedure. Typically, this isn't a true emergency, and we will schedule an evaluation the very next day. However, any delay can cause teeth to shift and require a new crown to be remade, so it is important to schedule with our office as soon as this happens.
Loose Space Maintainer
If your child has a space maintainer come off or has a band that comes loose, call our office to have the appliance removed and recemented.
If it is after hours, try to fit the band back around the tooth and apply slight pressure to reseat the band. If the band is around the tooth, but will not fully seat, place a piece of gauze folded in half twice, and try to apply biting pressure to fully seat the band. Often, even without cement, the band will remain on the tooth once reseated.
If unable to reseat the band or it is crumpled, as a last effort, we want to try and loosen the band on the other side and allow the appliance to come off. A Jolly Rancher is the perfect tool and the only time your dentist will recommend biting on a Jolly Rancher. Simply bite the candy and see if it will lock onto the band and loosen the appliance.
We do not recommend cutting the wires on the appliance as they are very thick. Typically this isn't a true emergency and we will schedule an evaluation the very next day. However, any delay can cause teeth to shift and require a new appliance to be remade, so it is important to schedule with our office as soon as this happens.
Drop Us A Line
We look forward to meeting you and your cowpokes.
Call (432) 272-1190 or request an appointment online to set up your first visit. We'll be in touch soon.