Important: if your child has had a severe blow to the head and/or is not responsive, call 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY.
If your child experiences a dental emergency, please call us immediately at 925-820-0303. If our office is closed, listen to our voicemail to hear our emergency on-call phone number.
Read below to learn about what actions to take for specific emergencies:
If the tooth is a baby tooth (it usually is in children under age 6), try to locate the tooth. Although we do not re-implant baby teeth, it’s still important for us to see your child and evaluate the jaw and the rest of the teeth for any injury.
If the tooth is a permanent tooth, call us right away. If the injury happens in an area where there’s no dentist nearby, go to the nearest emergency room. Success depends on how quickly we are able to reimplant the tooth. Steps to take:
Contact our office. Rinse the area of injury with warm water and apply a cold compress to the facial area of injury. Locate the broken fragment and bring it with you to the dentist in a glass of milk.
If your child has facial swelling along with a fever and a toothache, please visit your nearest emergency room. They will likely recommend a course of IV antibiotics, or oral antibiotics if the swelling is less severe. Please also call us to schedule a follow-up appointment.
Apply ice to the injured areas to help control swelling. If there is bleeding, apply firm but gentle pressure with a gauze or cloth. If bleeding cannot be controlled by simple pressure, call our office or visit an emergency room.
