Dental emergencies never happen at a good time. Our office would try our best to see our patients on the same day they call for dental emergency. At Breeze Dental, our hope is that you never have to experience dental emergencies; they can be quite uncomfortable and frightening.
  • When dental emergencies do happen, prompt treatment is almost always required to alleviate pain and to ensure the tooth (teeth) have the best possible chance of survival.
  • Teeth can become fractured due to trauma, bruxism (grinding), or biting on hard objects. Sometimes, fillings, crowns, and other restorative devices can be damaged or fall out of the mouth completely.
  • If there is any pain, please contact our office immediately! At Breeze Dental, we will ALWAYS try to accommodate your dental emergencies as soon as possible. Left untreated, the pain caused by dental emergencies almost always gets worse and without proper treatment the dental issues can seriously jeopardize physical health.
Types of dental emergency and how to deal with them
Avulsed tooth (tooth that are completely out of the mouth)
  • When a tooth falls out of the mouth completely, the surrounding tissues, nerves and blood vessels are all damaged.
  • It is very important to please contact Breeze Dental immediately. Studies have shown that If the tooth can be re-inserted back into its tooth socket within an hour, there is a chance the tissues will grow to support the tooth once again.
    Here are some steps to take:
    1. Call our office as soon as possible so we can take care of you.
    2. Try NOT to touch the root of the tooth by handling the crown portion of the tooth only.
    3. If possible, place the tooth back into its original socket, but only do so if tooth will remain in the socket. If not possible, sometimes it is okay to keep the tooth in the cheek pouch and allow the saliva to protect the tooth. Only do so if you can avoid swallowing the tooth.
    4. Do everything you can do avoid drying out the tooth. If the tooth cannot be placed in the mouth as instructed above, put the tooth into a cup of milk, saliva, or water as a last resort.
    5. Get to our office, quickly and safely.
  • We will try to replace the tooth back in its natural socket. In certain situations, the tooth will reattach to its original socket. Often time though, the nerves inside the tooth are most likely damaged already and additional treatment like root canal therapy may need to be performed later.
Lost filling or crown
  • One of the most common dental emergencies is when crown or fillings comes loose during eating. Without the proper protection, the affected tooth may become incredibly sensitive to hot, cold and pressure upon biting.
  • Usually, crowns or fillings are loose because there may be recurrent decay (cavity) underneath the existing crown or fillings. The decay has basically altered the shape of the remaining tooth structure that the crown or fillings no longer will fit.
  • If a crown or a filling ever becomes loose, please make a dental appointment with Breeze Dental as soon as possible!
  • Try to keep the crown clean (Zip lock bag), and safe place since it may be possible to re-cement the crown.
  • Don’t wait! If a crown is out of the mouth for an extended period of time, the tooth may shift in position and the crown will longer fit again.
  • We will try our hardest to be available to you when your crown or fillings came loose. When we are not immediately available, please follow these steps:
    1. Over the counter temporary dental cement can be used to temporarily affix the crown onto the tooth. Make sure to clean the crown first of any debris prior to re-cementing the crown.
    2. If the crown is lost completely, over the counter temporary dental fillings can be used to cover the exposed tooth structure.
    3. Clove oil can be applied to the exposed tooth surface to alleviate pain.
    4. DO NOT use any non-dental glue/adhesive to re-insert the loose crown.
  • During the emergency appoint, we will exam the crown and take necessary x-ray to confirm its fit to the remaining tooth. If the existing crown still fits, we will re-cement the crown. In situations where the fit is no longer enough to seal the remaining tooth structure, a new crown will be made to custom fit the tooth again!
Cracked or fractured teeth
Teeth may crack for various reasons, trauma, grinding, and biting incorrectly are all possible causes. If the cracks are within the crown of the tooth, it maybe painless. However, if the crack is towards the root of the tooth, severe pain may occur. Please schedule an appointment with Breeze Dental as soon as possible.
  1. Please call Breeze Dental and we will try our best to see you on the same date.
  2. Keep the fractured piece clean and store it properly.
  3. If there’s bleeding, please apply pressure to control the bleeding.
  4. Apply cold pack to control the swelling.
  5. If possible, over the counter dental cement or temporary fillings can be used to cover the exposed tooth area.
  6. Over the counter pain medication can be taken to alleviate pain for the mean time.
During the emergency treatment appointment, we will thoroughly evaluate the cause of fracture and determine if the tooth can be properly restored. In the event the fracture/crack has effected the root, the tooth may have to be removed and further restoration will be discussed with you.
Dislodged/loose teeth
When accident or trauma occurred, teeth sometimes are loose or even dislodged from the tooth socket.
Please call Breeze Dental immediately. If you can’t come to our office right away, please apply cold pack to control the swelling and take over the counter pain medication to control pain.
At the emergency appointment, we will assess if the loose tooth or dislodged tooth can be reinserted and apply splint to stabilize the tooth. Additional treatment plan like root canal therapy may be needed.
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