In pain right now? Call us on 905-605-6766. Dental emergencies happen when you least expect them, and acting quickly makes all the difference. Whether it is intense pain, trauma to your teeth or jaw, or a lost crown or filling, the team at Nest Dental Clinic is here to help.

What counts as a dental emergency

Call us straight away if you have severe or worsening toothache, a knocked-out or badly broken tooth, swelling in the face or gums, a suspected infection or abscess, or bleeding that will not stop after a procedure or injury.

A lost filling or crown, a broken denture or a chipped tooth that is not painful is usually urgent rather than an emergency. Call anyway and we will tell you honestly whether you need to be seen today or whether it can wait for a normal appointment.

If you are not sure, phone us. Working out how serious something is over the phone is a normal part of our day and you will not be wasting anyone’s time.

What to do before you reach us

This is general first aid, not a substitute for being seen. Call us as well.

Knocked-out adult tooth. Time matters more here than with anything else on this list. Pick the tooth up by the crown, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk or saline, not tap water, and do not scrub it. If you can, place it back in the socket and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it. If you cannot, keep it in a container of milk and bring it with you. A tooth reimplanted within the hour has a far better chance than one left dry.

A child’s baby tooth knocked out. Do not try to put it back, as that can damage the adult tooth developing underneath. Call us and bring your child in.

Toothache. Rinse with warm salt water and floss gently either side of the tooth in case food is trapped. Over-the-counter pain relief taken as directed on the packet is fine. Do not hold aspirin against the gum, which burns the tissue rather than helping.

Chipped or broken tooth. Keep any pieces, rinse your mouth with warm water, and hold a cold compress against your cheek to limit swelling.

Lost filling or crown. Keep the crown if you still have it and bring it in. Avoid chewing on that side. Temporary dental cement from a pharmacy can hold a crown briefly, but it is a stopgap, not a repair.

Bleeding after an extraction. Bite firmly on clean gauze for fifteen to twenty minutes without checking it every minute, since lifting the pressure restarts the bleeding. If it has not settled after that, call us.

When to go to hospital instead of calling us

Some situations need an emergency department rather than a dental office. Go to hospital, or call 911, if you have swelling that is affecting your breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading toward the eye or down the neck, bleeding that will not stop under pressure, a suspected broken jaw, or an injury involving loss of consciousness.

A spreading dental infection is genuinely dangerous and is not something to wait out overnight. If in doubt, treat it as urgent.

What happens when you get here

The first priority is getting you out of pain and working out what is causing it, which usually means an examination and an x-ray of the area. We will explain what we have found and what the options are before doing anything beyond making you comfortable.

Sometimes the right answer on the day is a temporary measure that settles things down, with the definitive treatment booked shortly after. That is a normal way to handle an emergency and we will say so if it applies.

More on how we handle urgent dental care in Vaughan.