If you are already our patient
When we are open, call us at (936) 327-2151 as soon as something happens. Tell us what happened, when it started and where it hurts, and we will tell you what to do next. If you would rather text, send your name and the best number to reach you, and we will call you. For our current hours, call or text.
If you come in for an emergency visit, Dr. Guiste and our team work first on easing your pain.
If we are closed
You can still call or text (936) 327-2151 and leave your name and phone number, so we can reach you when we open. In a text, leave out details about your teeth and your health; we will ask about them by phone.
If it cannot wait until we open, go to an urgent care clinic or the nearest emergency room. If you have trouble breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading toward your eye or down your neck, a high fever with swelling in your face, or a serious injury to your face or jaw, call 911 or go to the emergency room now.
If you are new to our office
You do not need to be our patient to call. Call us at (936) 327-2151, tell us what happened, and we will talk with you about what we can do. When we are closed, the same steps apply: leave your name and number, and if it cannot wait, go to an urgent care clinic or the nearest emergency room.
If your child has a dental emergency
Knowing what to do in the first few minutes can be the difference between losing a tooth and saving it. Save our number in your phone so it is there when you need it.
When we are open, call us right away. If we are closed and it cannot wait, go to an urgent care clinic or the nearest emergency room. A knocked-out adult tooth cannot wait: follow the first steps for a knocked-out adult tooth, and if we are closed, go to the nearest emergency room.
If your child knocks out a baby tooth, do not try to put it back. A dentist will not put it back either, because that can harm the adult tooth growing underneath, and your child could breathe the tooth in. Look for the tooth and bring it with you. If you cannot find it, tell us, so the dentist can check that it was not pushed up into the gum, swallowed or breathed in.
If you are not sure whether it is a baby tooth or an adult tooth, do not put it back. Keep it in milk and call us right away. If we are closed, go to the nearest emergency room.
First steps until you see a dentist
A knocked-out adult tooth
Time matters most. The American Association of Endodontists advises seeing a dentist within 30 minutes.
- Pick the tooth up by the crown, the part you chew with. Do not touch the root.
- If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk, or with water if you have no milk. Do not use soap, and do not scrub it, dry it or wrap it in a tissue or cloth.
- If you can, put it back in its socket right away. Push it in gently, then hold it in place with your fingers or by biting gently on a clean cloth or gauze.
- If it will not go back in, keep it moist. Put it in milk, or in a tooth preservation kit that carries the ADA Seal of Acceptance. An adult can hold the tooth inside the cheek. For a child, have them spit into a cup and put the tooth in the saliva, rather than in their mouth, where they could swallow it. Water is a poor choice: use it only if you have nothing else, because a tooth that dries out is worse.
- Call us right away, and do not wait on a text reply. Bring the tooth with you. If we are closed, go to the nearest emergency room.
A broken or chipped tooth
- Rinse your mouth with warm water to clean the area.
- Hold a cold compress against your face to keep the swelling down.
- If you find the broken piece, bring it with you. A chipped piece can sometimes be reattached.
- If breathing through your mouth or drinking something cold hurts, bite gently on clean, moist gauze or a clean cloth until you are seen.
- Do not put aspirin, a numbing gel or an ointment on the tooth or your gums.
A broken tooth needs a dentist as soon as possible, so call us right away.
A toothache
- Rinse your mouth with warm water.
- Floss gently to remove any food caught between your teeth.
- Do not put aspirin on the tooth or your gums. It can burn the gum.
If the pain goes on, call or text us.
Swelling in your face or gums
Swelling can be a sign of an infection around a tooth, called an abscess. Other signs include pain, red gums, a bad taste in your mouth and a fever. Left untreated, the infection can spread into the jaw bone and the tissue around the tooth.
- If the swelling is spreading, or you have a high fever or trouble breathing or swallowing, call 911 or go to the emergency room now.
- Otherwise, call us as soon as you notice it, so a dentist can see it soon. If we are closed and it cannot wait, go to an urgent care clinic or the nearest emergency room.
Sources
- American Association of Endodontists: Knocked out teeth
- International Association of Dental Traumatology guidelines, 2: Avulsion of permanent teeth (Fouad AF et al., Dent Traumatol 2020;36:331-342), endorsed by the AAPD
- International Association of Dental Traumatology guidelines, 3: Injuries in the primary dentition (Day PF et al., Dent Traumatol 2020;36:343-359), endorsed by the AAPD
- American Association of Endodontists: Cracked teeth
- American Dental Association, MouthHealthy: Dental emergencies
- American Dental Association, MouthHealthy: Abscess
