Emergency tips for our patients

You may be familiar with this: toothaches, broken teeth, loose crowns, or bleeding gums often occur at the worst possible times—for example, at night, on the weekend, or when you’re on vacation.

With our SOS tips, we hope to make the time until your next dental appointment with us a little easier.

Toothache

There are many possible causes of toothaches: you may have developed a cavity, a filling may have fallen out without you noticing, excessive pressure may be being exerted on your teeth (e.g., from teeth grinding), or a tooth may be damaged. For acute pain, you can take a pain reliever recommended by a pharmacy. If the pain is too severe or your cheek is swollen, please visit the dental emergency service.

A crown, bridge, or inlay has become loose

You may have bitten into something hard, or a cavity may have formed under your restoration, causing it to become loose. Try to temporarily secure your crown, bridge, or inlay using dental adhesive or bonding paste. We will then take care of repairing your dental restoration as soon as possible.

A wisdom tooth is coming in

Use a medical mouthwash containing chlorhexidine, which you can purchase at a pharmacy. You can also use sage or chamomile tea to rinse your mouth. Please schedule an appointment at our office right away so we can determine whether your wisdom tooth is simply coming in or if it needs to be removed.

Inflamed gums

Use a medicated mouthwash containing chlorhexidine, which you can purchase at a pharmacy. Alternatively, rinse your mouth with sage or chamomile tea. At your next appointment at our office, we will determine the cause of your gum inflammation.

Tooth lost in an accident

The most important thing: Stay calm!

Check your mouth for any loose pieces of the tooth and remove them.
In many cases, the tooth can still be saved. 

Please note the following:

• Do not touch the tooth by the root; touch it only by the crown.
• Do not clean or disinfect the tooth.
• Store the tooth in a tooth-saving kit or in sterile saline solution. Both are available at the pharmacy. If necessary, use cold UHT milk for storage.
• Cool the wound with a cold cloth or washcloth.
• If the wound is bleeding, apply pressure with a gauze bandage.

Please visit our office or an emergency dental clinic immediately.

A front tooth has broken off

Stay calm. Store the broken piece in sterile saline solution or cold milk, and make an appointment at our office. We will then determine whether the piece can be reattached or if we need to restore the tooth using a tooth-colored composite made of plastic and ceramic.