Dental emergencies and after-hours care.

Toothache

1. Rinse your mouth with warm salt water (not for young children).
2. Take the pain relief you would normally use. Follow the packet, and ask a pharmacist if you are unsure.
3. Do not place aspirin or any tablet against the gum.
4. Call for the earliest appointment, and say that you are in pain.

A knocked-out tooth

1. Pick the tooth up by the crown, and do not touch the root.
2. If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk, saline or your own saliva, then try to put it back into the socket and bite gently on a clean cloth.
3. If you cannot, keep it in milk, or an adult can keep it inside their cheek.
4. Call immediately, because time matters. Do not put a baby tooth back.

A broken or chipped tooth

1. Keep any piece that you can find, in milk or saliva.
2. Avoid chewing on that side.
3. Cover a sharp edge with sugar-free gum or dental wax.
4. Call for an appointment.

Swelling of the face or gum

1. Swelling can mean infection, so call on the same day.
2. Do not apply heat to the outside of your face.
3. Keep your head raised when you rest.

Go to a hospital emergency unit at once if the swelling spreads towards your eye or neck, or if you struggle to breathe or swallow.

A lost filling or crown

1. Keep the crown if you have it.
2. Avoid hard or sticky food, and chew on the other side.
3. A pharmacy can supply temporary filling material.
4. Call for an appointment.