Dental Emergencies

If your child has suffered a dental injury, it's important to know how to respond. Here's a breakdown of what to do depending on the type of tooth and the severity of the injury:

Baby Teeth (until around 6-7 years old)

• Tooth moves: If the tooth moves but remains in place, don't panic. Even if the gum bleeds a little, it's usually not an emergency. Try to gently reposition the tooth and schedule an appointment with us.
• Tooth breaks: If the tooth breaks and you see a drop of blood at the fracture line, make an emergency appointment with us. If there's no bleeding, you can wait for a regular appointment.
• Tooth grows into the gum: There's usually no emergency treatment but schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible.
• Tooth is knocked out: A knocked-out baby tooth should not be reimplanted but schedule an appointment with us.

Permanent Teeth (from 7 years old)

• Tooth moves: If the tooth moves but remains in place, don't panic. Even if the gum bleeds a little, it's usually not an emergency. Try to gently reposition the tooth and schedule an emergency appointment with us.
• Tooth breaks: If the tooth breaks and you see a drop of blood at the fracture line, make an emergency appointment with us. Try to find the broken piece and keep it in saline solution or sterilised milk. If there's no bleeding, you can wait for a regular appointment.
• Tooth grows into the gum: There's usually no emergency treatment but schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible.
• Tooth is knocked out (avulsion): This is an emergency. If possible, re-implant the tooth in its socket after rinsing it under water without brushing it. If you can't re-implant it, keep the tooth in the mouth between the cheek and the teeth, then in saline solution or sterilised milk in an ice pack. Contact us as soon as possible. The shorter the reimplantation time (less than 1 hour), the higher the chances of success.

Remember: Dental trauma is never trivial. Long-term monitoring will be recommended, and an X-ray will allow our dental team to visualise the damaged tooth and any neighbouring teeth.