A fall at the playground, a puck to the mouth, a toothache at bedtime: dental emergencies are common in kids, and the first few minutes can make a real difference. This page tells you exactly what to do for each type of injury, how quickly your child needs to be seen, and when to go to the hospital instead.

Is your child hurt right now?

Call us at (519) 836-5110 or click here to book an appointment online.

We’ll tell you what to do and how quickly to come in. For a head injury, uncontrolled bleeding or swelling that affects breathing, call 911.

Call 911 or go to the emergency department if your child has:

• A head injury, loss of consciousness, vomiting, confusion or drowsiness
• Bleeding that won’t stop after 15 minutes of firm pressure
• A possible broken jaw: they can’t close their mouth, the jaw looks crooked, or moving it causes severe pain
• Facial swelling with a fever, or swelling that affects breathing, swallowing or the eye
• A deep or gaping cut to the lip, tongue or face

What to do in a Children’s Dental Emergency

• Knocked-out adult tooth: Put it back in or store it in milk, and see a dentist within 30 minutes.
• Knocked-out baby tooth: Don’t put it back. Stop the bleeding and call us.
• Broken tooth: Save the pieces in milk or water. Come in the same day if it hurts or you see pink.
• Swelling or bad toothache: Call us the same day.
• Not sure? Call us at (519) 836-5110. We’ll tell you how soon your child needs to be seen.

First: stay calm, then call

Children take their cue from you. A calm voice and a hug make it much easier to look in their mouth, find a tooth or hold gauze in place. Then:

1. Check for a medical emergency. Use the red list above. If anything on it applies, call 911 or go to the emergency department.
2. Look and find. Gently check which tooth is hurt, and look for the tooth or any broken pieces.
3. Do the first aid below for the type of injury.
4. Call us as soon as possible. We’ll tell you whether your child needs to come in right away. Same-day care often means less pain and a better chance of saving the tooth.

Emergency dental care at Scottsdale Dental Centre

We see children from age 1 at our office on 630 Scottsdale Drive in Guelph.  We keep time in our schedule each day for urgent visits. If your child has a dental emergency during office hours, call us right away and we’ll fit them in as quickly as we can.  

Dr. Ahmad completed a hospital-based General Practice Residency at Hartford Hospital with the University of Connecticut, including rotations in emergency medicine, anaesthesia and internal medicine. That training shapes how we care for an injured child.

Call us at (519) 836-5110 or click here to book an appointment online.

Quick-reference guide

Knocked-out adult (permanent) tooth

This is the most time-sensitive dental emergency. A tooth put back within the first several minutes has the best chance of surviving long term. The longer the root is out of the mouth and drying, the lower that chance.

1. Find the tooth. Pick it up by the crown, the white part you chew with. Don’t touch the root.
2. Rinse only if it’s dirty. Rinse it for no more than 10 seconds under cold running water or in milk. Don’t scrub it, use soap, or wrap it in tissue.
3. Put it back if you can. If your child is calm and cooperative, gently push the tooth back into the socket the right way round. Have them bite on a clean cloth to hold it in place.
4. Otherwise, keep it wet. Put it in a small container of cold milk or saline, or in a tooth-storage kit if you have one. Your child’s own saliva, spit into a cup, works too. Don’t store it in water, and don’t let it dry out. Young children shouldn’t hold the tooth in their mouth, because they could swallow it.
5. Call us and come straight in. If we’re closed, go to the nearest emergency department and bring the tooth with you.

If the injury happened outdoors or in dirt, ask the doctor or dentist whether your child’s tetanus protection is up to date.

Knocked-out baby tooth

Don’t try to put a baby tooth back in. Pushing it back into the socket can damage the adult tooth developing just above or below it.

• Have your child bite on clean gauze or a cloth for 10 minutes to stop the bleeding.
• Put a cold compress on the outside of the lip to reduce swelling.
• Keep the tooth so we can check it came out whole.
• Call us the same day. We’ll check the gums, the nearby teeth and the adult tooth underneath, usually with an x-ray.

Not sure if it’s a baby tooth or an adult tooth? Most children get their first adult front teeth around age 6 to 7. If you’re unsure, store it in milk and call us right away.

Chipped or broken tooth

• Rinse your child’s mouth with warm water.
• Find any broken pieces and keep them in a little milk or water. A fragment can sometimes be bonded back on.
• Put a cold compress on the outside of the face if the lip is swollen.
• If a sharp edge is cutting the tongue or cheek, cover it with orthodontic wax or sugar-free gum.

Come in the same day if:

• A large piece has broken off
• Your child is in pain, or the tooth is very sensitive to air or cold
• You can see a pink or red dot in the broken area, which may mean the nerve is exposed

A small, painless chip can usually wait for an appointment in the next few days.

Tooth pushed in, out or sideways

A hard knock can push a tooth up into the gum, partly out of its socket, or out of line with the others.

• Don’t try to force the tooth back into place yourself.
• Put a cold compress on the outside of the face, and give soft foods.
• Call us the same day. For adult teeth, try to be seen within a few hours, because putting the tooth back in position is easier and more successful early on.

Baby teeth pushed up into the gum often come back down on their own over several weeks. They still need to be checked to make sure the adult tooth wasn’t hurt.

Loose tooth after an injury

Ask your child not to wiggle it, give soft foods, and call us within a day. We may splint the tooth to its neighbours for a short time. A baby tooth that’s loose because an adult tooth is coming in is normal and isn’t an emergency.

Tooth turning grey or dark

A tooth can darken days or weeks after a knock, which means the nerve was bruised or damaged. Call us for a check. Some teeth recover on their own, and some need treatment.

Toothache

• Rinse with warm water and floss gently. Sometimes the pain is just trapped food.
• Put a cold compress on the outside of the cheek for swelling or soreness.
• Children’s acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help. Give it exactly as the label directs for your child’s age and weight, and ask a pharmacist if you’re unsure.
• Don’t give children aspirin, and never put any pill or crushed tablet on the gums. It burns the tissue.

Call us the same day if the pain keeps your child awake, comes with swelling or fever, or doesn’t settle with pain relief. Toothaches in kids are most often caused by cavities, and treating them early usually means simpler treatment.

Sensitivity to hot or cold

A twinge that goes away within a few seconds often comes from a small cavity, worn enamel or receding gums. Book a visit within a week or two. Call us sooner if the pain lingers for a minute or more after something hot or cold, or starts on its own, because that can mean the nerve is involved.

Swelling or dental abscess

Swelling of the gum, cheek or face, or a pimple-like bump on the gum, often means a tooth infection (abscess). Infections in children can spread quickly.

• Put a cold compress on the outside of the face. Don’t use heat.
• Give pain relief as labelled.
• Call us the same day.

Go to the emergency department if the swelling is spreading toward the eye or down the neck, if your child has a fever or seems unwell, or if they have any trouble breathing, swallowing or opening their mouth.

Cuts to the lip, tongue or cheek

• Rinse gently with cool water.
• Press firmly on the cut with clean gauze or a cloth for 10 minutes. Don’t lift it to check.
• Use a cold compress, or let your child suck on an ice pop, to reduce swelling.

Mouth cuts bleed a lot but usually stop with pressure. Go to the emergency department if the bleeding hasn’t stopped after 15 minutes of pressure, or if the cut is deep, gaping or crosses the edge of the lip. Then call us to check the teeth.

After dental freezing: Children often chew their numb lip or cheek without realizing it. Keep an eye on them, and avoid food until the freezing wears off. A swollen, white-looking patch afterwards is usually a bite injury, and it heals in about a week.

Other common problems

Broken braces wire or bracket. Cover a poking wire with orthodontic wax or sugar-free gum. Don’t cut it unless your orthodontist has shown you how. Call your orthodontist or us within a few days.

Something stuck between teeth. Try gentle flossing. Never use a pin, toothpick or other sharp object. If it won’t come out, call us.

Lost filling or crown. Keep the crown if you have it, avoid chewing on that side, and call us within a day or two. Come in sooner if it hurts.

Jaw pain or clenching. Jaw pain after a fall or a hit to the chin should be checked the same day, and urgently if your child can’t close their mouth. Ongoing jaw soreness, clicking, or clenching and grinding at night aren’t emergencies, but mention them at your next visit or call to book one.

Loose or broken space maintainer. Keep the appliance and call us within a few days. Once it’s out, it stops holding the space. See our space maintainers page.

What happens at an emergency visit

1. Call us first. Tell us what happened and how your child is doing. We’ll give you first-aid advice and tell you how soon to come in.
2. Safety check. We make sure there’s no head injury or other medical concern.
3. Exam and x-rays. We look at the injured tooth, the teeth around it, and the gums and lips. For baby teeth, we also check the adult tooth underneath.
4. Comfort first. We explain everything in kid-friendly terms. If treatment is needed, we use numbing gel and freezing. Sedation is available for anxious children when appropriate.
5. Plan and cost. Whenever it’s safe to wait, we explain what we found, your options and the expected cost before we start.
6. Treatment. The goal is to relieve pain and save the tooth where possible. Depending on the injury, treatment might be:
   
   • smoothing a sharp edge or bonding a broken piece back on
   • a filling
   • repositioning and splinting a tooth
   • pulp therapy (a “baby root canal”) for an injured or infected nerve
   • a stainless steel crown to protect a badly broken baby molar
   • antibiotics for a spreading infection
   • removing a tooth that can’t be saved
   • simply monitoring
7. Aftercare. You’ll go home with instructions on pain relief, what to eat and how to keep the area clean. Most children feel better within a few days.
8. Follow-up. Injured teeth can change over weeks or months, so we usually book check-ups to make sure the tooth stays healthy.

Preventing dental injuries

• Mouthguards for sports. Hockey, lacrosse, soccer, basketball, martial arts, skateboarding and biking all carry a risk of mouth injuries. A custom-fitted mouthguard from your dentist gives the best fit and protection.
• Helmets and face shields for hockey, biking and other high-speed sports
• Car seats and booster seats, used correctly on every trip
• Childproofing for toddlers learning to walk: corner guards on coffee tables, and gates at stairs
• No chewing ice, hard candy, pens or toys
• Good daily habits. Brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and floss once a day. Help younger children until they can do it well on their own, usually around age 7 or 8.
• Regular check-ups every six months, so cavities are found before they turn into a painful emergency

Is your child hurt right now?

Call us at (519) 836-5110 or click here to book an appointment online.

We’ll tell you what to do and how quickly to come in. For a head injury, uncontrolled bleeding or swelling that affects breathing, call 911.

Kids’ Dental Emergency FAQs