Ask The Doctor

Dental Emergencies

If you have a toothache which is getting worse, a swollen face, a broken tooth or have lost a filling or a crown or you are bleeding after having a tooth out, you have a dental emergency and need to see a dentist not a doctor.

In most cases, such as a filling dropping out or tooth breaking it is adequate to wait until the next day to see your dentist. Do make an appointment for as soon as possible... that broken tooth might not be hurting you now but you could wake up in the night with terrible tooth ache so fix it as soon as you can to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering! If you do get tooth ache, taking a painkiller should will help you to cope until you can get to your dentist.

On the occasion when painkillers just don't help and you feel that you need to do something immediately - call your dentist. Out-of-hours you will get an answer machine but this should give you instructions on what to do. You may be given another phone number so have a pen and paper ready.