Dental emergencies can be scary for both children and their parents. Remain calm because we are here to help. If your child is in pain, call us to set up an appointment. For emergencies, we offer same-day appointments. Call one of our offices as early as possible.
On-Call Emergency Dentist For Kids
Our office has an emergency dentist for kids on call at Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Morgan Hill.
Dental Emergency FAQ's
Child Broken Tooth
A pediatric dental emergency should be addressed as soon as possible - especially if it concerns broken teeth.
If your child has a broken tooth, there is a problem with the tooth itself. Kids' teeth may break due to extensive decay, heavy grinding or an injury. Whatever the cause, the broken tooth must be fixed right away to avoid exposing the inside of the tooth to bacteria which may cause infection.
Our trusted board-certified emergency pediatric dentists will assess your child’s broken tooth and inform you exactly what is required to save the tooth. We will go through the options and costs involved.
Getting the right treatment done can save your child’s teeth as well as avoid toothache and discomfort. Let our trusted Bay Area kids emergency dentist keep your kids smiling and happy.
My child fell and hit his teeth. Do I have to bring them in?
If they are in extreme pain or the teeth have shifted or chipped we recommend bringing them in.
Permanent teeth: The situation should be addressed as soon as possible and the tooth should be placed in milk or saline solution until a dental team is able to reimplant the tooth if possible.
Baby teeth: Typically baby teeth don’t need to be reimplanted since the adult tooth will be expected to take its place.
My child has toothache or tooth pain
Where is the pain specifically? When did it begin? Is it only when they eat or does it keep them up at night?
The answers to these questions help us determine the severity and urgency of the situation. Our team wants to provide the best care to your child so if you give us a call we’ll try to get an idea of what is happening. Your next step will be to take a picture of that area of the mouth.
We’ll then show our Dentists the picture with the information you provided and we can decide if something can be taken care of at home or if an appointment is necessary. Regardless, your child will be in good hands.
In falling cases, we regularly see bleeding, swelling and bruising. If bleeding is significant we recommend applying pressure to stop the bleeding and once the bleeding has stopped it’s easier to assess the severity of the case.
My child has a bump on his gum and it looks really inflamed. Do I have to bring them for a dental emergency checkup?
This is a great question! This is a common question. A bump on the gum could be several things, it could be the beginning of an adult tooth erupting or it could also be a sign of an infection. We understand those are very different scenarios but there’s a solution to both.
In either case, we’ll still request a picture of the area of concern to be sent to our email but if you would like to bring in your child for an exam we would be happy to make the time for you.
If you choose to go the photograph route you send it to our offices’ respective emails:
My child has an extra tooth or my child has another tooth growing in next to it.
In very rare cases there is a possibility of a supernumerary tooth. Which simply, means your child is extraordinary and has an extra tooth!
More commonly that “extra tooth” is actually just the adult/permanent tooth growing in, the baby tooth before it just hasn’t received word that it’s time to fall out to make room.
If the tooth is super wiggly we’ll recommend just spending the next two weeks encouraging your child to wiggle it out and if it doesn’t happen by then we can schedule an appointment to wiggle and extract the baby tooth at our office.
My child’s baby teeth are spaced far apart
Hey, no worries! That’s completely normal! Children’s primary/baby teeth are smaller than adult teeth, so when the time comes for the baby teeth to fall out and the permanent adult teeth to come in, the adult teeth will have more than enough space to come in!
If your child’s at a point where they have a majority of adult teeth and spacing is still a concern, our dentists at BAKD will recommend a complimentary consultation at our Orthodontist's office at Bay Area Orthodontics.
We recently did the treatment and my child is experiencing some discomfort?
In cases where we do crowns or a deep filling, it’s really common for children to be a little uncomfortable in that area for a few days. Not only is your child getting used to the feeling, the gums themselves are also healing and acclimating since the treatment. It’s important to keep our dentists in the loop so they can monitor the healing however if the discomfort last longer than a few days we would recommend scheduling a follow-up appointment.
My son lost his front tooth today and when it came out it looked like a root is hanging, is this normal or anything to be concerned about?
If there is some discomfort only when they’re biting or chewing food? Does the pain keep them up at night? How long ago did your child notice? Yes, this is very normal. Eventually, the permanent tooth will erupt in the place of the baby tooth. You are more than welcome to send a photo to our office via email. There are occasions where the permanent tooth will take longer to erupt.
First Aid for Dental Emergencies:
Toothache
Clean the area around the tooth thoroughly. Rinse the mouth vigorously with warm salt water or use dental floss to dislodge trapped food or debris. DO NOT place aspirin on the gum or the aching tooth. If the face is swollen, apply a cold compress. Take Ibuprofen for pain and see a dentist as soon as possible.
Knocked-Out Permanent Tooth
Find the tooth. Handle by the crown, not the root portion. You may rinse the tooth, but DO NOT clean or handle the root unnecessarily. Try to reinsert it in the socket. Have the child hold the tooth in place by biting on a clean gauze or cloth. If you cannot reinsert the tooth, transport the tooth in a cup of milk. See a dentist IMMEDIATELY! Time is a critical factor in saving the tooth.
Cut or Bitten Tongue, Lip, or Cheek
Apply ice to bruised areas. If there is bleeding, apply firm but gentle pressure with clean gauze or cloth. If bleeding does not stop after about 15 minutes or it cannot be controlled by simple pressure, take the child to a hospital emergency room.
Cold/Canker Sore
Usually, over-the-counter preparations give relief. However, some more serious diseases may begin as sores. If these sores persist it is important to have a dental evaluation.
