Accidents happen all the time and not all of them require immediate care. If you have an injury to your teeth, mouth or jaw, you should see your dentist right away. Here are just a few common ones:

Broken Tooth- Save any pieces of the broken tooth and rinse your mouth out with warm water. Apply a cold compress to the area to decrease swelling and pain until you can be seen by your dentist.

Broken Jaw- Apply cold compress to limit the swelling and see your dentist right away.

Knocked out Tooth- Gently rinse off the knocked out tooth without removing any attached tissue. If possible, hold the tooth in place in the socket. Otherwise, place the tooth in a glass of milk and get to your dentist right away.

Something is stuck in your Teeth- Carefully try to remove the object with dental floss (do not use a sharp instrument). If you are unable to dislodge the object with dental floss, contact your dentist.

Toothache- Rinse your mouth out with warm water. then try to floss the area to make sure there isn’t any food or other debris causing the pain. If the pain persists, call your dentist.

Lost Dental Filling or Dental Crown- For fillings, seal the area with a piece of sugarless gum or over the counter dental cement. If your crown came loose or fell out, try to put it back into place with dental cement. If that doesn’t work, contact your dentist.

Dental Abscess- If you notice a painful, pimple-like swelling on your gums, rinse with salt water and immediately contact your dentist. Dental abscesses can lead to more serious infections if not properly treated.