Find what is happening, do the immediate step, then call. Each card says honestly how urgent it is — some of these need us today, some need you tonight in an emergency room, and a couple can wait for a normal appointment.
Same-day
Severe toothache
Throbbing pain, worse lying down, keeping you awake
Right now: Take over-the-counter pain relief as directed on the label, keep your head elevated (even when sleeping), and use a cold compress on the outside of the cheek. Rinse with warm salt water and floss gently once to rule out trapped food. Avoid very hot, cold, or sweet foods.
Pain that wakes you at night usually means the nerve is involved — this needs an exam, not another night of ibuprofen.
Call for same-day time
Same-day
Broken or chipped tooth
A piece came off, or an edge is sharp
Right now: Save any fragments in milk or saline. Rinse gently with warm water. Cover a sharp edge with dental wax or sugar-free gum so it does not cut your tongue or cheek. Do not chew on that side.
How quickly you are seen genuinely affects what can be saved — a small chip repaired today can prevent a crown later.
Call for same-day time
Within days
Lost crown or filling
Something fell out; the tooth feels rough or sensitive
Right now: Keep the crown if you have it — bring it in, it can often be recemented. Keep the area clean, avoid chewing there, and use temporary dental cement from a pharmacy if the tooth is sensitive. Never use household glue.
Not usually an emergency, but do not leave it for weeks: an unprotected tooth can shift, decay, or fracture.
Book a visit
Call now
Facial or gum swelling
Puffiness in the cheek, jaw, or gum; a bump on the gum
Right now: Swelling means infection. Do not apply heat, and do not try to drain it yourself. Cold compress outside the cheek. Call us now.
If swelling spreads toward your eye or under your jaw and tongue, or you have trouble swallowing or breathing — that is an emergency room, tonight, not an appointment.
Call (559) 271-8400
Call now
Knocked-out tooth
A permanent tooth came completely out
Right now: Minutes matter. Pick it up by the crown, never the root. Do not scrub it. If clean, put it back in the socket and bite gently on gauze. If you cannot, keep it in milk or saline — never dry, never water. Get to a dentist within the hour.
Reimplanted within 30–60 minutes, many of these teeth survive. Baby teeth are the exception — never reimplant a baby tooth.
Call (559) 271-8400
Call now
Dental abscess
Deep throbbing, bad taste, pimple-like bump on the gum
Right now: Rinse with warm salt water. Over-the-counter pain relief as directed. Do not squeeze the bump. Call us now — an abscess does not resolve on its own.
An antibiotic alone does not cure an abscess. The tooth still needs treatment, or the infection comes back.
Call (559) 271-8400
Call now
Bleeding that will not stop
After an extraction, injury, or spontaneously
Right now: Bite firmly on clean gauze or a damp tea bag for 20 minutes without checking it. Stay upright. Avoid rinsing, spitting, straws, and smoking, all of which dislodge the clot.
If bleeding continues past 30 minutes of firm continuous pressure, go to the emergency room — do not wait for the office to open.
Call (559) 271-8400
Call now
Injury to the mouth or jaw
A fall, sports impact, or accident
Right now: Control bleeding with pressure. Cold compress for swelling. Check whether teeth still meet normally when you bite — if they do not, your jaw may be involved.
Loss of consciousness, a suspected jaw fracture, or a bite that no longer lines up needs an emergency room first, dentist second.
Call (559) 271-8400
Within days
Wisdom tooth pain
Pain at the back of the jaw, hard to open wide
Right now: Warm salt-water rinses several times a day, over-the-counter pain relief, and keep the area as clean as you can manage with a soft brush.
Add fever, swelling, or difficulty swallowing and it stops being a "soon" problem — call the same day.
Book a visit
Same-day
Child’s dental emergency
A hurt, frightened child and an anxious adult
Right now: Stay calm — children read your face first. Rinse gently, cold compress, and children’s pain relief by weight as directed. For a knocked-out baby tooth, do not reimplant it; bring the child in.
Call and say it is a child. We prioritise paediatric urgencies and keep the visit short and unfrightening.
Call for same-day time