Emergency Dental Care in Long Beach

A broken tooth: If you break a tooth, save as many pieces of it as you can and rinse your mouth with warm water to remove any remaining fragments. Apply a cold compress to the area to reduce the swelling. Bring the tooth fragments with you to your next dental appointment.

A lost filling: Use a piece of sugarless gum or over-the-counter dental cement to temporarily seal the exposed cavity until you can be seen by a dentist. Dental cement can be purchased at Walgreens or CVS, and you can also find sugarless gum at these stores and most supermarkets.

Dental abscess: Contact our office immediately if you have an abscess – if left untreated, abscesses can lead to serious periodontal infection. In the meantime, rinse your mouth with a mild saline solution of ½ teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of water several times a day.

Toothache: Rinse your mouth using warm water, and floss your teeth to remove any food particles. If there is any swelling, you can apply a cold compress to the area to help reduce it.

A knocked-out tooth:

• Place the tooth back in the cavity from where it fell out, and bite down gently on a piece of gauze or a wet tea bag to hold it in place. Be very careful not to swallow the tooth.
• If you are unable to do the above, place the tooth in a small container and cover it with a small amount of whole milk or saliva in order to preserve it. The tooth can also be placed under the tongue or between the lower lip and lower gum and kept there until you can be seen by the dentist.
• Call us right away; the sooner you are seen the better the chances are that Dr. Pakiz can save your tooth

Loose crown: If your crown starts to feel loose or becomes completely unattached, prepare the inside of the crown with dental cement, adhesive or toothpaste and attempt to put it back on. If this does not work, bring the crown with you to our office so one of our dental professionals can take care of it for you.