Emergency pediatric dentistry
Around-the-clock urgent dental care for children
For all kinds of kids’ dental crises—from knocked-out teeth and severe toothaches to broken braces and facial swelling—Dr. Laura Juntgen provides swift, gentle emergency dental care for Hamilton County Pediatric Dentistry’s established patients.
Get help now
When your child hurts, every minute can feel like an hour. Don’t wait to get help if your child is experiencing a dental emergency. Dr. Laura Juntgen and our caring team are just a phone call away. You can reach us anytime at 317-846-5893.
When you call for urgent dental care, we’ll help you assess your child’s needs quickly and calmly, whether by walking you through immediate care steps over the phone or arranging a prompt in-person visit.
And because dental emergencies don’t stick to business hours, our emergency dental care for established patients extends beyond office hours, including holidays and weekends, to ensure your child gets the gentle, expert care they need right when they need it most.
Dental emergencies in babies, children, and teens
Knowing what to do next can help a parent turn a scary and stressful situation into a more manageable one. For those moments when you need clear answers quickly, use this overview of common pediatric dental emergencies to assess your child’s symptoms, take the right first steps, and know when immediate care is essential.
When to go to the ER
Head straight to the emergency room and call 911 if your child experiences severe, uncontrolled bleeding, difficulty breathing due to swelling, signs of a concussion (e.g., confusion, vomiting, loss of consciousness), a suspected broken jaw, or high fever with facial swelling.
Urgent
Call HCPD right away
A permanent tooth that’s been knocked out requires immediate care to give it the best chance of being saved. Handle the tooth carefully, only touching its white part and avoiding the root.
If it’s dirty, don’t clean it with soap or scrub it. Instead, rinse it quickly for a few seconds using tap water. Check the tooth for any signs of a fracture. If it looks okay, try reinserting it back into the socket and have your child hold it in place by biting on a clean cloth or piece of gauze.
If replantation isn’t possible, place the tooth into a glass of cold milk or your child’s saliva (not water!) until you get emergency pediatric dental care.
Sometimes, an injury can push a tooth into the wrong position. It might move toward the lips, back toward the tongue, or even cause it to stick out more than usual.
And, without quick treatment, your child’s tooth could stay in the wrong position. A displaced tooth can be especially concerning if it’s making it so your child can’t close their mouth like usual.
Don’t try to force the tooth back. Instead, if the tooth is only slightly moved, your child can bite gently on a clean cloth to keep it steady. A clear photo showing the tooth’s appearance will help us assess the situation. Most displaced teeth need a special splint to hold them in the correct position during healing.
A broken or chipped permanent tooth needs attention soon to prevent infection or other issues. If you can find any broken pieces of tooth, save them. Dr. Juntgen may be able to bond them back on. Having your child rinse gently with water helps keep the area clean, and a cold pack on the cheek can help with any swelling or discomfort.
While waiting to be seen, avoid hot or cold drinks that might make the tooth sensitive. Prompt care helps us choose the best way to repair and protect your child’s injured tooth in the future.
Any puffiness in your child’s face needs a careful look, especially if it shows up without a bump or tumble to explain it. Swelling may indicate that a tooth infection has started spreading to nearby tissues.
While many parents want to wait and see if it gets better on its own, swelling in the face can change rapidly and needs prompt attention. We’ll help figure out the right next steps when you call. Sometimes that means coming to see us right away, while other times, we may direct you to emergency care.
If your child’s facial swelling makes them have trouble breathing or swallowing, head straight to the nearest ER and call 911 for help.
For established patients needing urgent care outside regular hours, call us right away at 317-846-5893 for any of these injuries or conditions.
Non-urgent
Schedule an appointment
When tooth pain prevents your child from sleeping, eating, or playing normally, it’s natural to feel it’s an emergency. The good news is that most toothaches can be managed at home while waiting for a regular appointment, especially if the pain only flares up with hot cocoa, ice cream, or sweet treats.
When your child has a toothache, start with gentle, warm salt water swishes to rinse the area causing pain. And, if any food is stuck between their teeth, use floss to dislodge it.
Then, if their pain persists, you can try kids’ medicine (such as ibuprofen or Tylenol) to help them feel more comfortable and relieve pain while waiting for your appointment with Dr. Juntgen. Stick to giving medicine by mouth, though. Putting pain medicine or aspirin directly on the tooth or gums isn’t safe and can hurt the sensitive tissue.
Small chips or tiny cracks in a tooth might look worrisome, but they usually don’t require emergency treatment. Start by rinsing your child’s mouth with warm water to clean the area. A cold pack on their cheek can help if there’s any puffiness around where the tooth is chipped.
Keep an eye on the tooth. If you notice any bleeding from inside your child’s chipped or cracked tooth (not from their gums), the nerve might be affected, and Dr. Juntgen should take a look sooner rather than later. Otherwise, just be sure to call our office and schedule an appointment within the next few days.
While your child might feel their wiggly tooth is a big deal (and it is to them!), a loose baby tooth usually just needs time and patience.
If the tooth is very loose and bothering them during meals, eating softer foods for a few days can help. It’s important to help your child brush around the loose tooth and keep the area clean. If you’re concerned your child is not eating or brushing normally, Dr. Juntgen is happy to help with removal during business hours.
Remember that wiggling is normal and natural. It’s how those baby teeth make way for the grown-up, permanent ones!
When a filling or crown comes loose, keeping the area clean is your most important job until Dr. Juntgen can fix it. Have your child rinse gently with warm salt water after meals, and help them brush carefully around the spot to keep food from getting stuck. The exposed tooth might feel a bit sensitive, but this usually isn’t an emergency. Still, we’ll want to take care of it fairly soon to protect the tooth from further damage and decay.
These little accidents can certainly be uncomfortable and, with a bit of blood, may even look scary, but they usually heal well on their own.
To treat at home, rinse with cool water, then apply ice to control swelling. If there’s bleeding, fold a clean piece of cloth or gauze and have your child press it gently against the spot. Most bleeding stops within 30 minutes with gentle pressure. A cold pack or ice pop can help with swelling and provide comfort.
But if the bleeding continues for more than half an hour, or if the cut is large or deep enough that you think it might need stitches, it’s best to call Dr. Juntgen or visit the emergency room.
That feeling of something wedged between teeth can really bother your little one, but resist the urge to reach for toothpicks or other sharp tools that might cause harm. Instead, dental floss is your safest bet.
Try working floss gently between your child’s teeth where the object is stuck. If this doesn’t do the trick, don’t worry about trying harder or using other tools. At our HCPD pediatric dental office, Dr. Juntgen has special instruments and lighting that make it much easier to help dislodge whatever’s stuck without risking damage to teeth or gums.