Dental emergency in Palm Harbor?

This is the one where minutes matter. Pick the tooth up by the crown, the part you normally chew with, and never by the root. If it is dirty, rinse it gently in milk or saline for a few seconds. Do not scrub it and do not use soap.

If you can, put it straight back into the socket the right way round and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it there. If you cannot, put it in a cup of milk. Milk is the best thing most people have on hand. Saliva works too. Plain water is the worst option, so use it only if there is nothing else.

Then call us immediately. The best results come when the tooth is back in place inside 30 minutes, and the odds fall off sharply after about an hour of dry time. Baby teeth are the exception: they should not be put back in, so call us rather than replanting.

Check the ER list above first. If you have a fever, trouble swallowing or breathing, or swelling moving toward your eye or down your neck, that is a hospital trip, not a dental appointment.

Swelling that is limited to the gum around one tooth, with no fever and normal swallowing, is a same-day dental problem. Call us. In the meantime a cold compress on the outside of the cheek helps, and do not apply heat, which can encourage an infection to spread.

Rinse your mouth with warm water and hold a cold compress against the outside of your cheek to keep the swelling down. If you found the broken piece, keep it and bring it with you.

Avoid chewing on that side. A sharp edge that is cutting your tongue or cheek can be covered temporarily with a small piece of sugar-free gum or dental wax until we can see you.

Rinse with warm salt water and floss carefully around the tooth, since trapped food is a surprisingly common cause. Over-the-counter pain relief taken as directed on the label is fine.

Do not hold aspirin or any painkiller against the gum. It does not work that way and it can burn the tissue. Pain that wakes you at night, or that has lasted more than a day or two, is worth a call rather than a wait.

Keep the crown. Do not throw it away, because it can often be re-cemented rather than remade. Rinse it, put it somewhere safe, and bring it in.

Chew on the other side and keep the exposed tooth clean. Temporary dental cement from a pharmacy can hold a crown for a day or two, but never use household glue.

Clean the area gently and press with clean gauze or a cloth for about 15 minutes. A cold compress on the outside reduces swelling.

If the bleeding has not stopped after 15 minutes of steady pressure, or the cut is deep or gaping, that is an emergency room visit.

Call and ask. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8AM to 4PM, with Saturdays by appointment, and what we can do on a given day depends on the schedule. We would rather hear from you and tell you honestly than have you sit in pain guessing.

Use the first aid above to get through the night, and call us when we open. If your situation is on the emergency room list, do not wait for us at all. An airway or a spreading infection needs a hospital, and that is true at any hour.

No. Call us either way. If you have never been in before, filling out the new patient form ahead of time saves you a clipboard when you arrive, but do not let paperwork delay the call.

We accept most PPO plans and select Medicare plans, and we do not accept HMO or Medicaid. Coverage for urgent treatment varies by plan, so we verify your benefits before treatment rather than after. See accepted insurances for the full picture.

Tell us. We offer monthly payment options through Cherry and CareCredit, and our Smile Club membership is built for patients without insurance. See finance plans. Cost is a conversation, not a reason to leave a problem alone until it gets worse.

We see patients age seven and up. If your child is younger, call anyway and we will point you to a good local pediatric dentist rather than leave you searching.