What to do in a dental emergency

• If during surgery hours, please call or email reception as soon as possible on 01403 257237.
• If out of hours, please call 111.
• Or the emergency dental services at Crawley 01293 518541, Haywards Heath 01444 440695, Chichester 01243 793697 weekdays 5.30-10pm. Weekends and bank holidays 8.30-1 pm.

Some tips for common dental problems

• Broken tooth or lost filling with sharp edges- you can buy temporary dressing kits from supermarkets, Amazon, and pharmacies to help you until you can see a dentist. Try and eat a soft diet and keep the area as clean as possible.
• Pain/swelling- seek emergency care as soon as possible. For swellings this needs to be immediate especially if it is involving the lower jaw and accompanying any limited mouth opening or difficulty swallowing as there is a serious risk to your airway. Please call 111 or go to A and E.
• Pain without swelling- if you can safely take anti-inflammatory pain killers, alternate these with paracetamol according to the packet instructions. Sometimes sipping on cool water can help. Other types of pain can be alleviated with a hot compress. So, try hot and cold and see what works best. Again, soft diet keep fluids up and seek dental care ASAP.
• Ulcers- these usually heal within 2 weeks. Any persistent or recurrent ulcers please seek dental care as soon as you can. Warm saltwater mouth rinses and topical lotions can help numb any discomfort.
• Trauma to a front tooth-please see your dentist urgently, if out of hours please call one of the numbers above. If a portion of tooth has broken off, try and keep it safe in a small amount of water as it may be possible to stick it back on. Keep the affected tooth as clean as possible and do not bite with it.
• Front tooth knocked out- pick up the tooth taking care not to touch the root and gently rinse if dirty in saline, milk, or saliva, carefully put it back into the socket if you can. If unable to put it back in, keep it stored in milk saliva or saline until you can see at dentist as soon as possible. If out of hours please call the numbers above, time is important.
• Wisdom tooth pain – saltwater rinses and thorough cleaning. If swelling please seek urgent medical care as per the guidance above.
• Sensitive tooth- try Sensodyne – you can rub a small amount onto the tooth and leave it there and get an appointment with the dentist as soon as possible.
• Lost crown or bridge- there are kits from pharmacies that can stick it back in if you cannot wait for the dentist. However sometimes this can make it tricky for the dentist to re cement it properly so ideally if not a front tooth wait for the dentist.