Before You Leave Dokuma: What Can Be Done at Home
The journey is short, yet what you do in that time changes how severe the pain is.
Keeping the pain under control on the way
Keeping your head raised helps: lying down increases blood flow to the head, raising pressure in the pulp and with it the pain, so sit upright on the way.
A wrapped cold compress on the outside of the cheek eases swelling and pain — never put ice straight on the skin. If you take an over-the-counter painkiller, stay within the dose on the box and tell us what you took when you arrive.
In the ten minutes before you leave
- Rinse gently with warm salt water; do not gargle hard
- Find the broken fragment and put it in a clean container
- Carry a knocked-out tooth in milk
- For bleeding, press with clean gauze for fifteen minutes
- Take the boxes or a list of your medicines
- Bring any previous radiographs
- Do not drive in severe pain — have someone with you
Common mistakes that make things worse
The commonest mistake is placing a painkiller tablet on the tooth or gum: it does not work that way and burns the gum chemically, adding an ulcer to the pain.
The second is applying heat or hot rinses to a swelling, which helps inflammation spread. Trying to burst a swelling yourself, starting leftover antibiotics and dulling pain with alcohol should all be avoided.
Before You Arrive from Dokuma: What to Do in the First Hour
What you can do before setting out from Dokuma does not replace treatment, but it keeps the situation from worsening and buys you time.
Before leaving Dokuma
What you should do before setting out from Dokuma depends on your complaint, and detailed first-aid steps for each are on the relevant page. On the way from Emergency in Dokuma, using the wrong measure can make things worse, so it matters which page you read — applying heat to swelling spreads the infection, and placing a painkiller tablet on the tooth burns the gum.
- Toothache
- Dental abscess and facial swelling
- A broken or cracked tooth
- A knocked-out tooth
- Bleeding after an extraction
What calling achieves for Dokuma
Calling as you set out from Dokuma does two things: you receive first-aid guidance suited to your situation, and the radiograph and surgery are prepared while you travel. For Emergency in Dokuma: for patients coming from across Kepez, this arrangement noticeably shortens the wait.
What an Emergency Visit Covers for a Patient from Dokuma
For a patient attending as an emergency from Dokuma, the aim is to stop the pain and the infection; definitive work is left to a planned appointment.
Completed the same night for Dokuma
Examination and a radiograph, opening the canal to release pressure, draining an abscess, stopping bleeding, temporarily sealing a broken tooth, splinting a loose tooth and adjusting a poking orthodontic wire are all completed the same night for a patient from Dokuma as well.
Left to a later visit for Dokuma
For a patient from Emergency in Dokuma, completing the root filling, making a crown or onlay, the permanent restoration and the implant and prosthetic stages are done at planned appointments. If you are coming from Dokuma, these are combined according to your journey and given to you in writing, so you do not have to travel from Kepez repeatedly.
