Night Dental Emergencies in Families with Children
Emergencies in children progress differently and call for different decisions.
Night pain in a child: what to look for
Children do not always localise pain: a small child may point to the whole jaw or the ear. So the accompanying signs matter more than the description — red gum, a swollen cheek, fever, refusing food and broken sleep. Infection around baby teeth can advance faster than in adults because the roots and surrounding bone differ. A cheek swelling that grows quickly, spread towards the eyelid or accompanying fever makes waiting impossible; with difficulty swallowing or breathing, go to the nearest hospital emergency department.
Blows to baby teeth and knocked-out teeth
The commonest finding after a fall is a blow to the front teeth. If the tooth is loose, pushed inwards, or changes colour over the following days it must be assessed — a blow that looks minor can affect the root and the developing permanent tooth beneath. For a tooth knocked completely out the rule depends on age: a baby tooth is not put back, because replanting it can damage the permanent tooth germ; bring it with you instead. A permanent tooth is the opposite — hold it by the crown, do not scrub the root, and bring it without drying in milk or saline as quickly as possible.
Worth keeping at home
- Clean gauze, for applying pressure to bleeding
- A cold pack that can be wrapped in a thin cloth
- A small lidded container and milk, to carry a knocked-out tooth
- A note of the child's weight and any allergies
- A list of the medicines the child takes regularly
- A charged phone with the clinic's number saved
- A familiar toy to settle the child on a night journey
Before You Arrive from Kadriye: What to Do in the First Hour
What you can do before setting out from Kadriye does not replace treatment, but it keeps the situation from worsening and buys you time.
Before leaving Kadriye
What you should do before setting out from Kadriye depends on your complaint, and detailed first-aid steps for each are on the relevant page. On the way from Emergency in Kadriye, 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 Kadriye
Calling as you set out from Kadriye does two things: you receive first-aid guidance suited to your situation, and the radiograph and surgery are prepared while you travel. For patients coming from across Serik, this arrangement noticeably shortens the wait.
What an Emergency Visit Covers for a Patient from Kadriye
For a patient attending as an emergency from Kadriye, the aim is to stop the pain and the infection; definitive work is left to a planned appointment.
Completed the same night for Kadriye
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 Kadriye as well.
Left to a later visit for Kadriye
For a patient from Emergency in Kadriye, 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 Kadriye, these are combined according to your journey and given to you in writing, so you do not have to travel from Serik repeatedly.
