Night-Time Dental Emergencies in Families with Children
In children's emergencies the outcome is usually decided in the first half hour.
Night pain and fall injuries in children
The commonest cause of night toothache in children is decay reaching the pulp. Daytime activity masks it, so the complaint is often first noticed in bed — which does not mean it began that night.
After a fall the picture differs: the tooth may be chipped, loosened or knocked out, and lip and tongue cuts are common. For a knocked-out permanent tooth time is the decisive factor — the sooner it is replaced, the better its chances. Baby teeth are not replanted.
Worth keeping at home
- Sterile gauze, for applying pressure to bleeding
- An ice pack or cold compress with a thin cloth
- A carton of milk, for transporting a knocked-out tooth
- A painkiller suited to the child's weight, as advised
- A small lidded box for a broken fragment
- A small torch, to see inside the mouth
- The clinic's number kept somewhere to hand
Practical points for a long drive with a child
Call before you set out: we give first-aid guidance and prepare for a child while you travel. Keep the child's head raised on the way, since lying down worsens pain, and keep gauze pressure on any bleeding.
Explaining calmly what will happen makes cooperation at the clinic much easier. Rather than promising it will not hurt, say the dentist will look first and then do what is needed. Note the time of the last meal — we may ask.
Before You Arrive from Kavakli: What to Do in the First Hour
What you can do before setting out from Kavakli does not replace treatment, but it keeps the situation from worsening and buys you time.
Before leaving Kavakli
What you should do before setting out from Kavakli depends on your complaint, and detailed first-aid steps for each are on the relevant page. On the way from Emergency in Kavakli, 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 Kavakli
Calling as you set out from Kavakli 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 Manavgat, this arrangement noticeably shortens the wait.
What an Emergency Visit Covers for a Patient from Kavakli
For a patient attending as an emergency from Kavakli, the aim is to stop the pain and the infection; definitive work is left to a planned appointment.
Completed the same night for Kavakli
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 Kavakli as well.
Left to a later visit for Kavakli
For a patient from Emergency in Kavakli, 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 Kavakli, these are combined according to your journey and given to you in writing, so you do not have to travel from Manavgat repeatedly.
