First, thoroughly rinse your mouth with warm water. Use dental floss to remove any lodged food. If your mouth is swollen, apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth or cheek. See your dentist as soon as possible. Tooth pain is usually a sign that the pulp is decayed and that you need a root canal, fillings or tooth extraction.

See your dentist right away. Until you reach your dentist’s office, to relieve pain, apply a cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek in the affected area. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever (like Tylenol or Advil) if needed.

If the crown falls off, make an appointment to see your dentist as soon as possible and bring the crown with you. If you can’t get to your dentist right away. If possible, slip the crown back over the tooth. Before doing so, coat the inner surface with an over-the-counter dental cement, toothpaste, or denture adhesive, to help hold the crown in place. Do not use super glue!

Abscesses are infections that occur around the root of a tooth or in the space between the teeth and gums. Abscesses are a serious condition that can damage tissue and surrounding teeth, with the infection possibly spreading to other parts of the body if left untreated. See your dentist as soon as possible.

Because of the serious oral health and general health problems that can result from an abscess, see your dentist as soon as possible if you discover a pimple-like swelling on your gum that usually is painful. In the meantime, to ease the pain and draw the pus toward the surface, try rinsing your mouth with a mild salt water solution (1/2 teaspoon of table salt in 8 ounces of water) several times a day.

Save any pieces. Rinse the mouth using warm water; rinse any broken pieces. If there’s bleeding, apply a piece of gauze to the area for about 10 minutes or until the bleeding stops. Apply a cold compress to the outside of the mouth, cheek, or lip near the broken/chipped tooth to keep any swelling down and relieve pain. See your dentist as soon as possible.

As a temporary measure, stick a piece of sugarless gum into the cavity (sugar-filled gum will cause pain) or use over-the-counter dental cement. See your dentist as soon as possible.

If a wire breaks or sticks out of a bracket or band and is poking your cheek, tongue, or gum, try using the eraser end of a pencil to push the wire into a more comfortable position. If you can’t reposition the wire, cover the end with orthodontic wax, a small cotton ball, or piece of gauze until you can get to your orthodontist’s office. Never cut the wire, as you could end up swallowing it or breathing it into your lungs. See your dentist as soon as possible.

Injuries to the soft tissues, which include the tongue, cheeks, gums, and lips, can result in bleeding.

To control the bleeding:
Rinse your mouth with a mild salt-water solution Use a moistened piece of gauze or tea bag to apply pressure to the bleeding site. Hold in place for 15 to 20 minutes.

To both control bleeding and relieve pain, hold a cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek in the affected area for 5 to 10 minutes.

If the bleeding doesn’t stop, see your dentist immediately or go to a hospital emergency room. Continue to apply pressure on the bleeding site with the gauze until you can be seen and treated.

Retrieve the tooth, hold it by the crown (the part that is usually exposed in the mouth), and rinse off the tooth root with water if it’s dirty. Do not scrub it or remove any attached tissue fragments. If possible, try to put the tooth back in place. Make sure it’s facing the right way. Never force it into the socket. If it’s not possible to reinsert the tooth in the socket, put the tooth in a small container of milk (or cup of water that contains a pinch of table salt, if milk is not available) or a product containing cell growth medium, such as Save-a-Tooth.

In all cases, see your dentist as quickly as possible. Knocked out teeth with the highest chances of being saved are those seen by the dentist and returned to their socket within 1 hour of being knocked out.

Temporarily reattach loose braces with a small piece of orthodontic wax. Alternatively, place the wax over the braces to provide a cushion. See your orthodontist as soon as possible. If the problem is a loose band, save it and call your orthodontist for an appointment to have it re-cemented or replaced (and to have missing spacers replaced).

If they align properly and the gum tissue is healthy, wisdom teeth don’t have to be removed. Unfortunately, it is more common for wisdom teeth to become impacted, grow side way or only partially emerge from the gum which can cause inflammation to the gum around the impacted tooth (pericoronitis). This allows bacteria to be trapped and eventually enter around the tooth and cause infection and swelling.

See your dentist as soon as possible as the best treatment in this case is wisdom extraction, however as a home remedy, rinse with water and salt solution, apply cold packs, take over the counter pain medication and avoid hard and crunchy food.