Pediatric Dental Emergencies
A chipped tooth at the playground, a toothache at bedtime: dental scares are part of childhood, and most of them are fixable. Start with Tooth Triage, our symptom checker built on Dr. Andrea's own emergency guidance. Describe what happened in your own words and get clear, color-coded next steps in under a minute, including who to call and how to protect the tooth until your child is seen.
Already a Poppy Kids patient? Call us at (415) 408-5775 during office hours (Monday–Thursday, 8:30am–5:00pm). After hours, leave a message at the same number: it goes to Dr. Andrea's emergency line, and she returns calls from current patients.
Not a patient yet? Use the checker below. If your child needs same-day care, it will point you to UCSF's pediatric emergency dental clinic, and for anything less urgent you can book online.
Check your child's symptoms now
Tooth Triage is educational guidance, not medical advice, and it never replaces calling us.
Questions parents ask us in an emergency
What if a permanent tooth was knocked out?
Minutes matter. Find the tooth and pick it up by the crown, the white part, and never by the root. If it's dirty, rinse it gently with milk or saline without scrubbing. If your child is old enough to cooperate, place it back in the socket and have them bite on clean gauze. If not, keep it moist in a cup of cold milk or your child's saliva and call us immediately at (415) 408-5775. A tooth replanted within about 30 minutes has the best chance of being saved.
What if a baby tooth was knocked out?
Baby teeth are not reimplanted, because putting one back can damage the adult tooth developing underneath. Stay calm, press a clean cloth on the gum to stop any bleeding, and call us the same day so we can check the area and make sure nothing else was hurt. Bring the tooth with you if you have it.
What helps a toothache until we can be seen?
Rinse with warm water and gently floss around the sore tooth to clear any trapped food. A cold compress on the cheek can help with swelling. An age-appropriate pain reliever is fine if your child needs it, but never place aspirin directly on the gums or tooth. A toothache that lasts more than a day, wakes your child at night, or comes with fever or facial swelling needs a same-day call.
What should we do for a chipped or broken tooth?
Rinse your child's mouth with warm water and save any pieces you can find. A cold compress keeps swelling down. Even a small chip deserves a visit, since a crack can be deeper than it looks, and a large break that hurts or bleeds should be seen the same day.
What about a bitten lip, tongue, or other mouth injury?
Clean the area gently and press with a clean cloth or gauze until the bleeding stops; a little ice helps with swelling. Mouths bleed a lot and most small cuts heal quickly on their own. Call us if the cut is deep or gaping, or head to the ER if the bleeding won't stop after 10 minutes of steady pressure.
Should we go to the emergency room or the dentist?
The ER is for the life-threatening signs listed at the top of this page: uncontrolled bleeding, trouble breathing or swallowing, a possible broken jaw, or a serious head injury. Almost everything else, from knocked-out and broken teeth to toothaches and swelling, is treated faster and better by a pediatric dentist. When in doubt, use the symptom checker above or call us.
What if it happens after hours?
Our office is open Monday–Thursday, 8:30am–5:00pm. Outside those hours, current patients can leave a message at (415) 408-5775 and it will reach Dr. Andrea's emergency line. If your child needs to be seen the same day, UCSF provides emergency pediatric dental care in San Francisco, and the symptom checker above has the details and phone numbers. For life-threatening signs, always call 911 or go straight to the nearest emergency room.
Poppy Kids Pediatric Dentistry · 450 Ignacio Blvd, Pacheco Plaza, Novato, CA 94949 · Monday–Thursday, 8:30am–5:00pm. More ways to reach us on the contact page, and more on handling injuries in our dental trauma guide for parents.
