Convenience, Comfort and Care:
Our practice philosophy is to provide emergency care as quickly as possible to our patients.
What does that mean for you in practical terms? We aim to get you out of pain at the first visit while solving the fundamental problem in as few visits as possible.
Dr. Skariah offers his personal cell number for after-hours care beyond the normal practice hours. We also have a pharmacy within the building (All Care Pharmacy (905) 290-7451) that has extended evening and weekend hours, where prescription pain-relief and/or antibiotics can be picked up.
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Dr. Skariah's Dental Emergency Primer: What to do
Bitten tongue, cheek, lips, etc:
Gently rinse area with cool water or wipe with damp gauze or cloth.
Swelling is controlled with a cold pack or crushed ice in a ziplock. If
bleeding continues, apply pressure with cool wet gauze or teabag. Take
appropriate pain medication.
Bleeding Gums: Normally associated with periodontal
(gum) disease. The best way to minimize bleeding is brushing twice a day
for two minutes, flossing daily, cleaning your tongue and visiting your
dentist for regular checkups. Very rarely, persistent bleeding gums can
be a early warning sign for leukemia.
Canker Sores: Keep the area clean by gentle tooth
brushing and rinsing with salt water. Healing should occur in about 2
weeks. Avoid acidic, hot and spicy foods and drink. If needed, take pain
medications and give us a call for an assessment. Do not apply any pain
medication to the area.
Fractured or Broken Tooth: Gently rinse area with water
(salt water if possible). Control bleeding with a cool wet gauze or
teabag (apply pressure only to the bleeding tissues, not the tooth). Do
not remove fractured pieces and save all fragments. Take the appropriate
pain medication and see us right away.
Gum Boil: Keep the area clean by gentle toothbrushing
and rinsing with salt water. If pain and swelling increases in the area
then cool compresses and pain medications will help. Do not try to pop
the boil. You may need to be put on antibiotics. See us as soon as
possible.
Knocked out Tooth: Save the tooth or tooth pieces in a
balanced saline solution, contact lens solution, milk or water. If
bleeding continues, apply pressure with cool wet gauze or teabag. Take
appropriate pain medication. Do not clean the area as the tissue
fragments will help the healing process if the tooth can be reinserted.
Be gentle with the developing clot, no spitting, smoking or use of a
straw. You must get to a dentist within 60 minutes to have any real
chance of saving the tooth.
Loose Baby Tooth: If the child can wiggle the tooth
out...great! Encourage the child to move the tooth in all directions,
but do not use large forces. Slow and steady usually wins out. If both
the adult tooth and baby tooth are visible then see us for an
assessment.
Toothache: Avoid the area as much as possible: no
biting, or food items in the area, avoid hot and cold drinks. If pain
increases and swelling occurs, then a cold compress in the area will
help. Pain medications as needed. See us as soon as possible, you will
likely have to take antibiotics.
Teething Pains: Freeze or chill some baby carrots and
apply them to the area. Ice chips in a ziplock or cloth is also good.
Some mild pain relievers and teeth gel (follow the instructions
closely, do not overuse) can help.
Wisdom Tooth: Keeps the area as clean as possible with
tooth brushing and warm salt water rinses. If the area begins to swell
and pain increases, a cool compress and pain medications will help the
situation. You may need to be put on antibiotics and the tooth/teeth
will likely need to come out. Give us a call immediately
In general, Advil (Motrin/Ibuprofen) 200mg every 4-6 hours should help
pain and inflammation. Tylenol (Acetaminophen) 325mg every 4-6 hours is
a good secondary alternative. Please review any allergies with your
physician/dentist to these medications before using them. We can
prescribe higher doses and different pain medications once an assessment
of your situation is completed.
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