Urgent help for toothache and broken teeth

Rinse your mouth with warm water and floss gently to clear any food caught around the tooth. Don't put aspirin, or any other tablet, on the gum or tooth. If your face is swollen, hold a cold compress against your cheek. Then call us.

If the pain is keeping you awake, read toothache at night: what you can do.

Rinse your mouth with warm water, keep any pieces of tooth you find, and hold a cold compress against your face if it swells. When you call, tell us how big the break is and whether it hurts.

For how urgent it is and how it can be repaired, read what to do about a chipped or broken tooth.

Act quickly: the chance of saving the tooth is highest in the first 20 minutes. Hold it by the crown (the part you normally see), not the root. Rinse it briefly, put it back into its socket and bite on a clean cloth to hold it there. If it won't go back, keep it in milk; an adult can also keep it in the mouth, against the cheek. Don't let it dry out.

Then call us and come straight in. If we're closed, take the tooth to a hospital emergency department.

Don't put it back. Call us so the gum and the teeth around it can be checked. Our page on dental care for children covers knocks and chips too.

Call us to book a repair soon, because a tooth without its filling can break further. Until then, keep it clean and chew on the other side. Read what to do when a filling falls out.

Ease it out gently with dental floss. Don't use a pin or anything sharp. If it won't come out, call us.

Clean the area gently with water and hold a cold compress against it. If the bleeding doesn't stop, call us, or go to a hospital emergency department if we're closed.

Keep the cap, avoid chewing on that side and call us. Don't try to pull a loose cap off yourself: read why you should not remove a gold tooth at home.

Call 031 563 2473 as early in the day as you can and tell us it hurts, so we can fit you in. Easing the pain comes first.

Severe toothache, a knocked-out adult tooth, a broken tooth that hurts, bleeding that won't stop, or swelling: call us about any of these. Swelling with a fever, or trouble breathing or swallowing, needs a hospital emergency department.

Durban Dental Care is closed then. For severe swelling, or trouble breathing or swallowing, go to a hospital emergency department. Otherwise, call us first thing on the next practice day.

Durban Dental Care repairs chipped and broken teeth at North Coast Road Medical Centre, 490 Chris Hani Road, Park Hill, Durban North. Call 031 563 2473 and tell us what happened.

We give you the cost once we've examined the tooth, and you pay on the day. Our guide to what a dental visit costs explains how dental fees and medical aid work.