Emergency & Post-Op Care
Emergency Care
After Hours Emergencies
We believe in direct communication with our patients. Current patients of Children’s Dentistry of Cherry Creek have access to after-hours care through our paging system. To contact a team member after hours, simply call the office and follow the on-call instructions. Our dedicated team is always a phone call away.
Please note that this service is for current patients only. We cannot give recommendations or see patients after hours if they are not patients of record.
If your child is experiencing a toothache:
Clean the area thoroughly. Rinse the mouth vigorously with warm salt water or use dental floss to dislodge any trapped debris. Give our office a call as soon as possible, in any case of pain we would like to see your child right away. If you call after business hours just press to reach the on call doctor.
If your child's face is swollen:
Please give us a call right away as we would like to see your child as soon as possible. Apply a cold compress in the meantime.
If your child has an abscess:
Call our office right away so that we can diagnose the area of infection and prescribe antibiotics.
If Your Child Cut or Bit their Lip or cheek
Apply ice to the area. If there is bleeding apply firm but gentle pressure with a clean gauze or cloth. If the cut is deep and the bleeding persists after 15 minutes take your child to a hospital emergency room as they may require stitches.
If Your Child Knocked out a permanent Tooth
Keep the tooth with you. Try not to touch the root area. You may rinse the tooth but do not brush or clean it. Try to reinsert it in the socket and have your child hold the tooth in place by biting on a clean cloth or gauze. If you cannot reinsert the tooth, place the tooth in a cup containing milk or water. You must call us immediately, time is a critical factor in saving the tooth.
If Your Child Chipped their Tooth
Call our office. Although a chipped tooth is not a huge emergency we definitely want to get that tooth fixed, especially if it’s sharp and causing discomfort.
If Your Child Has A Cold Or Canker sore
Usually over the counter preparations bring relief. If the sores persist we can make a dental evaluation to analyze if there is a serious disease or infection.
Post-Op Care
Your child’s comfort is our priority.
If your child had treatment with a local anesthetic:
It is possible that the tongue, teeth, lips, and surrounding tissue will remain numb after you leave our office. Be sure to keep a close eye on your child and make sure that they do not play, chew, or scratch the numb area. These actions can cause minor irritations, or they can be severe enough to cause swelling or abrasions to the tissue. We recommend a soft or liquid diet until the anesthetic has worn off.
If your child Had preventative sealants done:
They can eat or drink right away. There should be no discomfort, if your child feels like their bite is off or is chewing uncomfortable please be sure to call our office.
If your child had a topical application of fluoride:
They can eat or drink right away, however, we recommend they not eat or drink anything boiling hot for a minimum of four hours after application.
If Your Child had one or more teeth extracted:
We recommend that the gauze stays in place with biting pressure for about 30 minutes. This will reduce the amount of bleeding. It is absolutely okay to give your child the appropriate dosage of Motrin when you take the gauze out (no aspirin). Your child should only feel discomfort for 12-24 hours, if discomfort persists after 48 hours please give our office a call. We recommend that your child have a soft diet for the first couple of days. We don’t recommend drinking from a sippy cup or a straw for the first few hours as this will encourage bleeding. We recommend gentle brushing around the extraction site along with salt water rinses (1/4 teaspoon to a glass of water) to aid with discomfort. Swelling after an extraction is not uncommon and should not cause alarm, ice packs are recommended.
If Your Child had treatment under general anesthesia:
Plan quiet activities. Your child may be uncoordinated or confused for up to 24 hours. Your child’s appetite will return in 12-24 hours, when your child is ready to eat begin with foods that are soft. Stock up on clear foods such as broth, apple juice, and jello.