Please find advice below to help us minimise the spread of this virus to yourself, the staff and other patients.
Severe Pain
Management of Dental Pain – Please take paracetamol every fours hours to the maximum dose as stated on the instruction leaflet. Please pay particular attention to the dosage for your age and weight. Severe pain should subside in 3-5 days.
Swelling
Management of Swelling – If you have a noticeable swelling around your gum/tooth, a soft diet and good oral hygiene is essential. Avoid placing a heat pad, hot water bottle or consuming hot drinks as this can encourage swelling to extend into the face further.
If the swelling extends to closing of your eye, or limits your mouth opening, or starts to track down your neck causing difficultly swallowing or breathing, you will need to call NHS 111 or The Lancashire Dental Helpline 0300 1234 010 for immediate advice and treatment.
Bleeding
After a recent extraction – place dampened clean cloth or gauze onto the socket and bite down or apply firm pressure continuously for 30 minutes. Do not rinse or spit out for 24 hours after bleeding has stopped. If bleeding then continues or is severe, call NHS 111 or The Lancashire Dental Helpline 0300 1234 010 for advice.
Bleeding from gums – you may experience some bleeding from gums when you brush or touch them. Simple effective tooth – brushing of the gum area should resolve this after several days. If you have extensive bleeding or underlying health conditions, please call NHS 111 or The Lancashire Dental Helpline 0300 1234 010 for advice.
Bleeding from trauma – see trauma advice section.
Trauma
Any loss of consciousness or blurred/double vision or vomiting, go to A&E as a matter of priority. If your tooth has chipped, although it may feel sensitive, this is not classed as urgent. If your tooth has completely come out, store it in milk and contact The Lancashire Dental Helpline on 0300 1234 010. If your tooth feels different or wobbly, stick to a soft diet for two weeks and take paracetamol.
Wisdom Teeth Problems
If you are having pain from your wisdom tooth this is often associated with the gum or tissue around the tooth. In this instance we advise a soft diet, warm salty mouth washes several times a day and good oral hygiene around the tooth and gum despite the discomfort. If you start to develop swelling from this please refer to the swelling section of this document above. Wisdom tooth problems tend to resolve within 10-14 days if the above advice is followed.
Pain after a dental extraction
After any extraction you may feel some discomfort. If this discomfort persists and becomes worse, you may have a dry socket. This is inflammation of the socket and will subside. Pain management includes: warm salt mouthwashes, paracetamol use and soft diet. If pain persists more than 10 days please telephone The Lancashire Dental Helpline 0300 1234 010.
