Chips and breaks
Say how much of the tooth seems to be missing and whether it is painful or sensitive. A fragment that can be retrieved safely should travel in milk or water. Please don’t glue it or file the edge at home.
Children’s Dentistry
Children’s Dental Trauma Treatment in Etobicoke
After a dental injury, some care can’t wait for a long drive. Coming from Etobicoke, call first so we can help you decide whether to come to us or find urgent care nearer home, then plan well-organised follow-up visits.
Urgent care versus a planned tripPlan a non-urgent injury follow-up
Decide where to go before you get in the car.
From Toronto’s west end, our clinic is a fair trip, so the first decision after an injury is about where care should happen. Your child’s general condition settles that before anything else. If there has been a serious knock to the head or face, if breathing or swallowing is hard, or if bleeding is heavy and won’t stop, go for emergency medical care nearby.
For the tooth, phone before setting out and tell us what happened and when. An adult tooth knocked out of its socket can’t wait for a long journey, so get immediate dental care wherever you can reach it fastest. A baby tooth that falls out is never replanted. We can tell you about our availability, and if urgent care can’t be arranged here, an emergency dental provider closer to you is the better choice.
Once the urgent part is handled, trauma care becomes a series of planned steps. The dentist assesses the tooth, the tissues around it and its stage of development, then explains today’s treatment and the reviews to come. Ask what will be monitored, and how visits can be grouped sensibly, even after your child feels fine.
Information that helps us advise by phone
A clear description saves a wasted trip.
The type of impact, the timing and your child’s symptoms help us advise on next steps. Please avoid moving the tooth back and forth or having your child bite down hard to test it.
Loosened or shifted teeth
Let us know if a tooth looks lower, higher, tipped or out of line, or if the bite has changed. These need prompt assessment, so ask whether nearer care is wiser. Never push the tooth into place, and don’t assume it’s a baby tooth on its way out.
Wider injuries or missing teeth
Describe cuts, swelling, bleeding and any tooth or fragment you haven’t found. Mention any other symptoms, especially signs of a head injury. This helps the clinician advise whether dental care, medical care or both should come first.
Get immediate first-aid advice and dental care for a knocked-out permanent tooth, choosing the nearest provider who can see you. Hold it by the crown, keep it in milk if it can’t be replanted safely, and never put it in a young child’s cheek.
Why the full injury is examined
Hidden damage is the reason for the reviews.
The same impact that chips a tooth can bruise the root, upset the pulp or loosen the supporting tissues. The examination considers each of these where relevant. A repair that looks right does not confirm that the hidden parts are healing.
Development matters as well. A baby tooth and a young adult tooth are treated differently and followed differently. Ask which tooth was hurt, what is known after the first examination and what can only be answered later.
Patient information: IADT and AAPD — fractures and luxations of permanent teeth
Care that matches the findings
Options range from monitoring to repair, stabilization or further treatment. Ask what each step is designed to do. A splint may handle the position of the tooth, while the pulp is checked at later visits.
A record to compare with
Initial findings give later reviews a reference point. Tell us about any earlier injury to the same teeth, and bring records from any other provider who treated the injury first. Ask what will be compared and what change would mean more care.
Clarity about uncertainty
Some outcomes can’t be predicted at the start. Ask which signs are reassuring and what complications are being watched. A realistic plan is more useful than a promise that the tooth will never need care.
Organising care across fewer trips
Make each visit count.
The order and urgency depend on the injury. Please call about a recent injury instead of sending a routine online request, so we can plan the visit properly.
Talk through the injury by phone
Explain when and where it happened, what hit the tooth, the first aid given and any medical or dental care already received elsewhere. Mention missing pieces or bite changes. Bring health information, a list of medicines and any notes from another provider.
Examine and record
The dentist checks the injured tooth, its neighbours and the soft tissue, and discusses imaging or tests. Ask what can be confirmed now, which results may need repeating, and whether anything can be done during the same visit to save another trip.
Provide the needed treatment
Care may involve a repair, a splint, pulp treatment, observation or another option. Share your child’s comfort needs. If a referral is advised, ask why, how urgent it is and whether a provider nearer home would be appropriate.
Map out reviews and home care
Confirm what was done, any limits on food, cleaning and activity, and the full review schedule. Ask which symptoms mean calling before the next visit. Follow-up may continue well past the point when the tooth feels normal.
Between appointments
Know what to watch, and when to call before driving in.
Your instructions will fit the injury and treatment. Aftercare for a small repair can differ from that for a displaced, splinted or replanted adult tooth.
Follow the eating and cleaning advice
Ask which foods to avoid and for how long. Keep the area clean as shown. If pain or a splint makes cleaning difficult, phone us for help; often it can be sorted out without an extra trip.
Report changes promptly
Call about increasing pain, swelling, a gum bump, an altered bite or a colour change. We can advise whether your child needs to be seen and how soon. Don’t read the outcome from colour alone; it depends on the tooth, the symptoms and the injury.
Check before resuming sport
Ask when your child can return to their activities and whether a mouthguard is advisable. If they already have one, make sure it still fits after treatment. A guard reduces risk but can’t prevent every injury.
Patient information: IADT — broken teeth and preserving a fragment
Planning questions from Etobicoke(905) 876-4488
How to handle a tooth injury when the clinic isn’t around the corner
Bring your questions about the injury, the treatment and the visits ahead. Some answers only become clear as the tooth recovers.
How do I decide whether to go to a closer emergency dentist or drive to your clinic?
Call us and describe the injury. For a knocked-out adult tooth or anything that can’t wait, the nearest available provider is usually the better choice. We can then pick up follow-up care once the urgent stage is handled.
Can you take over follow-up if another dentist treated the injury first?
Ask us about availability and bring any notes, images or details of the treatment provided. Knowing what was found and done at the first visit helps the dentist plan sensible reviews.
Can some follow-up visits be combined with my child’s regular checkups?
Sometimes, depending on the review schedule the dentist sets for the injury. Ask whether timing can line up with routine care. Injury reviews shouldn’t be delayed just to combine them.
Why can’t a small chip just be fixed in one visit and forgotten?
The repair may be done in one visit, but the impact might have affected the root, pulp or nearby teeth. Reviews check those parts over time. Ask what will be monitored and when.
What should I do if the splint comes loose on a weekend?
Leave it in place if you can, avoid adjusting it, and call the clinic for advice. If your child has significant swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing, or seems very unwell, seek emergency medical care.
How long might we need to keep coming back after a dental injury?
It varies with the injury and how the tooth responds; some reviews continue for months or longer. Ask for the full expected schedule early so you can plan, and keep visits even when the tooth looks fine.
Children’s dental trauma care for Etobicoke families
Call first, so the trip is the right one.
Phone our Bronte Street practice to talk about the injury, our availability and whether coming in or seeing someone nearer is wiser. If a recent urgent injury can’t be seen here, please go to an emergency dental provider close to you.
A permanent tooth that has been knocked out needs immediate care at the nearest available provider. Serious head injury, trouble breathing or swallowing, or uncontrolled heavy bleeding needs emergency medical attention.
Visit Milton Dental ClinicUnit 1, 342 Bronte St. S, Milton, ON L9T 5B7Get directions
Clinic hours
- Monday–Thursday
- 11am–7pm
- Friday–Sunday
- By appointment only
Areas we serve
- Milton
- Oakville
- Mississauga
- Georgetown
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- Acton
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- Old Milton
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