A sudden toothache, broken tooth, swelling, or dental injury can be stressful for both children and parents. Smile First Dental provides pediatric emergency dental care in Durham, NC, with timely evaluation and treatment for children experiencing unexpected dental problems.
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A pediatric dental emergency is an urgent problem involving your child’s teeth, gums, mouth, or surrounding tissues that needs prompt professional attention. Common emergencies include severe toothaches, chipped or cracked teeth, knocked out teeth, swelling, dental infections, uncontrolled oral bleeding, and damaged fillings or crowns.
Children can also experience dental emergencies after falls, sports injuries, playground accidents, or biting something hard. When you are unsure whether your child’s situation is urgent, contacting a pediatric emergency dentist in Durham can help you understand what to do next and whether your child needs same day care.
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Get to Know Dr. Jenny
Dr. Jenny Citineni is a board certified pediatric dentist who has spent much of her life in Durham. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill, she attended the UNC School of Dentistry and went on to build her career around helping children receive comfortable, individualized dental care.
Dr. Jenny understands that dental emergencies require both timely clinical care and a calm approach for children. Along with Dr. Emilee, Dr. Haley, and the Smile First team, she helps families manage unexpected dental injuries, pain, and other urgent oral health concerns.
A dental emergency can happen without warning, so families need a pediatric dental team that can respond quickly and clearly. Smile First Dental provides emergency pediatric dentistry in Durham, NC, with care designed specifically for infants, children, and teens.
Our team evaluates the cause of the problem, explains the available treatment options, and helps parents understand what should happen next. From sudden tooth pain to dental trauma, our goal is to provide appropriate care while helping your child feel safe and comfortable.
An emergency evaluation helps identify what is causing your child’s tooth pain so the dentist can recommend the appropriate treatment rather than only managing the symptoms.
Prompt care may provide more treatment options when a permanent tooth has been chipped, fractured, displaced, or knocked out during an accident.
Prompt care may provide Tooth infections and dental swelling require timely evaluation. Identifying the source helps the dentist determine the appropriate treatment and reduce the risk of the problem progressing.treatment options when a permanent tooth has been chipped, fractured, displaced, or knocked out during an accident.
Dental injuries to baby teeth can sometimes affect the surrounding tissues or developing permanent teeth. A pediatric dentist can evaluate the injury and recommend appropriate follow up.
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Call or text Smile First Dental when an emergency occurs. Tell us what happened and describe symptoms such as pain, bleeding, swelling, or a damaged tooth so our team can provide initial guidance.
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Our pediatric dentist examines the affected tooth and surrounding tissues. Depending on the emergency, digital X rays may be recommended to check the tooth roots, bone, or areas that cannot be seen during the visual exam.
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Treatment depends on the diagnosis. Care may involve repairing a damaged tooth, managing an infection, addressing dental trauma, treating the tooth nerve, or discussing extraction when a tooth cannot be predictably restored.
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Some dental emergencies need continued monitoring after the first visit. We explain home care instructions, symptoms to watch for, and whether another appointment is needed to check healing or complete treatment.
My toddler had a great first visit! Everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable and made my daughters first ever dental visit a pleasant one! This will definitely be our dental home moving forward!
Herison
This is a wonderful group of people. Some of the same employees took care of my teeth as I was growing up and it’s great to have many of the same ones help clean and keep my daughters teeth in great shape! I love Smile First and trust them with my daughter’s smile!!
Sara h
Severe or persistent tooth pain, facial or gum swelling, uncontrolled bleeding, a knocked out permanent tooth, a badly broken tooth, or significant dental trauma should be evaluated promptly. Damaged dental restorations or objects stuck between the teeth can also require urgent care when they cause pain or cannot be safely removed.
Find the tooth and handle it by the crown, not the root. If it is dirty, gently rinse it without scrubbing or removing attached tissue. If possible, carefully place the permanent tooth back into its socket. If that cannot be done, keep it moist in milk and contact a pediatric dentist immediately. Do not delay care while trying to clean the tooth unnecessarily.
No. A knocked out primary or baby tooth should not normally be replanted because doing so could affect the developing permanent tooth underneath. Contact our pediatric dental team promptly so we can evaluate the injury and make sure there is no additional damage.
Smile First Dental offers same day appointments for children experiencing dental emergencies, depending on the situation and scheduling availability. The practice also has a pediatric dentist on call 24/7 so families can contact the team when an urgent dental concern happens.
Seek immediate medical care for serious head or facial trauma, a suspected broken jaw, difficulty breathing or swallowing, loss of consciousness, or other potentially life threatening symptoms. For emergencies mainly involving the teeth or gums, contact our pediatric dental team for guidance.
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Smile First Dental provides pediatric emergency dental care in Durham, NC, at 3616 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd. Families can contact our team for sudden toothaches, broken or chipped teeth, knocked out teeth, swelling, dental infections, damaged restorations, and other urgent dental concerns.
Our Durham pediatric dental office also serves families from Chapel Hill, Morrisville, Hillsborough, Roxboro, Bahama, Oxford, Raleigh, and nearby communities. With same day emergency appointments and 24/7 access to an on call pediatric dentist, families have a trusted place to turn when an unexpected dental problem occurs.
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