When your child needs dental care quickly
Dental emergencies can be stressful — especially when your child is in pain or you’re unsure what to do next. Whether it’s a toothache that appeared overnight, swelling, a broken tooth, or an unexpected injury, Little Roots is here to help.
Our first step is understanding what happened and how your child is feeling. We’ll help determine how urgently they need to be seen and guide you on what to do in the meantime.
When your child comes in, our priority is to help them feel safe and comfortable, identify the source of the problem, and determine the most appropriate next step. Whenever possible, we focus on relieving discomfort, addressing infection or injury, and preserving healthy teeth and tooth structure.
Urgent dental care at Little Roots
- Tooth pain
- Dental abscesses
- Facial swelling
- Broken or chipped back teeth
- Dental tooth trauma & injuries
- Lip, tongue & gum injuries
- Lost or broken fillings & crowns
- After-hours dental concerns
When should I call?
If something doesn’t seem right, we want to hear from you. Dental pain, swelling, trauma, or a sudden change in your child’s mouth may need prompt attention.
Some concerns need to be evaluated the same day, while others can safely wait for a scheduled visit. Calling us allows our team to learn what happened, ask the right questions, and help determine the appropriate next step.
You don’t have to decide whether something is a “true emergency” before calling. That’s what we’re here for.
Dental injuries happen
Falls, sports, playgrounds, bikes, and everyday childhood adventures can sometimes lead to dental injuries.
What happens next depends on several factors, including whether the injured tooth is a primary (baby) or permanent (adult) tooth, the type and extent of the injury, your child’s age and development, and how quickly the injury is evaluated.
If your child injures a tooth, give us a call. Even when a tooth looks okay from the outside, an examination and a radiograph (X-ray) can help us understand what happened beneath the surface and determine what treatment or follow-up is needed.
Comfort comes first
A child who arrives with dental pain or an injury may already be scared, uncomfortable, or overwhelmed. We take that into account.
We’ll meet your child where they are, explain what we’re doing in a way they can understand, and tailor the visit to their comfort and individual needs. Sometimes the goal of an urgent visit is to provide definitive treatment. Other times, the safest and most comfortable first step is managing the immediate concern and making a plan for what comes next.
Where urgent care meets the rest of our care
Personalize. Prevent. Preserve. These principles continue to guide us when something unexpected happens.
We personalize care to your child and the situation in front of us, address the immediate concern while looking for opportunities to prevent future problems, and preserve healthy teeth and tooth structure whenever possible.
Even during an unexpected dental visit, our goal is the same: thoughtful care that helps your child feel safe and protects their oral health.
This page describes clinical care in general terms and is written for parents. It is not advice about your individual child.
