Dental Emergency in El Hamma – Gabès: What to Do

Situations that need prompt care

• Severe toothache: intense, throbbing pain that wakes you at night or does not respond to your usual painkillers.
• Abscess: swelling of the gum or cheek, a bad taste in the mouth, sometimes fever.
• Broken tooth after a knock or while eating, especially if it bleeds or is very painful.
• Knocked-out tooth after an accident.
• Bleeding that will not stop after an extraction.
• A crown or bridge that has come off, or a brace that is cutting your mouth.

Go straight to the hospital emergency department or call the SAMU (190) if swelling makes it hard to swallow or breathe, spreads towards the eye or neck, comes with a high fever, or follows a serious injury to the face or head.

What to do before your appointment

Pain

Take a painkiller you tolerate, without exceeding the recommended dose. Keep very hot and very cold food and drink away from the tooth. Do not place a tablet directly on the gum.

Swelling

Apply something cold to your cheek in short sessions, wrapped in a cloth. Do not apply heat. Do not take antibiotics without a prescription.

Broken tooth

Rinse your mouth gently with lukewarm water, keep any fragments in a little milk and call the clinic.

Knocked-out tooth

For an adult tooth: hold it by the crown, not the root, and rinse it briefly if it is dirty, without scrubbing. If you can, put it back in its socket; if not, keep it in milk or in your mouth against your cheek. The chances of saving it drop quickly, so call immediately.

Bleeding after an extraction

Bite on a clean rolled-up gauze for 20 to 30 minutes, without spitting or rinsing. If that does not work, call the clinic.

How an emergency visit works

1. Calling the clinic

Describe your symptoms on the phone so the priority can be assessed and you can get first advice. How emergency appointments are organised at the clinic: As soon as the clinic opens, we do our best to see emergency cases on the same day.

2. Examination

The tooth is examined and X-rayed to find the cause of the pain.

3. Pain-relief treatment

Depending on the case: opening and cleaning the tooth, draining an abscess, protecting a broken tooth or re-cementing a crown. The first aim is to relieve the pain.

4. Treatment plan

An emergency visit is often only the first step: root canal treatment, a crown or replacing a tooth may follow. These are planned with you.

How many visits?

Usually 1 visit to relieve the pain, then one or more visits for the definitive treatment, depending on the cause.

After emergency treatment: advice

• Take only the medication prescribed, at the doses given.
• Avoid chewing on the treated tooth until treatment is complete.
• Come back for the rest of the treatment even if the pain has gone: without definitive treatment it often returns.
• Regular check-ups and gum treatment when needed reduce the risk of future emergencies.

Contacting the clinic in El Hamma

• Phone: +216 23 221 454
• Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 8 am – 6 pm, Friday and Saturday 8 am – 1 pm.