Some types of injuries or pains can wait until the dentist can get you in – most dentists have appointments set aside specifically for injuries. If you encounter a dental emergency, you should call your dentist immediately. If your emergency occurs outside of hours, look in your phone book for emergency dental care. These places are generally much more expensive, but insurance usually covers a portion.

In the mean time, if you experience tooth pain, there are a number of things you can do to ease the pain until you get to the dentist, depending on the injury:

Broken or cracked tooth

If you break or crack your tooth, you should call your dentist immediately. In fact, you should contact your dentist or go to an emergency dental center within 30 minutes in order to maximize your chances of saving your broken tooth. In the meantime, however, rinse your mouth out with warm water to clean blood and debris from the area.

If the jaw is swelling and painful, you can apply a cold compresses on the area to keep the swelling under control. Over the counter medicines such as Tylenol can alleviate the pain until you get to the dentist.

Broken jaw

If you think you've broken your jaw, you should go to the hospital or your dentist immediately (if teeth are missing). In the meantime, a cold compresses can help to alleviate swelling. Once you get to the hospital, you will most likely be given a strong prescription pain medication to help alleviate the pain. Tylenol or other type of pain killer might ease the pain until you can get this medication.

Knocked-out tooth

If you have knocked your tooth out, hold the tooth by the crown and rinse off the root of the tooth in water if it's dirty. (You may want to make sure the drain is stopped as well so it doesn't go down.) Don't scrub the tooth and leave all the tissue fragments attached to the root. If you can, gently put your tooth in its socket and hold it there. If that isn't possible, put the tooth in a cup of milk and get to the dentist as soon as you can.

You can alleviate the pain that goes along with a knocked-out tooth with a cold compress and a medicine such as Tylenol or Advil.

In addition to Tylenol, Advil, ibuprofen, and other types of over-the-counter pain medication, there are some medications you can purchase in the drugstore that are designed specifically for tooth pain. These include topical medications and numbing agents you can apply directly to the tooth or the area that is causing the pain. In addition, rinsing the mouth with warm water can also help to ease the pain of a toothache before you can see the dentist.