Are Emergency Dentists Open 24 Hours?
Most dental practices have set working hours, usually between 9 am and 5 pm, although hours differ according to the practice. But emergency dentists are there for when you really need them so almost all of them are open 24 hours a day.
At Didsbury Dental Practice, we’re open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year! So, no matter what the emergency is or when, we’re open to help ease your pain and fix your dental problem.
Let’s look into what emergency dentists can do to help what kind of dental problem, and what you can do to help prevent any dental emergencies in the future.
What’s a Dental Emergency?
A dental emergency refers to any extreme pain or damage to the teeth, gums or false teeth that should be treated as soon as possible to prevent the condition from worsening.
Common reasons for needing emergency dental care include:
- Extremely painful toothache
- A tooth infection
- A damaged tooth
- A missing tooth
- Broken dentures
If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these issues, you should contact an emergency out-of-hours dentist as soon as possible. They will make you an appointment as soon as possible, or advise on further care over the phone if appropriate, but most will be able to fit you in with an appointment within 24 hours. Even if you’re not registered with a dental practice that has a 24-hour service, or not registered with a dental practice at all, you can still contact an emergency dental practice to receive treatment.
Are There NHS Emergency Dentists?
Many emergency dentists are private practices, however, there are NHS emergency dentists that can treat you outside of normal working hours. Like late-night pharmacies, there should be at least one emergency dentist open 24 hours in your area. However, you should make sure you’re being treated on the NHS when you call to make your appointment, as some dentists have joint NHS and private practices, so they may charge you as a private patient during out-of-hours services.
If you receive free NHS dental care – usually under 18s, people receiving certain support payments from the government, or people with certain disabilities – your emergency dental treatment will also be free. Otherwise, emergency dental care on the NHS costs £25.80. If you require further treatment in the future, this will be a separate course of treatment that will incur standard NHS dental fees for non-urgent treatment. Private dentist fees for emergency treatment vary from around £80 to £500 depending on the practice as well as the treatment given. An emergency root canal at Didsbury Dental Practice, for example, costs just £280.
What Can Emergency Dentists Do?
Emergency dentists can perform a number of different treatments depending on the issue you’re facing and the severity of the dental problem. Where necessary, emergency dentists can:
- Extract teeth
- Perform root canals
- Repair broken teeth
- Fix dentures
- Repair crowns and bridges
Emergency dental appointments are not for:
- Routine check-ups
- Teeth cleaning
- Cosmetic dentistry like teeth whitening
Walk-in emergency appointments are available as well as booking over the phone, but if you attend an out-of-hours service for any reason that does not constitute an emergency, you won’t be able to make an appointment.
Are Emergency Dentists Open 24 Hours?
Not every emergency dentist is open 24 hours a day, but most are. If you’re registered with a dentist and require an emergency appointment, you can call them to book an appointment or learn from their voicemail where you can receive out-of-hours emergency dental care. Alternatively, you can call the non-emergency NHS line 111 to find out about what you should do for your specific dental problem, and learn of the nearest open dental practice in your area.
In Manchester, you can call Didsbury Dental Practice 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to book an emergency dental appointment. Whether you have a sudden, persistent toothache in the middle of the night, or break or lose a tooth while tucking into your Christmas dinner, our expert dentists are here to help fix the issue.
What to Do When You Have Sudden Toothache
When you break a tooth or incur trauma to your mouth that causes significant damage or blood loss, it’s clear that you should visit an emergency dentist straight away. But when it comes to toothache, most people aren’t sure whether to just put up with it and hope it goes away, or call an emergency dentist for an urgent appointment. While pain is subjective, if you experience a moderate toothache that gets progressively worse despite taking painkillers, or a severe toothache that’s preventing you from doing your normal daily activities, you should book an urgent dentist’s appointment as soon as possible.
Toothache can be caused by many different issues, from cavities and tooth decay to impacted wisdom teeth, but it’s always extremely unpleasant to experience. Sometimes the pain comes in waves or is exacerbated by eating, drinking or particularly hot or cold food or drink, and sometimes severe pain just comes on all of a sudden. Whichever kind of tooth pain you have, if it doesn’t go once you’ve taken a painkiller, you should see an emergency dentist.
Your best course of action when you have an unbearable toothache is to call your dentist if you have one, or 111 if you don’t, so you can learn where to go in an emergency. GP surgeries cannot help with dental care even if it’s an emergency, so don’t call your doctor’s office.
If you also have any of the following symptoms, you should go to A&E rather than the dentist, as soon as possible:
- Significant bleeding and/ or blood loss
- Injury to the face or mouth
- Severe or rapid swelling to the mouth area, neck, throat or eye
These symptoms may also require emergency dentistry, however, due to the severity of the above symptoms, you should have them checked in the emergency room first in case there is another serious issue that needs to be addressed.
How Soon Should You See a Dentist About Toothache?
When you experience severe toothache, you should first take painkillers to ease the pain, however, if the pain gets increasingly worse or becomes unbearable, you should see a dentist as soon as possible, ideally in under an hour.
Some toothache is caused by an infection in the dental pulp or gums and can spread through your blood to your neck, head and heart potentially causing life-threatening conditions such as sepsis, where your body overreacts to an infection, causing further harm to your organs. To avoid any such complications, it’s best to see a dentist straight away when you experience severe tooth pain.
Preventing Dental Emergencies
Any health scare can be worrying, but dental emergencies in particular, as it’s not always as clear where you should go for help. So, you should try to avoid having any dental emergencies as much as you can – we recognise this is easier said than done, especially if you’re a keen kickboxer, rugby player or football player who may sustain some damage to the mouth from time to time.
But there are certain best practices to help you stay away from the dentist’s chair for longer, including:
- Practise good oral hygiene
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet
- Visit your dentist every 3-24 months for a check-up
- Visit your dentist as soon as you experience tooth pain to identify the cause before it gets serious and leads to emergency treatment
By eating well (not too many sugary foods or drinks), brushing flossing and using mouthwash twice a day, every day, and regularly seeing your dentist for a check-up according to your dental needs, you should be able to maintain healthy teeth. But if you experience any pain or discomfort, book an appointment with your dentist as soon as you can to get to the root of the problem before it gets any worse.
Didsbury Dental Practice – 24-Hour Dentistry
As one of Manchester’s best emergency dental practices, Didsbury Dental Practice are proud to offer urgent and non-urgent dental treatment to anybody who needs it. Don’t wait for your toothache to become worse; book your dentist appointment now!
