How to get an emergency dentist appointment

How to get an emergency dentist appointment

A toothache can not only make your life difficult because of the pain, but it can also make eating and drinking excruciating and have a huge impact on your ability to enjoy daily activities. But what’s worse is not being able to get a dentist appointment when you need one.

Some dentists in the UK offer emergency dental appointments during the day, and some are out of normal working hours, so if you’re experiencing a dental emergency, you should be seen quickly.

Let’s look at how you can get an emergency dentist appointment when you need one.

What constitutes a dental emergency?

When you need dental work done, it may feel like an emergency; a toothache can be excruciating and leave you with a throbbing jaw, earache and headaches. But how do you know what counts as a dental emergency? You should have a routine dental appointment twice a year, unless you have problems with cavities, in which case your dentist will recommend dental hygiene appointments and perhaps more regular check-ups.

Emergency dental appointments are for urgent dental care, including:

• If you’ve damaged, broken or lost a tooth.
• You have an unbearable toothache that doesn’t go away with painkillers.
• You have swollen gums or face.
• You have pus coming from your gum (a tooth infection).

In each case, it’s integral you see a dentist as soon as possible to prevent the dental issue from getting worse. Fortunately, getting an emergency dental appointment is not as hard as you may think.

What to do in a dental emergency

However bad your toothache may feel, you should not go to the hospital for urgent dental treatment, as they cannot treat dental issues. However, if you have sustained an injury or your dental issue has also produced any of the following symptoms, you should call 999 or go to A&E as soon as possible:

• Heavy bleeding from the face.
• Severe swelling of the eyes, neck, throat or tongue.
• Swelling that makes breathing, speaking or swallowing difficult.

In these cases, the hospital can help you; however, they still cannot treat your dental issue, so you would normally need to seek care from a dentist as soon as the hospital tells you it’s safe to do so. If your life is not in danger but you have severe pain or damage to your tooth, you should seek urgent treatment from an emergency dentist.

If you are registered with a dentist, you should call them to get an urgent appointment. If they are unable to offer you an appointment or you are not registered with a dentist, you should call NHS 111. The call handlers at 111 can tell you where the nearest emergency dentists are, so you can arrange an appointment as soon as possible.

In some areas, NHS emergency appointments are hard to get, even in an emergency, so you may find you can get a more timely appointment at a closer dentist if you have private dental care.

What if it’s the weekend or night?

Not all emergencies happen during working hours, so if you catch an elbow to the face while playing football or crunch down on an apple late at night and break your tooth, you don’t need to worry about waiting until daylight to see a dentist. When you call your dentist outside of working hours, their voicemail should tell you which local dental practice is operating an out-of-hours practice. If you’re not registered, you can get the same information from 111 at any time of day.

Similarly, NHS dental practices are often very busy and may not be close to your location, so it’s worth looking at which private dental practices are open out-of-hours and can offer you a timely appointment.

How quickly can you see an emergency dentist?

Dental practices in the UK are regularly busy, so you may not be able to be seen as soon as you walk into an NHS practice; however, you can usually be seen the same day for dental emergencies.

Dental practices often set aside some time in their schedules to accommodate urgent cases, so once you’ve described your symptoms over the phone and had the urgency of your case assessed, the dental receptionist can let you know how quickly you can be seen. If it’s integral that you’re seen immediately, they can often delay other appointments; however, they may schedule you for an appointment when they have a free slot later that day.

If you do have to wait for your appointment, you should be given advice over the phone on how to manage your symptoms, such as rinsing your mouth with a saline solution, taking painkillers or using a cold compress on your face.

What can an emergency dentist do?

What the emergency dentist will do for you will depend entirely on what’s happened to your teeth or gums. Emergency dentists can take teeth out if necessary; however, this isn’t always necessary or appropriate at the time.

Emergency dentists can:

• Investigate the cause of your toothache.
• Perform root canals or drain abscesses (tooth infections).
• Fix broken teeth.
• Treat missing teeth as needed, i.e. with stitches or gauze.
• Replace broken or loose dental crowns and fillings.
• Prescribe antibiotics.

However, while emergency dentists can perform extractions and other procedures, their primary goal is to address urgent dental issues. For routine dental care, follow-up appointments, and more complex procedures, patients are usually referred back to their regular dentist, or routine appointments will be made to tend to other issues that don’t require urgent treatment. If you pay for your dental care, you’ll pay separately for both the urgent and routine appointments.

Should you see a private or NHS dentist in an emergency?

The NHS is a fantastic service; however, it does have numerous faults, and a shortage of dentists and available dental appointments is an increasing concern in the UK, with a huge number of children being admitted to hospital for tooth extractions due to severe tooth decay, as they cannot get routine dental appointments.

However, when considering seeing a private dentist for a dental emergency in the UK, there are both pros and cons to take into account:

Some reasons to see a private dentist in a dental emergency include:

• Quicker appointments.
• Extended opening hours.
• A broader range of services is available.
• More personalised service with longer appointment times.
• A choice of a dentist.

When you have a dental emergency, it’s crucial that you have it dealt with as soon as possible to reduce the chance of developing other conditions, such as the infection spreading or becoming septic. So one of the main benefits of seeing a private dentist is being able to get a timely appointment when it suits you.

As a bonus, you often also have longer appointment times, so your dentist can take the time they need to assess your dental issues, listen to your concerns and treat your teeth properly, without having to rush or call you back in for a routine appointment at a later date. At private practices, there is also much more advanced equipment available for more complicated procedures, so you can get dental treatments that aren’t always available on the NHS.

The only drawback of private practices is that you have to pay for your treatment, and it may be more expensive than on the NHS. But when it comes to your health, you should prioritise your well-being over finances if you can, to ensure your condition doesn’t become worse.

Eye and Dental Clinic – emergency dentists in Bury

If you’ve injured or lost a tooth, got an unbearable toothache or think you’ve got a tooth infection, don’t wait around for it to get worse; book an emergency appointment at the Eye and Dental Clinic today!

Our expert team of dentists can triage and treat your dental issues so you’ll be back to normal in no time.

Take a look at our policies regarding:

• Cancellations, deposits and missed appointments.
• Complaints procedures.
• Code of practice.

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