Emergency dentist in London, ON

What counts as a dental emergency?

If it's painful, bleeding, swollen, or something has broken, it's worth a call. You don't need to be sure it's serious — that's our job to work out. Call us if you have:

• Toothache that won't settle — especially if it wakes you at night, throbs, or responds to hot and cold
• Facial swelling — around the gum, jaw, or cheek. This can signal an infection and shouldn't wait
• A knocked-out tooth — see the first-aid note below; time matters a great deal here
• A broken, chipped, or cracked tooth, particularly with a sharp edge or exposed centre
• A lost filling or crown leaving a sensitive or sharp surface
• Bleeding that won't stop after an extraction or an injury
• Something stuck between teeth that you can't remove with floss

Go to hospital, not to us, if…

Some situations need an emergency department rather than a dental clinic. Go to your nearest emergency room or call 911 if you have swelling that affects your breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading to the eye or neck, a suspected broken jaw, or uncontrolled bleeding following facial trauma.

What to do before you get here

These are general first-aid steps, not a substitute for being seen — call us either way.

• Knocked-out adult tooth: handle it by the crown, never the root. If it's dirty, rinse briefly with milk or saline — don't scrub it. Try to reseat it in the socket; if you can't, keep it in milk (not water) and get to us as fast as possible. Reimplantation chances drop sharply after the first hour.
• Toothache: rinse with warm salt water and take your usual over-the-counter pain relief as directed on the packet. Don't hold aspirin against the gum — it burns the tissue.
• Swelling: a cold compress on the outside of the cheek, 20 minutes on and 20 off.
• Broken tooth: keep any fragments in milk, and cover a sharp edge with orthodontic wax or sugar-free gum.
• Bleeding: firm, steady pressure with clean gauze for 15 minutes without peeking.

Getting seen today

Call or text (519) 474-0220 as early in the day as you can — it gives us the most room to fit you in. Tell whoever answers what's happening and how long it's been going on, and we'll triage from there. We're open Monday to Wednesday until 6:00 pm, Thursday until 5:00 pm, Friday until 4:00 pm, and Saturday mornings from 8:00 am.

You don't need to be an existing patient. New patients are welcome, including for emergencies.

Outside office hours

We don't have an after-hours phone line, so the honest answer is this:

• If it's serious, go to hospital — don't wait for us. Swelling that affects your breathing or swallowing, swelling spreading toward your eye or neck, a suspected broken jaw, or bleeding you can't control all need an emergency department tonight, not a dentist tomorrow.
• A knocked-out adult tooth can't wait until morning either. Follow the first-aid steps above — keep it in milk, or reseat it if you can — and get to an emergency department or urgent care the same evening. The chance of saving it drops sharply after the first hour.
• For anything else — a toothache, a lost filling, a chip — you can usually get through the night. Use the first-aid steps above to stay comfortable, then call or text us first thing and we'll get you in the next day wherever we can.

Call as early in the morning as you can manage. The earlier we hear from you, the more room we have to fit you in that same day.

Costs

We'll tell you what an emergency visit costs before we begin, and if treatment is needed you'll have the cost in writing before you agree to it. We direct-bill insurance where we can, and we're a participating Canadian Dental Care Plan provider.

Related treatments

Many emergencies end in one of these: root canal therapy to save an infected tooth, a filling or repair for a break or lost filling, or an extraction where a tooth can't be saved. Whatever it turns out to be, we'll explain the options before doing anything.