Call 301-447-6662. Dental pain does not improve on its own, and the sooner we look at it the more of the tooth we can usually save. We keep space in the schedule for people who need to be seen quickly.
The problems we hear about most: a tooth that has cracked or come out, a crown or filling that has fallen loose, a throbbing that has become constant, and swelling around a tooth or in the jaw. Swelling matters more than pain does — it means infection, and infection spreads.
If a permanent tooth has been knocked out, it can sometimes be replanted. Pick it up by the crown rather than the root, keep it moist in milk or tucked inside your cheek, and come straight in. The odds fall away by the hour, so this is the one situation where getting to us fast changes the outcome.
Our Friday mornings start at 8am, which is often the easiest slot to reach if something has flared up overnight.
What it costs
$150–$600 to get you out of pain in one visit
| Emergency exam and X-ray | $100–$250 |
|---|---|
| Simple extraction | $150–$450 |
| Surgical extraction | $400–$700 |
| Opening the tooth to relieve an abscess | $300–$600 |
| The hospital ER, for the same toothache | ~$2,400 |
These are typical United States ranges for 2026, gathered from published fee surveys — they are not a quote from this practice. What you actually pay depends on your own mouth and your own plan. You get that figure in writing after an exam, before anything is scheduled.
What moves the number:
- What is actually wrong. Pain from a deep cavity, a cracked cusp and an abscess under a root are three different problems with three different fees.
- Whether the tooth can be saved. Relieving the pressure and keeping the tooth costs more today and far less over a decade.
- Whether you have been walking around on it for a fortnight. Infections that have spread into the surrounding bone need more treatment than ones caught in the first days.
- The last line in the table is the one worth sitting with. A hospital emergency room cannot treat a tooth. It can give you antibiotics and painkillers and tell you to find a dentist — which is where you were before you went, several thousand dollars poorer.
What counts as a dental emergency
Ring us the same day for any of these:
- Pain that wakes you up, or that painkillers no longer touch
- Swelling in the face, jaw or under the chin — this is the one that is genuinely dangerous and should not wait overnight
- A tooth knocked out or knocked loose
- A broken tooth with a sharp edge, or one that has broken down to the gum
- Bleeding that will not stop after an extraction
- A crown or filling that has come out and left the tooth raw to cold air
What to do before you get here
A knocked-out adult tooth can often be put back if it is handled correctly in the first hour. Pick it up by the crown, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it in milk or saline for a few seconds — not water, and do not scrub it. Then either slot it gently back into the socket and bite on a clean cloth, or keep it in a cup of milk and bring it. Dry in a tissue is the one thing that kills it.
For swelling, a cold compress on the outside of the cheek, twenty minutes on and twenty off. For pain, ibuprofen works better than paracetamol on dental pain because the problem is inflammation — take it with food and stay inside the packet's dose. Never hold an aspirin against the gum; it burns the tissue and does nothing for the tooth.
And call. Even if you are not sure it counts. We would rather tell you it can wait until Monday than have you spend the weekend deciding on your own.
Why the emergency room is the wrong place for a toothache
People go because it is open and because pain at two in the morning feels like an emergency-room problem. It is an understandable decision and it is almost always the wrong one.
Hospital emergency departments are not staffed or equipped to treat teeth. What you get is an examination, probably antibiotics, probably something for the pain, and an instruction to see a dentist — and the average visit for a dental complaint runs into the low thousands of dollars. The tooth is exactly as it was when you arrived.
If your face is swelling, you cannot swallow, or you are having trouble breathing, go to the emergency room immediately — that is a spreading infection and it is a medical emergency, not a dental one. For everything else, call us.
Common questions
What if it happens outside your hours?
For severe bleeding, difficulty breathing or swallowing, spreading facial swelling or serious injury, treat it as a medical emergency — call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Otherwise call us at 301-447-6662 and we will see you as soon as we open.
I am not a patient here. Can you still see me?
Yes. Call and we will do our best to fit you in the same day.
Can I just take painkillers and wait?
Over-the-counter painkillers help you get through the night, but they do nothing about the cause. Pain that keeps coming back is a tooth asking for attention, and waiting usually means a bigger repair.
Questions about emergency dental care?
Call the office and ask. We'd rather talk it through than have you guess from a website.