Usually not. Emergency rooms in Arizona generally don't have a dentist on staff, so they don't extract teeth. They treat dangerous swelling, uncontrolled bleeding and facial trauma, then send you to a dentist. For a same-day extraction in Phoenix, call (602) 737-2446. Our office is open Monday through Saturday, 7am to 5pm.
What the ER does for a toothache
An emergency room is built for problems that threaten your life. A toothache, on its own, isn't one of them, and most hospitals don't staff a dentist. When you show up with a throbbing molar, the ER physician checks whether the infection is spreading into your face, throat or bloodstream. If it isn't, you'll typically leave with a prescription for antibiotics, something for pain, and instructions to see a dentist.
The ER is doing what it's built to do. The American Dental Association's Emergency Department Referrals program exists because so many dental visits to ERs could have been handled in a dental office instead, and the tooth still needs a dentist afterward.
Why the ER can't fix the tooth itself
Pulling a tooth safely takes dental X-rays, dental anesthesia, extraction instruments, and someone trained to read the root and the bone around it. Emergency departments aren't set up for that, and ER doctors aren't trained in it.
Antibiotics can calm an infection for a while. They don't remove the cause. The ADA's clinical guideline on antibiotics for dental pain and swelling says that for most tooth pain and localized swelling the right answer is dental treatment, not antibiotics on their own. In plain terms: the tooth has to be treated or removed, and only a dentist does that.
When the ER is the right call, and you should go there first
Some situations are dangerous, and a dental office isn't where you should be. Go to the emergency room, or call 911, if you have:
Facial swelling along with a fever. Swelling that's spreading toward your eye or down your neck. Trouble breathing or swallowing. Bleeding from the mouth that won't stop after steady pressure. A possible broken jaw, or a blow to the head along with the tooth injury.
Mayo Clinic's page on tooth abscess is direct about this: fever plus facial swelling, or any trouble breathing or swallowing, means go to an emergency room, because the infection may be spreading deeper into the jaw, throat or neck.
For patients near our northwest Phoenix office, the closest hospital emergency rooms are Banner Thunderbird Medical Center (59th Avenue and Thunderbird Road), HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center (Dunlap Avenue, east of Central Avenue), and Abrazo Central Campus (Bethany Home Road and 19th Avenue).
ER or dentist? How to decide in the next two minutes
- Check for danger signs: fever with facial swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing, bleeding that won't stop, or a head or jaw injury.
- If any of those apply, go to the nearest ER now. Don't drive yourself if you're having trouble breathing.
- If none apply, call a dentist. Call (602) 737-2446 and we'll hold a same-day time, Monday through Saturday.
- While you wait, take an over-the-counter pain reliever as directed, rinse with warm water, and skip very hot or cold drinks.
- If you were already seen at the ER, bring the discharge paperwork and any prescriptions to your dental visit so our dentists know what you've taken.
What happens when you come to us instead
Your visit starts with a $45 exam and X-rays, so our dentists can see the tooth, the root and the bone. Then you get a straight explanation and a written price. The $45 covers the emergency exam and diagnostic X-rays. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
If the tooth can't be saved, an emergency tooth extraction can usually be done in the same visit, including surgical extractions. If the tooth can be saved, a root canal is often the answer. If there's an abscess, it's drained and the source treated; see dental abscess treatment. Walk-ins are welcome, and the office is open Saturdays.
If you already went to the ER last night
Take the antibiotics exactly as prescribed, even once the pain eases. Then call us in the morning. The office opens at 7am, Monday through Saturday, and the tooth that sent you to the hospital still needs treatment. Antibiotics buy time; they don't close the case. For pain that's back before your appointment, our toothache relief page covers what helps and what to avoid.
When to call a dentist today
Call (602) 737-2446 if you have a toothache that's getting worse, a tooth that's cracked or loose, swelling in the gum without a fever, or a tooth the ER told you to have pulled. We hold same-day times Monday through Saturday, 7am to 5pm, and walk-ins are welcome. The visit starts with the $45 exam and X-rays, and you'll know the price of any treatment before it begins.
Frequently asked questions
Will the ER give me antibiotics for a tooth infection?
Often, yes, especially if there's swelling. That treats the spread of the infection, not the tooth that started it. Once the antibiotics run out, the infection usually returns unless the tooth is treated or removed. Think of the ER prescription as a bridge to the dental visit, not a replacement for it.
Can urgent care pull a tooth?
Generally not. Extracting a tooth is a dental procedure, so for the extraction itself you'll be sent to a dental office. Call us instead and the exam, X-rays and extraction happen at one visit, Monday through Saturday.
Is the ER more expensive than a dentist for a toothache?
We can't quote the ER's charges, and we don't compare them here. At our office, the exam and X-rays are $45, and any treatment is priced in writing before it begins, so you know the total before you commit to anything.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for an exam by a licensed dentist.
Published by Emergency Dentist in Phoenix, 10209 N 35th Ave Ste 129B, Phoenix, AZ 85051.