Emergency Dentist in Guelph

A molar that cracked on an olive pit, a throbbing tooth that kept you up all night, a child who lost a front tooth on the playground: these are the calls our front desk takes every week. If you need an emergency dentist in Guelph, call 519-837-1870 for help today and tell us what happened. We set aside time in the schedule every day for urgent problems, so there’s a good chance we can see you the same day.

Not sure whether your problem can wait? Call anyway. Describing it to us takes a couple of minutes and usually settles the question.

Is it a dental emergency?

Some problems need care within hours. Others can wait a few days for a regular appointment. As a rough guide, call us right away for:

• A bad toothache that painkillers barely touch, or pain that wakes you up at night
• Swelling in the gum, cheek or jaw, or a small pimple on the gum that tastes salty when it drains (often a sign of an abscess)
• A knocked out adult tooth, where the first hour matters most
• A broken or cracked tooth, especially one that’s sharp, sensitive to air or sore when you bite
• A lost filling or crown that leaves the tooth exposed or tender
• Bleeding from the mouth that won’t settle with firm pressure, or a deep bite to the lip or tongue
• A broken braces wire or bracket poking your cheek, or a cracked denture you rely on to eat

A tiny chip with no pain or mild sensitivity to cold usually isn’t urgent, but a small crack left for months can turn into a split tooth, so book a visit.

What to do before you get here

A few simple steps at home can ease the pain and, with a knocked out tooth, sometimes save it.

In pain right now? Call us at 519-837-1870 and tell us what happened. We’ll talk you through the first steps while we find you a time.

Knocked out tooth

Pick the tooth up by the crown (the white part you normally see), not the root. If it’s dirty, rinse it briefly in milk, but don’t scrub it. If you can, gently push it back into the socket and bite on a clean cloth to hold it there. If that isn’t possible, drop it in a small container of milk, or hold it in your mouth between your cheek and gum. Then call us straight away.

Toothache

Rinse with warm water and floss gently around the tooth, since trapped food is sometimes the whole problem. An over the counter pain reliever taken as the package directs can take the edge off. Never put an aspirin tablet on the gum next to the tooth: it burns the tissue and does nothing for the tooth itself.

Swelling

Hold a cold compress against the outside of your cheek, about 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off. Skip the heating pad, because heat can encourage an infection to spread. Swelling usually means infection, so call us the same day.

Broken tooth, lost filling or crown

Rinse your mouth and keep any pieces you find. Cover a sharp edge with dental wax from the pharmacy. If a crown comes off in one piece, put it in a small bag and bring it with you, as it can sometimes be cemented back on.

Bleeding or a cut

Press a clean, damp piece of gauze on the spot for 10 to 15 minutes without lifting it to check. If it’s still bleeding after that, read the hospital section further down.

What happens at your emergency visit

When you arrive at our Douglas Street office, we start with whatever is bothering you most. Usually that means a look, an X-ray and a few questions. Then we tell you what we found and what your choices are, in plain language, before any treatment begins.

Our first job is to get you out of pain. Depending on the problem, that might mean:

• a temporary or permanent filling, often a tooth coloured composite filling
• cementing a crown back on, or placing a temporary crown while a new dental crown is made
• starting root canal therapy on an infected or inflamed nerve
• removing a tooth that can’t be saved
• smoothing or bonding a chipped edge

Sometimes we calm things down today and book you back to finish the work once the swelling has gone. If you’re nervous, say so. We offer nitrous oxide sedation (laughing gas), and we’ll go at your pace.

Insurance, direct billing and CDCP

Every emergency is different, so we look at the tooth before talking about treatment. Before anything starts, we explain your options and the fees, and you can ask for an estimate to send to your insurer.

If you have dental insurance, we bill your plan directly for most treatment, so you’re usually only paying the part your plan doesn’t cover. For anything your plan doesn’t cover, we accept credit cards and cash. Bring your insurance card or your plan details. We also see patients covered by the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Emergency exams and many pain relief treatments are among the plan’s covered services, although some treatment needs approval from the plan first. Our CDCP page explains how that works here, and canada.ca has the current program rules.

Dental emergencies in children

Kids fall off bikes, collide on the soccer field and bite down on things they shouldn’t. We’re a family practice and we see children and teens, so if your child has a dental injury or a sore tooth, call us and we’ll do our best to make room that day.

A few things work differently with children:

• Knocked out baby tooth: don’t put it back in. Pushing a baby tooth into the socket can damage the adult tooth forming underneath. Keep the tooth, press gauze on the spot and call us.
• Knocked out adult tooth: treat it the way you would for an adult. Put it back if your child will let you, or store it in milk, and come in quickly. Don’t ask a young child to hold the tooth in their mouth, since they may swallow it.
• Chipped front tooth: look for the broken piece. It can sometimes be bonded back on.
• Toothache: in kids this is often a cavity or food packed between the teeth. Give a children’s pain reliever dosed for their age and weight, and book a visit.
• A hit to the mouth: even when the teeth look fine, a tooth that took a knock can darken or become infected weeks later. We like to check it and take an X-ray.

Try to stay calm, because children take their cue from you. We’ll explain each step to your child before we do it.

When to go to the hospital instead

Some situations need an emergency department, not a dental chair. Go to Guelph General Hospital or call 911 if there is:

• swelling that spreads up toward the eye or down the neck
• trouble breathing or swallowing
• bleeding that won’t stop after 15 minutes of firm pressure
• a possible broken jaw, a jaw that won’t close properly, or a head injury after a fall, sports collision or car accident
• a high fever together with facial swelling

Afterwards, call us and we’ll look after the teeth.

Finding our downtown Guelph office

We’re at 18 Douglas St in downtown Guelph, close by for patients in Exhibition Park, Old University, St. George’s Park and Riverside Park. If you’re a University of Guelph student and your family dentist is back home, there’s no need to wait until the end of term with a sore wisdom tooth. Call us.

Free parking is available nearby at the Macdonell Street lot and the Market Parkade. There’s construction around the office at the moment, so check the parking and access maps on our homepage and give yourself a few extra minutes.

Emergency dental FAQ

Can I just walk in?

Please call first. A quick call lets us tell you how soon we can fit you in. If you can’t get through, send us a message through the contact form and mention that it’s urgent.

Do I have to be a patient already?

No. New patients are welcome, emergencies included. Bring a list of any medications you take.

Can I be seen the same day?

Often, yes. We keep time open every day for urgent cases, and the earlier you call, the better your chances. It does depend on how many of those spots are left, so if we can’t see you right away, we’ll give you the soonest time and tell you how to manage until then. For non urgent care on short notice, like a cleaning or a check-up, see our page on same day dental appointments.

Will it hurt?

We freeze the area before treatment, so most people feel pressure rather than pain. An infected tooth can be harder to numb, and we take our time with it rather than pushing on.

The pain went away. Do I still need to come in?

Usually, yes. Pain from an infected tooth can fade when the nerve inside dies, but the infection is still there and tends to flare up again.

Call or book today

Don’t sit through it if something feels wrong. Call Guelph Royal Dental Centre at 519-837-1870, tell us what’s going on, and we’ll find the earliest time we can see you. If you can’t call, request a visit online and mark it urgent, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Related treatments

• Root canal therapy
• Dental crowns
• Nitrous oxide sedation

Questions or ready to book? Contact our Guelph office or call 519-837-1870.

Cracked tooth, lost filling or a toothache that won’t quit? Ring 519-837-1870 or ask for an emergency visit online, and we’ll try to see you as soon as we can.

Our office is on Douglas Street in downtown Guelph.