Emergency Dentist or the ER: Where to Go in Chicago, for What
It is 9 PM and something in your mouth is badly wrong. You are standing in your kitchen, trying to decide between an emergency room and waiting until morning.
Here is the list, so you are not making that call on your own.
Go to the ER, right now
These are the ones where the tooth stops being the main problem.
- Swelling that has reached your eye, your neck, or the floor of your mouth. Swelling that moves toward your airway is the dangerous one. Go.
- Any trouble breathing or swallowing. Same reason, and do not wait to see if it settles.
- A fever with facial swelling. That combination means an infection is spreading past the tooth.
- A blow to the face with a possible broken jaw. If your bite suddenly does not line up after an impact, that is imaging an ER has and a dental office does not.
- Bleeding you cannot stop after 20 minutes of firm steady pressure.
- A head injury alongside the dental one. Any loss of consciousness, confusion or vomiting after a knock to the head goes to the ER first, every time.
Do not talk yourself out of these because it started as a toothache. An infection in the lower jaw that reaches the floor of the mouth is an emergency, and it can move faster than people expect.
Call a dentist, not the ER
Almost everything else, including several that feel frightening at 9 PM.
- A knocked out adult tooth. Time is critical here, and a dentist is who can put it back.
- A broken or chipped tooth, even a big piece.
- Severe toothache with no facial swelling.
- A lost crown or filling.
- An abscess or a gum boil with no swelling spreading across the face.
- Pain after a recent extraction or root canal.
- A wire or bracket cutting into your cheek.
All of these need treating and none of them needs a hospital.
What the ER can do for a tooth
This is the part nobody explains, and it is the reason people leave frustrated.
Most emergency rooms do not have a dentist on staff. They cannot do a filling, a root canal, a crown, or put a knocked out tooth back in its socket.
What they can do is rule out the dangerous things, drain a large swelling, manage your pain, and treat a spreading infection. That is worth having, and sometimes it is what you need.
But for a broken tooth, you will usually leave with pain relief, maybe an antibiotic, and instructions to see a dentist.
The tooth is in the same condition it was in when you arrived. Now you have a hospital bill as well as the dental one ahead of you.
If you are weighing up costs, we went through what a dental emergency costs in Chicago in more detail.
The knocked out tooth, because minutes count
If an adult tooth comes all the way out, this one is worth memorizing.
Pick it up by the crown, the chewing end, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it in milk or saline for a couple of seconds. Not tap water, and do not scrub it.
If you can, put it straight back in the socket and bite gently on a cloth to secure it. If you cannot, put it in a cup of milk.
Milk is the one most people have. Your own saliva works too. Plain water is the worst option.
Then call a dentist immediately. Under 30 minutes gives the best odds, and after about an hour outside the mouth the chances fall off sharply.
A baby tooth is different. Do not put it back, because it can damage the adult tooth developing underneath. Call anyway.
What to do while you wait
For pain, take your usual over the counter painkiller as directed on the box, unless a doctor has told you otherwise.
Cold on the outside of the cheek, 20 minutes on and 20 off. Heat feels better for about a minute and then makes swelling worse, so leave the hot water bottle alone.
Sleep propped up on an extra pillow. Lying flat makes throbbing worse, which is why toothache always seems to peak at 2 AM.
Do not put an aspirin against the gum. It burns the tissue and does nothing for the tooth. And do not poke at it with anything.
Where we fit
We save same-day slots for emergencies whenever we have them. Call as early in the day as you can manage, because the earlier you ring, the better the odds one is free.
If it happens overnight, call first thing. Do not wait for a gap in your day. Our page on an emergency dentist in Bucktown covers what we can handle and how quickly.
And if it is the middle of the night and the swelling is climbing toward your eye, stop reading and go to the ER.
Coming to see us
We are at 1908 N Western Ave in Bucktown, a short walk from the Western Blue Line stop. Parking behind the building is limited.
We are open Monday to Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM, Friday until 3 PM, and Saturday mornings until 2 PM.
When something breaks, call us before you look it up. Book a visit or ring the office.
