What follows are the questions our front desk hears most often when someone calls (385) 480-0270 about a dental emergency, answered the same way we answer them on the phone. Our office is at 622 E 4500 South Ste 103, Salt Lake City, UT 84107, on 4500 South in the Murray area, and everything below applies to that one location.
The $99 emergency exam fee is for patients paying without insurance. It covers a limited, problem-focused emergency exam and the X-ray needed to diagnose the tooth. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
Hours and after-hours calls
Is your office open on Saturday?
No. Our office is closed on Saturday. Call anyway: a live person picks up, jots down your name, where to reach you and what's wrong, then marks you down for Monday's 8:00 AM opening, the first one after the weekend. If swelling has reached the eye or neck, if breathing or swallowing is hard, or if bleeding won't stop, head for the nearest emergency room rather than waiting for Monday.
Is there a dentist open on Sunday in Salt Lake City at your office?
Not at ours. We are closed Sunday, and Saturday and Friday as well. A Sunday call still reaches a real person who holds Monday's 8:00 AM opening for you. For the pain in the meantime, a cold compress on the cheek plus whatever over-the-counter pain reliever you normally use, taken as the label says, usually gets you through the night.
Are you open on Friday?
No. Chairside hours run Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Thursday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Friday, Saturday and Sunday are closed. A Friday call is answered, your details are taken, and Monday morning's first opening is held for you. The same-day dentist page explains how that works in more detail.
What about Thursday afternoon?
Thursday ends at noon. A call at 1:00 PM on Thursday is handled like a weekend call: the person who answers takes your information and holds Monday at 8:00 AM. If you can call Thursday morning instead, do, because a same-day time that morning is possible.
Do you have evening appointments?
No. Our last chairside hour ends at 5:00 PM Monday through Wednesday and at noon on Thursday. If a toothache starts at 9:00 PM, call anyway. A real person answers, your details are logged, and the first opening the next office morning is held for you so you're not scrambling at 8:00 AM.
Is the phone really answered 24/7?
Yes. Our front desk answers during office hours; a live answering service handles every other hour, nights and weekends alike. The service logs your details and reserves the first opening. It doesn't give medical advice, so for a true emergency involving breathing, swallowing or heavy bleeding, dial 911 or head to the nearest ER.
Getting a same-day appointment
Can I come in without an appointment?
Not without calling first; walk-ins aren't accepted. Phone us, even from the car, so that when you come through the door a chair is open and the dentist is expecting you. The call takes about two minutes and covers which tooth hurts, how long, whether there's swelling, and whether you have insurance. Then you get a time.
What should I bring to an emergency visit?
Three things: photo ID, insurance card (if you're covered) and a note of your medications and allergies. If a tooth has been knocked out, bring it in milk or in your cheek, not in water. If a crown or filling came out, bring the piece. Parking is on site, so plan on coming straight in.
Do you see children for dental emergencies?
Yes. Our dentists treat children with toothaches, broken teeth, knocked-out teeth and infections. Tell the phone team your child's age so the appointment is planned with enough time. A knocked-out baby tooth is generally not put back, but a knocked-out permanent tooth should be seen fast; see the knocked-out tooth page for what to do on the way.
How soon will I be seen?
We hold same-day appointments Monday through Thursday during office hours, and the time you're given on the phone is the time you're seen. We don't publish fixed slot times because they change by the day. Morning calls have the most room, so phone early in the day when you can.
Cost, insurance and payment
How much does an emergency dental visit cost?
Without insurance, the visit opens with the $99 exam and X-ray. Whatever treatment follows is charged on its own, and you get that figure in writing once the dentist has diagnosed the tooth and before anything starts. You see the number, you ask questions, and you decide. No treatment prices are printed on this site because the X-ray determines the job.
Which dental insurance plans are you in network with?
Delta Dental Premier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah, SelectHealth and Cigna. If we are in network with your plan, your plan, rather than you, is billed for the exam and X-ray. Most other dental plans are out of network, and we submit the claim for you. The cost and insurance page goes into all of it.
Do you accept Medicaid or HMO dental plans?
Neither one; Medicaid and HMO dental plans aren't among those we accept. Uninsured patients pay the $99 exam fee, and the price of any treatment comes to you in writing first. Cash and credit cards are accepted, and financing is available for larger treatments.
Is financing available for a root canal or extraction?
Yes. CareCredit financing is available, and credit union financing for larger treatments is an option too. In some cases we can split a larger bill into payments; ask when you call. Get the arrangement settled before the procedure rather than after, so the only thing on your mind in the chair is the tooth.
Treatment questions
I'm nervous about dental work. What are my options?
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oral sedation are available for anxious patients. Nitrous wears off within minutes of the visit ending; oral sedation is taken before the appointment and requires someone to drive you home. Say so when you call, so the appointment can be planned with that in mind, and ask any questions you have beforehand.
Can a tooth be pulled at the first visit?
Often, yes. If the X-ray makes clear the tooth is past saving and nothing in your medical history argues for waiting, our dentists can remove it at the same appointment, including surgical extractions. You'll have the written price before it comes out. The emergency tooth extraction page covers what the visit and recovery look like.
Root canal or extraction: how do you decide?
The X-ray and the exam decide. A tooth with enough solid structure left and a treatable infection is usually a candidate for a root canal and crown, which keeps the tooth. A tooth that has cracked beneath the gumline, or one too broken down to rebuild, is usually extracted. When both are reasonable, the dentist explains each and you choose.
My crown fell off. Is that an emergency?
Yes, enough to call the same day. The tooth under a crown has been shaped down and is sensitive and weaker without its cover. Hang on to the crown, skip the glue, and chew on the other side. Our dentists can often recement the original crown if it's intact, or place a temporary while a new one is made.
ER or dentist?
When should I go to the emergency room instead of calling you?
The ER is the right call for swelling that is reaching the eye or the neck, difficulty breathing or swallowing, bleeding that won't stop with pressure, or a facial injury that may involve a broken jaw. Intermountain Medical Center on State Street at 5300 South and St. Mark's Hospital on 1200 East near 3900 South are the nearest. The hospital handles the spreading infection and the injury; the tooth itself generally waits for a dentist, so call us afterward.
Can the ER pull a tooth?
No. Utah emergency rooms do not pull teeth or do root canals. They can manage pain, treat a spreading infection and handle injuries, and they'll tell you to see a dentist for the tooth. That part is us. Call first, and read the ER and tooth extraction post for the full picture.