You can see a dentist today in Salt Lake City. Our office on 4500 South in the Murray area keeps same-day emergency appointments Monday through Thursday, and getting one takes a single step: call (385) 480-0270 before you head out the door. We note your details, give you a time, and by the time you get here a chair is open and a dentist is waiting for you.
Same-day appointments · $99 exam + X-ray · Phones answered 24/7 · In network with four major plans
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.
How a same-day dentist appointment works at our 4500 South office
We don't take walk-ins, and that's on purpose. A dental emergency needs a chair, an X-ray, a dentist and enough time to treat the tooth. Calling first lets us line those up for you instead of hoping they line up by chance.
Expect a few questions: which tooth, how long it's been bothering you, any swelling, and whether you carry dental insurance. Two minutes, roughly. Then you get a time, and that time is yours.
Bring three things: a photo ID, an insurance card if you're covered, and a note of whatever medications you're on. Parking is on site. The dentist examines the tooth, takes the X-ray, walks you through the findings in everyday language, and puts the price in writing before anything else happens. Once the X-ray confirms what the dentist suspects, many problems get treated right then, at that same visit. Some can't be, and if that's the case for you, you'll hear why.
What "today" means on a Thursday afternoon or a weekend
Our chairside hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Thursday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We're closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The phone keeps a different schedule: a live person answers it 24/7, Thursday afternoon, all weekend and overnight included. The person on the line asks three things: your name, a number where you can be reached, and what the tooth is doing. Then you're pencilled into the earliest opening. After a weekend, that is Monday at 8:00 AM. After the Thursday noon close, it's Monday morning as well.
A few situations shouldn't wait for us. If swelling has begun creeping upward toward your eye, or downward along the neck, if breathing or swallowing is getting difficult, or if bleeding won't stop with steady pressure, go to the nearest emergency room. Intermountain Medical Center is on State Street at 5300 South, about 2 miles south of our office, and St. Mark's Hospital is on 1200 East near 3900 South. The hospital will treat spreading infection and injuries, but generally not the tooth itself. Call us about the tooth once the hospital has you stable.
Same-day tooth extraction in Salt Lake City
A cracked molar, a tooth split down past the gumline, or a wisdom tooth that has flared up for the third time often ends in an extraction. When the X-ray leaves no realistic way to save the tooth, and your health history doesn't rule it out, our dentists can remove it at the same appointment. Both simple and surgical extractions are handled in our office. There is more on the emergency tooth extraction page, or on the emergency wisdom tooth extraction page when the trouble is at the back of your mouth.
Other dental emergencies we see the same day
Every emergency service on this site is handled by our own dentists at the 4500 South office:
- Toothache relief for the ache that won't let you sleep
- Dental abscess treatment for infection and swelling
- Emergency root canal when the trouble is the nerve
- Knocked-out tooth care, with the clock running
- Broken or chipped tooth repair
- Lost filling or crown replacement
If you searched "emergency dentist open today" or "dentist open now near me," the answer during office hours is to pick up the phone.
What a same-day emergency visit costs
If you're uninsured, the $99 exam and X-ray described above is where your visit begins. Treatment is a separate number, and you see it in writing before you say yes. We're in network with Delta Dental Premier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah, SelectHealth and Cigna; if we are in network with your plan, the exam and X-ray charges go to the plan rather than to you. Most other dental plans are out of network, and we submit the claim for you. For larger treatments there's CareCredit financing and credit union financing. The particulars live on our cost and insurance page.
The office is at 622 E 4500 South Ste 103, Salt Lake City, UT 84107, between State Street and 700 East. Patients come from across the central valley, including Murray, Millcreek and Holladay; the service area page lists the others, and the contact page has directions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I come in without calling first?
No. Our office doesn't accept walk-ins. Call first, even if you're already in the car, so that a chair and a dentist are lined up for you by the time you arrive. The call takes about two minutes, and it's what turns a drive to the office into an appointment with a time attached to it.
Is there a same-day dentist open on Sunday in Salt Lake City?
Our office is not open on Sunday. A real person answers the phone, takes down what's wrong and pencils you in for Monday's 8:00 AM opening. For swelling that reaches the eye or neck, trouble breathing or swallowing, or bleeding that won't stop, go to the nearest emergency room first.
Will the tooth be pulled at the same visit?
Usually it can be, provided the X-ray shows extraction is the right treatment and nothing in your health history calls for a delay. The dentist tells you either way after the exam, and you get the written price before the tooth comes out.