The Van Winkle Expressway is the shortcut. From Cottonwood Heights, take Fort Union Boulevard or Bengal Boulevard west to Highland Drive, pick up Van Winkle heading northwest, and it turns into 700 East right before 4500 South. We're a block west of that corner, about five and a half miles from City Hall, ten to fifteen minutes if traffic is normal. Before you start down the hill, call (385) 480-0270 so our dentists can block out a same-day slot and prep a room.
$99 is what an uninsured patient pays for the emergency exam and its X-ray.
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.
Same-day appointments · $99 exam + X-ray · Phones answered 24/7 · In network with four major plans
How far is our office from Cottonwood Heights?
About 5.5 road miles from the Fort Union Boulevard and Highland Drive area. We're at 622 E 4500 South Ste 103, Salt Lake City, UT 84107: south side of 4500 South, between State Street and 700 East, in the Murray area. Ten minutes on a clear afternoon, closer to fifteen on a snowy one.
Homes up near the canyon mouths, around 3000 East, Brighton High School and the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center, add a few minutes of downhill driving before Highland Drive.
Same-day emergency dental care for Cottonwood Heights patients
Same-day emergency appointments are held during office hours: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and on Thursday from 8:00 AM until 12:00 PM. Call the front desk, describe the problem, and a time that day is set aside along with a room and a dentist. Walk-ins aren't accepted, so dial before you turn the key.
When the office is closed, a live answering service answers the same number. They record a name, a callback number and the complaint, then hold the first opening on the next office day. Read the same-day dentist page for how that plays out over a weekend.
In the chair, you get an exam, an X-ray and our dentists' explanation of what's going on. Treatment that can be done the same day usually is.
What to do about a weekend or evening toothache in Cottonwood Heights
Our office is closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the last appointments end at 5:00 PM, and Thursday ends at noon. The phone is answered 24/7 regardless. Whatever the hour, a live person records your details and holds the first opening, so a weekend call lands you Monday at 8:00 AM. Break a tooth skiing Big Cottonwood Canyon on Saturday and the appointment is Monday morning.
Go to a hospital emergency room instead when the swelling is traveling (toward the eye, or into the neck), when it's getting hard to breathe or swallow, or when bleeding won't stop with pressure. For Cottonwood Heights the closer one is St. Mark's Hospital on 1200 East near 3900 South. Spreading infection, facial injuries and uncontrolled bleeding get treated in Utah emergency rooms; pulling the tooth or doing a root canal does not happen there. Then call us about the tooth.
What an emergency dental visit costs for Cottonwood Heights patients
Uninsured, the exam and X-ray bill is $99. Treatment carries its own price, which goes into writing and into your hands before our dentists start.
Four major dental plans have us in network, and the cost and insurance page lists them by name. Belong to one of them and the plan picks up the exam and X-ray charges. Belong to another and you're probably out of network; we'll submit the claim for you. For treatment we take cash, credit cards, CareCredit financing and credit union financing for larger treatments. A larger bill can in some cases be split into payments; raise it when you call.
Getting here from Cottonwood Heights
- From Cottonwood Heights City Hall, the Recreation Center or Brighton High School: Fort Union Boulevard west to Highland Drive, then the Van Winkle Expressway northwest. It becomes 700 East; turn left on 4500 South and we're on the south side before State Street. Parking on site.
- From Bengal Boulevard, Butler Middle School or Butler Park: Bengal Boulevard west to Highland Drive, then Van Winkle northwest as above.
- From the Whitmore Library, Old Mill Golf Course or 3000 East: work down to Fort Union Boulevard, then west to Highland Drive and onto Van Winkle.
- From I-215: take the 6200 South / Union Park exit, make your way north to the Van Winkle Expressway, and follow it to 700 East and 4500 South.
Emergency dental services for Cottonwood Heights families
Our 4500 South office handles each of these. Toothache relief begins by X-raying the tooth and naming the cause. An infected dental abscess is drained and treated before it can spread. A cracked molar may be saved with an emergency root canal or removed with an emergency tooth extraction. A knocked-out tooth has its chance of going back in if you keep it moist on the drive down the canyon. A broken or chipped tooth is rebuilt with bonding, a filling or a crown, and a sore, half-erupted back tooth is usually wisdom tooth pain, which we treat here as well.
Cottonwood Heights appears with seven other areas on our service area page. Holladay and Midvale, your neighbors to the north and west, each have a page.
Frequently asked questions
Is same-day care available if I'm coming from Cottonwood Heights?
Yes, during office hours, which run Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and end at noon on Thursday. Call (385) 480-0270; the front desk will keep a slot for you. Walk-ins aren't accepted; phone before you leave the house.
I knocked out a tooth skiing on Saturday. Who do I call?
Us, right away, even on Saturday; a live person answers and holds Monday's 8:00 AM opening. Carry the tooth by its crown, never the root, in a cup of milk. Facial swelling that's reaching toward the eye, or trouble swallowing, means St. Mark's Hospital on 1200 East comes first.
Which route should I take from Cottonwood Heights?
The Van Winkle Expressway. It runs northwest from Highland Drive and becomes 700 East just before 4500 South, so there's only one turn at the end. I-215 to the 6200 South / Union Park exit is the other option. Either way, plan on ten to fifteen minutes in ordinary traffic.