Emergency Dentist in Kitchener

A cracked molar at dinner, a child who hits a tooth at the playground, a dull ache that turns into a throb overnight: dental problems rarely pick a good time. Lancaster Dental is an emergency dentist in Kitchener for exactly these moments. Call 519-578-9670, tell us what happened, and we’ll do our best to see you the same day when an appointment is available.

Our office is in Suite 206 at 493 Lancaster Street West, in the north end of the city. We see emergencies for existing patients and for people who’ve never been here before, so you don’t need to be on our books already to call.

What counts as a dental emergency?

If something hurts enough to keep you up at night, or a tooth has changed suddenly, treat it as urgent and call. Describe it to us on the phone and we’ll help you sort it out. These are the problems we hear about most often:

• Toothache that won’t settle. Pain that throbs, wakes you up, or flares with hot drinks can mean the nerve inside the tooth is inflamed or infected.
• Swelling in the gum, cheek or jaw. Swelling usually points to an infection, and infections in the mouth shouldn’t be left to see if they go away.
• A knocked out tooth. This is the one where minutes count. See the first aid steps below.
• A broken, chipped or cracked tooth. Even a small crack can let bacteria in or split further when you bite.
• A lost filling or crown. The tooth underneath is often sensitive and can break more easily without its cover.
• A dental abscess. A pimple like bump on the gum, a bad taste, or pain when you press on a tooth can all be signs of a pocket of infection.
• Bleeding that keeps going. For example after an extraction, or after a cut to the lip, tongue or gums.
• A broken denture or a poking braces wire. Not always painful, but hard to live with for long.

Some things can wait a day or two, like a small chip with no pain, or a filling that feels a bit rough. When in doubt, call. For routine problems like these, ask about our same day dental appointments.

What to do before you get to our office

A few simple steps at home can ease pain and, in some cases, save a tooth. Here’s what we usually tell people over the phone.

In pain right now? Call us at 519-578-9670 and tell us what happened. We’ll walk you through these steps and find you the soonest spot we have.

If a permanent tooth is knocked out

1. Pick the tooth up by the crown, the white part you normally see. Try not to touch the root.
2. If it’s dirty, rinse it briefly with milk or water. Don’t scrub it or wrap it in tissue.
3. If you can, gently push it back into the socket and bite down on a clean cloth to hold it in place.
4. If that isn’t possible, put the tooth in a small container of milk, or keep it in your cheek if the person is old enough not to swallow it.
5. Call us right away. A tooth has the best chance of reattaching when it’s seen quickly.

Baby teeth are different. Don’t try to put a knocked out baby tooth back in, since that can harm the adult tooth growing underneath. Bring your child in and we’ll check the area.

For a toothache or swelling

• Rinse with warm salt water to clean the area.
• Floss gently around the sore tooth in case food is stuck there.
• Hold a cold compress on the outside of your cheek, about 15 minutes at a time.
• Take an over the counter pain reliever as the package directs, if it’s safe for you.
• Don’t put aspirin or a pill directly on the gum. It can burn the tissue.
• Avoid heat on a swollen face, since warmth can make an infection spread.

For a broken tooth, lost filling or lost crown

Save any pieces you can find and bring them with you. Rinse your mouth and chew on the other side. Please don’t use household glue on a tooth or crown. If a crown comes off in one piece, keep it in a clean bag; sometimes it can be cemented back on.

What happens at your emergency visit

The first goal is simple: find the cause and get you out of pain. When you arrive, we’ll ask what happened and when, check your medical history and any medications, and look at the tooth. Because ours is a fully digital office, we can take x-rays during the visit and look at them with you on the screen, so you can see what we’re seeing.

From there, we’ll explain your options in plain language before anything is done. Depending on the problem, treatment might be:

• Cleaning out and sealing a tooth with a tooth coloured filling
• Starting root canal treatment to relieve pain from an infected nerve
• Recementing a crown, or placing a temporary one until a new dental crown can be made
• Smoothing or bonding a chipped edge
• Removing a tooth that can’t be saved, including painful wisdom teeth
• Draining an abscess and prescribing antibiotics when they’re needed

Sometimes the emergency visit handles the urgent part and a second appointment finishes the job. A root canal, for example, may be started to stop the pain and completed later. We’ll tell you what can wait and what shouldn’t. If you’re nervous about dental work, let us know when you call; we offer sedation dentistry and can talk through whether it makes sense for you.

Insurance, direct billing and CDCP

Once we know what’s wrong, we’ll explain the treatment and the fees before anything starts, and you can ask as many questions as you like. If you’d rather know what your plan will pay first, ask us for an estimate we can send to your insurer.

We bill most insurance plans directly, so in most cases you only pay the portion your plan doesn’t cover. For anything your plan doesn’t cover, we accept credit cards and cash. Bring your insurance card or plan details, including the plan member’s information if you’re covered under a spouse or parent. We also accept the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP). Coverage under CDCP varies by person and by service, so check your own details on canada.ca and we’ll help with the rest.

Dental emergencies in children

Kids fall off bikes, collide on the soccer field and bite down on things they shouldn’t. Families from all over north Kitchener bring their children to us, and we see young patients for emergencies too. Check for bleeding, press a clean cloth against any cut, and call us. If your child has a toothache, look for swelling and ask whether it hurts more when they chew or drink something cold. Those details help us decide how quickly to see them.

When to go to the hospital instead

A dental office isn’t the right place for every injury. Go to the nearest hospital emergency department, or call 911, if you or your child has:

• Swelling that’s spreading toward the eye or down the neck
• Trouble breathing or swallowing
• Bleeding that won’t stop after 15 to 20 minutes of firm pressure
• A possible broken jaw, or a jaw injury after a fall, car accident or blow to the head
• A high fever along with facial swelling

Once you’ve been treated there, call us and we’ll follow up on the tooth itself.

Getting to us from north Kitchener and nearby

We’re on Lancaster Street West, so we’re an easy trip for people in Bridgeport, around Breithaupt Park and in Mount Hope, and for neighbours in the homes along the Grand River. The office also sits close to the Waterloo border, so patients who live or work near Uptown Waterloo often find us closer than they expect. If you’re coming from another part of Kitchener, call us and we’ll help with directions to Suite 206.

Emergency dentist questions we hear often

Do I need to be a patient already to get an emergency appointment?

No. We see new patients for emergencies. Give us a call, and we’ll ask a few questions about your symptoms and health so we can plan the visit.

Can you see me today?

We try to fit dental emergencies in the same day when an appointment is available. Call as early as you can; the sooner we hear from you, the more options we usually have.

Should I just take painkillers and wait?

Pain relievers can take the edge off, but they don’t treat the cause. Pain that keeps coming back, or swelling of any kind, usually means something needs attention. Waiting can turn a simple fix into a bigger one.

What should I bring to an emergency appointment?

Bring your insurance details, a list of the medications you take, and any broken pieces of tooth, filling or crown. If a tooth was knocked out, bring it in milk.

My toothache comes and goes. Is that still an emergency?

Pain that fades and returns is often an early sign of a deep cavity or a cracked tooth. It may not need to be seen tonight, but it shouldn’t wait weeks either. Call us and we’ll help you decide how soon to come in.

Call or book today

If you’re dealing with tooth pain, swelling or an injury, don’t wait for it to get worse. Call Lancaster Dental in Kitchener at 519-578-9670 and tell us what’s going on. We’ll give you advice for right now and find you the earliest appointment we can. For something less urgent, you can also send a request through our contact page and we’ll get back to you.

Related treatments

• Root canal treatment
• Dental crowns
• Composite fillings
• Wisdom teeth removal
• Same day dental appointments

Questions or ready to book? Contact our Kitchener office or call 519-578-9670.