Emergency Dentist vs. Emergency Room: Which One Should You Choose in Tucson?
You are in serious tooth pain at 9 PM on a Tuesday. Or your kid cracked a tooth at Saturday morning soccer. Your first instinct might be to head to the emergency room at Banner UMC or TMC. But for most dental emergencies, an ER visit is not your best option. Here is why.
Emergency rooms are staffed with physicians, nurses, and specialists in trauma, cardiac care, and general medicine. What they usually do not have is a dentist. When you show up at the ER with a toothache, the doctors can prescribe antibiotics if there is an infection, give you pain medication, and send you home with instructions to see a dentist. They cannot pull a tooth, do a root canal, repair a crack, or drain an abscess the way a dentist can.
That means for most dental problems, an ER visit costs you hundreds or thousands of dollars for treatment that does not fix the problem. You still need to see a dentist afterward. The average ER visit in Arizona costs $1,500 to $3,000 without insurance. A dental emergency visit with treatment typically costs $200 to $800.
When should you go to the ER instead of a dentist? There are a few situations where the emergency room is the right call. Uncontrolled bleeding from the mouth that will not stop with pressure after 20 minutes. Facial swelling that is affecting your ability to breathe or swallow. A jaw injury where you cannot open or close your mouth. Trauma from a serious accident (car crash, major fall) where dental injuries are part of larger injuries. Fever over 103 degrees with facial swelling.
These situations involve risks that go beyond dental treatment and need the medical resources an ER has: IV antibiotics, airway management, CT scans, and surgical capabilities.
For everything else, a toothache (even a severe one), a cracked or broken tooth, a knocked-out tooth, a lost filling or crown, a dental abscess with localized swelling, or a loose tooth, an emergency dentist is faster, cheaper, and more effective.
At Emergency Dentist of Tucson, we see dental emergencies the same day you call, Monday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Dr. Torres can diagnose and treat the problem in a single visit in most cases. That means you are out of pain sooner and you do not have a surprise $2,000 ER bill waiting in your mailbox.
A note about after-hours emergencies: if you have a dental emergency on a Sunday or after 6 PM, manage the pain with ibuprofen and a cold compress (see our article on managing nighttime tooth pain), and call us first thing when we open. If you have any of the serious symptoms listed above (difficulty breathing, uncontrolled bleeding, high fever with facial swelling), go to the ER.
Save our number in your phone: 520-317-6362. Having it ready means you do not have to Google "emergency dentist near me" while you are in pain.