Emergency Dentist in Edinburgh

Which problems we treat as emergencies

Not every dental problem needs to be seen tonight. The problems we treat as emergencies are severe or worsening toothache, a swollen face or gum, a knocked-out or broken tooth, bleeding that won't stop, and a lost filling or crown that is causing pain. Below is how we sort them: the two situations that belong in hospital rather than at a dentist, the problems that need seeing the same day, and the ones that can safely wait until morning. If you're not sure which yours is, call 0131 228 2442 - reception will tell you whether you need to be seen today.

Call 999 or go to A&E first if

Two situations shouldn't wait for a dentist at all. If swelling is spreading towards your eye or down your neck, or you have difficulty swallowing or breathing, that is a medical emergency - call 999 or go to A&E now. The same applies to a facial injury with a suspected broken jaw, or bleeding from an injury that won't stop after 20 minutes of firm pressure.

Problems that need seeing the same day

Severe toothache. Throbbing pain that wakes you, or pain that lingers after hot or cold, often means the nerve of the tooth is inflamed or infected. That's a root canal or extraction conversation, and painkillers only buy time - book the same day. Until you're seen, take ordinary painkillers as directed on the packet, avoid very hot, cold or sweet food and drink on that side, and never put a tablet against the gum or tooth: it burns the tissue and doesn't help.

A knocked-out adult tooth. This is the dental emergency where minutes matter. Pick the tooth up by the crown - the white part - never the root. If it's dirty, rinse it briefly - no more than about ten seconds - in milk or cold water, without scrubbing or drying it. If you can, put it back in the socket the right way round and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it; if you can't, keep it in milk - not water, not a tissue - and get to a dentist within the hour if at all possible. A child's baby tooth should never be put back: replanting it can damage the adult tooth forming in the gum above. Keep it, bring it with you, and phone us.

Swelling or an abscess. A swollen gum, or a "pimple" on the gum near a tooth, is usually an abscess - infection from a dead nerve or a deep gum pocket. A cold compress on the outside of the face helps; don't apply heat and don't try to burst it. It needs draining and the tooth treating, so book the same day. Antibiotics alone don't fix it. If the swelling is spreading towards the eye or neck, or affects swallowing or breathing, that is the 999 situation above.

A broken tooth that hurts. Keep any large piece in milk, rinse your mouth with warm water and avoid chewing on that side. A sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek can be covered with sugar-free chewing gum until you're seen. If the tooth is very painful, or you can see pink inside it, the nerve may be exposed - book the same day.

Wisdom tooth pain with swelling. Usually the gum over a partly-erupted tooth has become infected. Warm salt-water rinses, keeping the area as clean as you can and painkillers get most people through the night, but if there is swelling or you can't open your mouth properly, book the same day. Our guide on when wisdom teeth need removing covers what happens next.

Bleeding after an extraction. Some oozing for a few hours is normal. Bite firmly on a clean, damp gauze or handkerchief for 20 minutes without checking, and repeat once if needed; avoid rinsing, smoking, alcohol and hot drinks for the first day. If it's still bleeding freely after two rounds of pressure, call us, or 111 when we're closed.

What can safely wait until morning

A lost filling or crown that isn't hurting rarely needs to be seen the same night. Keep the crown if you have it - it can often be re-cemented - keep the tooth clean, and avoid sticky or hard food on it. Temporary filling material from a pharmacy can cover a sensitive hole for a day or two. Do book within a few days, though: an exposed tooth decays and cracks quickly. If it is causing pain, treat it as a same-day problem and call.

A small chip with no pain can wait for a normal appointment and is often repaired with composite bonding. The first-aid steps for every common problem are set out in our guide to what to do tonight for toothache or a dental emergency.

What happens at a same-day emergency appointment

Call first. We keep same-day emergency slots and prioritise genuine emergencies, so call as early in the day as you can. When something goes wrong with a tooth, the first job is getting you out of pain and making the tooth safe - not a full course of treatment on the spot.

Getting you out of pain. The dentist examines the tooth, takes an X-ray if needed - X-rays, OPG and CBCT are all in-house, so the cause can usually be found the same visit - and deals with the cause of the pain: draining an abscess, dressing a tooth, smoothing a sharp edge, or taking out a tooth that can't be saved, if it is a simple extraction that can be done within the emergency appointment's time slot.

Making the tooth safe. That might be a temporary filling or dressing, a re-cemented crown, or a prescription where infection needs it, so you leave stable even if the tooth needs more work later. Antibiotics aren't given on their own: they don't treat the cause of toothache and are only appropriate where there is spreading infection, which the dentist decides at the appointment. The fix for toothache is treating the tooth.

A plan for what's next. If the tooth needs a root canal, a proper filling, a crown, or a surgical or complicated extraction, you get a written quote and the appointment booked - no surprise treatment on the day.

What an emergency appointment costs

A private emergency appointment is £85, including any X-rays needed, a temporary filling or dressing to settle the pain, and a prescription if one is needed. If a tooth needs taking out and it is a simple extraction that can be done within the emergency appointment's time slot, there is no fee beyond the £85 private emergency appointment. Surgical and complicated extractions are not done in the emergency appointment: they are booked separately, with the fee confirmed first. The dentist explains the options and any cost before any treatment starts, and further treatment is quoted in writing. You don't need to be registered with us for a private emergency appointment, and these can be booked online.

For an NHS emergency appointment, call 0131 228 2442 - NHS emergency slots can't be booked online at the moment - and reception will do their best to see you the same day. NHS emergency appointments are for patients registered with us. NHS Scotland classes an emergency visit as "unscheduled care" and sets the patient charge for it, currently £17.32 on the fee scale from 1 November 2025 (80% of the NHS fee - the NHS sets it, not us). That covers the assessment and the emergency treatment itself - for example a dressing or temporary filling, draining an abscess, re-cementing a crown or smoothing a sharp tooth. X-rays are charged on top (£6.08 for each small X-ray, £14.92 for a large panoramic one), and any further treatment on the day, such as an extraction, is charged at its own NHS rate. If you're under 26 or exempt from NHS charges, there's no charge: the NHS covers the fees for you - for example if you're pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months, or receive certain benefits such as Universal Credit, depending on your earnings.

Our NHS list is open, so you can register with us: once you've had your first NHS examination, you can be seen as an NHS emergency patient, and we'll do our best to see you the same day. If you'd rather not register, our guide explains where NHS Lothian sees patients who aren't registered.

Open until 8pm Monday to Thursday, 5pm on Friday

We're open from 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, and to 5pm on Friday - evening emergency slots, Monday to Thursday, in the city centre. NHS out-of-hours dental cover starts at 6pm, but while we're open, phone us first if you're our patient or happy to be seen privately. Calling as early in the day as you can gives us the most room to fit you in the same day. If you're nervous about the dentist, tell us when you call; our guide to how we work with anxious patients explains what we can do.

Out of hours: NHS 24 on 111

Dental problems have a habit of starting at 9pm on a Sunday. When we're closed - after 8pm Monday to Thursday, after 5pm on Friday, and at the weekend - phone NHS 24 on 111. NHS 24 runs Scotland's out-of-hours emergency dental service and will direct you to Chalmers Dental Centre if you need to be seen. That includes between 5pm and 6pm on a Friday, after we close and before NHS out-of-hours cover starts. For anything that affects breathing or swallowing, call 999. Then book with us for the follow-up on the next working day.

Getting here fast

9 Earl Grey Street, EH3 9BN — on Lothian Road at Tollcross, minutes from Fountainbridge, a short walk from Haymarket Station. The Princes Exchange Car Park is in our building (entry from Riego Street at the rear), with street parking nearby for earlier appointments.

Related: wisdom tooth removal, root canal treatment, fees and the team.