Emergency Dentist in Hocking, Perth

Toothache, a broken tooth, a lost crown or a knock to the mouth. Most of these need seeing the same day rather than the same week, and we hold room in the book each day for exactly that.

Speed is doing real work here. It is what keeps a cracked tooth from becoming an extraction, and an infection from spreading past the tooth it started in.

If you are reading this while it is happening, ring us on (08) 9306 2755 rather than booking online. Reception can tell you whether to come in today, and what to do in the meantime. The rest of this page is here for after that call.

What we treat as an emergency

Serious dental problems, such as painful toothaches and broken teeth, can happen at any time, and most of them need a dentist the same day. Hocking Dental Care runs an emergency dental clinic in Perth, open six days a week with late appointments Tuesday and Thursday. Being seen quickly is what keeps a cracked tooth from becoming an extraction, or an infection from spreading past the tooth it started in.

Toothache: Ranging from an ache when you bite to pain that keeps you awake. Pain that wakes you at night, or that lingers for minutes after something hot or cold, usually means the nerve is involved and the problem will not settle on its own.
Broken or chipped tooth: See someone as soon as you can, to prevent swelling, relieve pain and avoid infection. A chip confined to enamel can wait a day or two; one that exposes yellow dentine or a red spot of nerve cannot.
Knocked-out tooth: An adult tooth can often be returned to its socket if you reach us quickly, which is why this is the one dental problem where minutes genuinely count. See the next section before you do anything else.
Lost filling or crown: Rarely painful straight away, and worth dealing with quickly regardless. The exposed surface is soft, decays fast, and the neighbouring teeth start to drift within days, which is what stops the old crown fitting when you bring it back.
Swelling or an abscess: A swollen face or gum, a bad taste, or a tooth that feels raised when you bite. Infection does not stay in the tooth, and antibiotics alone do not fix it — they buy time.
Something stuck, or a broken denture: Neither is dramatic, both are miserable, and both are usually quick to sort out. You do not need to wait until Monday.

A knocked-out adult tooth: the first thirty minutes

This is the one to read before you need it. What happens in the first half hour matters more than anything we can do afterwards.

Pick it up by the crown
The crown is the part you normally see. Never touch the root — the cells on its surface are what allow the tooth to reattach, and they do not survive handling.
Do not scrub it
If it is dirty, rinse it for a second or two in milk or saline. Not water, not disinfectant, and never a brush or a cloth.
Put it back in the socket if you can
The right way round, pushed gently into place, then bite on a clean handkerchief to hold it. A tooth in its own socket is in the best possible transport medium.
If you cannot, keep it wet in milk
Milk is the best thing most people have. Saliva — held in the side of the mouth, if the person is old enough not to swallow it — is the next best. Water is the worst of the options, but still better than letting it dry out.
Ring us on the way
(08) 9306 2755. Tell reception it is a knocked-out tooth and we will make room. Do not wait for a convenient appointment.

What to do while you wait

For everything that is not a knocked-out tooth.

Helps

Your usual over-the-counter pain relief, taken at the dose on the packet. Ibuprofen tends to work better than paracetamol on dental pain, if you can take it.
A cold pack against the cheek, twenty minutes on and twenty off, for swelling after a knock.
Sleeping propped up on an extra pillow. Lying flat raises the pressure in the tooth and is why toothache is worse at night.
Warm salt water rinses for a sore gum or after a knock.
Keeping the crown, the fragment or the piece of filling, and bringing it in.
Soft food, chewed on the other side.

Does not help, or makes it worse

Holding an aspirin against the gum. It burns the tissue and does nothing for the tooth.
Heat on the outside of the face when there is swelling. It draws infection outwards.
Gluing a crown back yourself. Household adhesives are not removable, and the tooth underneath usually needs cleaning first.
Poking at it with anything.
Leftover antibiotics from a previous course. Wrong drug, wrong dose, and it can mask a spreading infection.
Waiting to see if it settles. Pain that has stopped often means the nerve has died, not that the problem has gone.

What happens when you get here

An emergency appointment has one job: work out what is causing it and stop it hurting. It is not the appointment where everything gets finished, and we will say plainly which is which before we start.

Finding out which tooth
Less obvious than it sounds. Dental pain refers along the jaw and across the midline, and the tooth that hurts is often not the tooth at fault. Usually an X-ray, sometimes cold and bite testing.
Getting you numb
Before anything else, if you are in pain. There is no reason to have a conversation about treatment options while it still hurts.
Dealing with the cause
Draining an abscess, removing the decay, opening the tooth to relieve pressure, smoothing a sharp edge, or a temporary dressing to hold it. Whatever stops today's problem being today's problem.
Telling you what it will take to fix properly
With the cost of each option, and what your fund covers, before you book it. An emergency visit should never be the appointment where you agree to a crown under pressure.

Antibiotics are prescribed when there is a spreading infection, not as an alternative to treatment. An abscess that is drained settles; one that is only medicated comes back, usually at a worse moment.

When we are open, and what happens when we are not

We are open six days a week: 9am to 5:30pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9am to 7pm Tuesday and Thursday, and 9am to 2pm Saturday. Emergency room is held in the book each day, so ringing at 9am on the day is usually better than booking a convenient slot next week.

Outside those hours, the Perth Dental Hospital emergency service and the Australian Dental Association's WA after-hours line both operate, and any emergency department will manage pain and infection. Ring us first thing the next morning and we will see you.

You can also send an enquiry through our online contact form, but do not use it if something is happening now — the phone is faster and reception can tell you what to do while you travel.

Common questions

Emergency Dentistry: your questions answered

Will I definitely be seen today if I ring?: Not guaranteed, but that is what the held emergency slots exist for and it is usually possible if you ring early. Tell reception what is happening rather than asking for the next available appointment — a spreading swelling and a chipped edge are triaged very differently, and reception cannot make that call without the detail.
I am not a patient here. Can I still come in?: Yes. Emergency appointments are open to anyone. Bring a list of your medications and any medical conditions, and your health fund card if you have one.
The pain stopped by itself. Do I still need to come?: Almost certainly yes, and this is the most common mistake people make. Toothache frequently stops when the nerve inside the tooth dies, which is not recovery — it is the point at which infection starts building at the root with nothing left to signal it. The quiet period usually ends in a swelling.
How much does an emergency appointment cost?: It depends entirely on what turns out to be wrong, so we quote before we treat rather than after. Reception can give you the fee for the emergency examination itself when you ring, and anything beyond that is discussed with you, with item numbers, before it is done.
Can you just give me antibiotics over the phone?: No, and no dentist should. Antibiotics do not treat a dead nerve, a cracked tooth or a cavity — they slow an infection down temporarily, and prescribing them without an examination hides the very thing that needs looking at. If you have a spreading infection you need to be seen, and then medication is part of a plan rather than the whole of it.
My crown came off and it does not hurt. Is that urgent?: Ring us this week rather than leaving it. Two clocks start the moment it comes off: the stub underneath is soft and unprotected, and the teeth on either side begin closing in on the space. Keep the crown somewhere safe and bring it with you — but do not try to cement it back yourself. There is more detail on our crowns page.
I broke a tooth and it is sharp but not painful.: Book in the next day or two. A sharp edge will cut your tongue or cheek within hours, and the fracture line usually runs further than the missing piece suggests. Smoothing it takes minutes; a tooth that splits fully because it was left is a much bigger conversation.
Is a wisdom tooth flaring up an emergency?: If the gum around it is swollen and sore, yes — ring us. That is pericoronitis, it recurs, and it responds well to being cleaned out and irrigated. If it is also making it hard to open your mouth or to swallow, treat that as urgent rather than routine.
Do you take emergency appointments on Saturday?: Yes. Saturday runs 9am to 2pm, and emergency room is held on Saturdays as well. It is the busiest day of the week, so ring early.

All frequently asked questions

Rather talk it through first?

Ring us and describe what is going on. Reception will tell you whether to book about emergency dentistry, how long to allow, and whether anything needs looking at sooner.

Call (08) 9306 2755

Which system do you use?

Which system do you use?

Emergency dentistry

Which system do you use?

What we treat as an emergency

A knocked-out adult tooth: the first thirty minutes

What to do while you wait

What happens when you get here

When we are open, and what happens when we are not

Emergency Dentistry: your questions answered

Rather talk it through first?

Which system do you use?

Which system do you use?