Emergency Dentist in North London

If you are in pain right now, call us on 020 8340 0666. Blue Light Dental is an emergency dentist in North London, on Holloway Road in Archway. We hold emergency slots in the diary every day, and calling early in the day gives you the best chance of being seen the same day. You do not need to be a registered patient.

This page covers the things people actually want to know when something has gone wrong with a tooth: what counts as an emergency, what to do in the twenty minutes before you reach us, what happens at the appointment, and what it is likely to cost.

What counts as a dental emergency

Not everything needs to be seen today. These do:

• Severe toothache that will not settle. Particularly pain that wakes you at night, or pain that no longer responds to painkillers. This usually means the nerve is involved.
• A dental abscess. Throbbing pain with swelling in the face, jaw or gum. Facial swelling that is spreading, or any difficulty swallowing or breathing, is a hospital A&E matter, not a dental one.
• A knocked-out adult tooth. The single most time-critical dental emergency there is.
• A broken or cracked tooth, especially with a sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek.
• A lost crown, bridge or filling leaving a sensitive tooth exposed.
• Bleeding that will not stop after a recent extraction.
• Trauma to the mouth, including cuts to the lips, cheeks or gums.

If you are not sure which category you are in, phone anyway. We would rather talk it through than have you sitting at home in discomfort deciding whether you are allowed to ask.

What to do before you get here

For severe pain. Ibuprofen and paracetamol can be alternated for better relief than either gives on its own. Check the dosing on the packets and do not exceed it. Avoid putting aspirin directly against the gum, because it burns the tissue.

For a knocked-out adult tooth. Pick it up by the crown, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it very gently in milk. Do not scrub it and do not use tap water. Try to slot it back into the socket and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it there. If you cannot reinsert it, keep it in milk or in your own saliva and get to us inside the hour. Outcomes are best when treatment starts within 30 minutes. A knocked-out baby tooth should not be reinserted.

For bleeding. Bite firmly on clean, damp gauze or a rolled tissue for a full 15 to 20 minutes without lifting it to check. Checking restarts the clock.

For a broken tooth. Rinse with warm salty water, keep any fragments, and cover a sharp edge with sugar-free gum or dental wax until you are seen. We have a longer guide on what to do with a broken tooth until you can see a dentist.

For a lost crown or filling. Keep the crown, do not try to glue it back with household adhesive, and avoid chewing on that side.

What happens at an emergency appointment

A typical emergency appointment runs 30 to 60 minutes and has two jobs: stop the immediate problem, then plan whatever comes next.

It usually starts with an examination and, in most cases, an X-ray, because the cause of dental pain is frequently invisible from the outside. From there the appointment goes one of a few ways. Sometimes it is a diagnosis, a course of antibiotics and a follow-up booked for definitive treatment once the infection has settled. Sometimes the tooth needs root canal treatment started there and then to take the nerve out of the equation. Sometimes the honest answer is that the tooth cannot be saved and an extraction is the right call.

Whichever it is, you get the explanation and the cost before anything happens. Nobody should be agreeing to treatment they have not had priced while they are in pain.

What emergency dental treatment costs in North London

Our published fees are on the treatment fees page and do not change because you arrived as an emergency. The figures most relevant here:

All fees are indicative and the final cost depends on clinical assessment and complexity. You will always get a written treatment plan and cost estimate before we proceed. If a tooth needs both root canal treatment and a crown to survive, you will be told that at the first visit rather than discovering it later. There is a fuller breakdown in our guide to root canal cost in North London.

Choosing an emergency dentist in North London

Blue Light Dental & Aesthetics is at 662-664 Holloway Road, Archway, London N19 3NU, a few minutes from Archway station and within easy reach of Holloway, Upper Holloway, Tufnell Park, Islington, Highbury, Finsbury Park and Kentish Town. Patients travel to us from across North London for urgent appointments.

You do not have to be registered with us. Many patients meet us for the first time as an emergency and register afterwards. We see children for dental emergencies too, and depending on age and situation we will either treat at the practice or guide you to the right paediatric referral.

Full detail on urgent care is on our emergency dentist page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be seen today?

We hold emergency slots in the diary every day. Calling early in the day gives the best chance of being seen the same day. Phone 020 8340 0666, because urgent cases are triaged by our reception team rather than left in an online queue.

What if it is outside your opening hours?

We are open Monday to Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Saturday by appointment. Outside those hours, call NHS 111 for out-of-hours dental advice. If there is facial swelling that is spreading, or you have any difficulty breathing or swallowing, go straight to A&E.

Do I need to be a registered patient?

No. We accept emergency appointments from new patients. Please call ahead so we can allocate the right amount of time rather than squeezing you into a slot that is too short.

Will I definitely get treatment on the day, or just painkillers?

The aim is always to stop the pain at that visit. What that means clinically varies. Sometimes it is definitive treatment, sometimes it is drainage and antibiotics with the definitive work booked once the infection settles. Rushing definitive treatment into an inflamed, infected site can make the outcome worse, so occasionally the right answer is to treat the infection first.

Is a cracked or chipped tooth an emergency?

If it hurts, if the edge is cutting your tongue or cheek, or if the break has exposed the inner part of the tooth, then yes, get seen. A small cosmetic chip with no pain can usually wait for a normal appointment.

How much will the first emergency visit cost?

The examination and consultation is £65, with an X-ray at £10 if one is needed. Any treatment beyond that is quoted before it starts.

In pain now?

Call 020 8340 0666. If it is not urgent and you would rather book online, you can do that through our booking portal.

Reviewed by Dr Sanyukta Kothari, Principal Dentist, Blue Light Dental & Aesthetics. GDC registration 283340. This article is general information, not a diagnosis. If you are in pain, please contact the practice or NHS 111.