Emergency Dental Care Waterdown

Panacea Dental operates emergency services for our patients.

What is considered to be a dental emergency?

Is it a broken tooth, broken dentures,
an avulsed or knock out tooth,
an orthodontic dental emergency,
a loose dental implant,
a veneer or crown that had been dislodged,
uncontrolled pain from a tooth ache or a dental abscess,
uncontrolled intra-oral bleeding or hemorrhage,
an infected piercing,
unexplained sudden or chronic changes in tooth colour,
a foreign body embedded in the intra-oral soft tissue or between the teeth,
non healing intra-oral ulcerations,
a broken orthodontic retainer.

Panacea Dental provide patients with access to immediate and convenient emergency dentistry services with a dentist or dental professional. Panacea Dental makes every attempt to provide emergency patients with same day dental appointments as high priorities.

Contact us at 289-408-5100 for hours and availability.

Same Day Emergency Dental Appointments in Waterdown

Dental pain does not wait for a convenient time. Panacea Dental keeps appointment time open each day for emergencies, and we make every effort to see patients who are in pain on the same day they call.

Our Waterdown office is open until 7:00pm Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Those evening and weekend hours mean you do not have to take a day off work or pull a child out of school to be seen, and they cover the hours when many dental offices in the area have already closed for the day.

Call 289-408-5100 and tell reception that it is an emergency. We will ask a few short questions to understand how urgent it is, then get you booked in.

What Happens at an Emergency Appointment

The first job is to find the cause and stop the pain. We will ask what happened and when, examine the area and usually take a radiograph, because a tooth that looks fine can have an infection or fracture that only shows on an image.

Then we explain what we found and your options, including what each costs, before anything is done. Often the visit ends with the pain dealt with and the tooth protected, for example a temporary filling, draining an infection, starting a root canal, smoothing a sharp edge or re-cementing a crown, with the definitive repair booked for a later visit. Sometimes the right answer is to remove the tooth, and we will say so plainly.

Bring a list of your medications and your insurance details. If you are new to the practice, that is fine: you do not need to be an existing patient to be seen for an emergency.

If It Happens When We Are Closed

We are open until 7:00 pm Monday to Friday and from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Saturday, and we are closed on Sunday. If something happens outside those hours:

For advice at any hour, call Health811 by dialling 811. It is Ontario's free, confidential health advice line, staffed by registered nurses around the clock.
Go to a hospital emergency department if swelling is spreading toward your eye or neck, you have difficulty swallowing or breathing, bleeding will not stop with firm pressure, you have a high fever with facial swelling, or you have hurt your jaw or face in an accident.
For a knocked out adult tooth, follow the first aid steps below and get to a dentist or hospital as quickly as possible, because the first hour matters most.
For everything else, manage the pain with the steps below and call 289-408-5100 as soon as we open.

Our article on what to do in the first hour of a dental emergency covers each situation in more detail.

What To Do Before You Reach Us

What you do in the first hour often decides whether a tooth can be saved. Find your situation below.

Knocked Out Tooth

Pick the tooth up by the crown, which is the chewing surface, and never by the root. If it is dirty, rinse it briefly in milk or saline. Do not scrub it and do not use tap water. If you can, place it back into the socket and bite gently on a clean cloth. If you cannot, keep it in a container of milk. Try to reach us within 30 to 60 minutes. Time matters more with this injury than with any other dental emergency.

Severe Toothache

Rinse with warm salt water and floss gently to clear any trapped food. Take over the counter pain relief as directed on the packaging. Do not place aspirin directly against the gum, because it burns the soft tissue. A cold compress held against the outside of the cheek helps with swelling.

Chipped or Broken Tooth

Save any pieces you can find and bring them with you. Rinse your mouth with warm water. Apply gauze to any bleeding for about ten minutes. Use a cold compress on the face to limit swelling.

Lost Filling or Crown

Keep the crown if you still have it. Sugar free gum or temporary dental cement from a pharmacy can cover the exposed area until you are seen. Avoid chewing on that side in the meantime.

Dental Abscess

An abscess is a serious infection and it will not clear up on its own. Rinse with mild salt water several times a day to ease discomfort. Call us straight away, because untreated infection can spread beyond the tooth.

Broken Braces Wire or Bracket

If a wire is poking into your cheek, use the eraser end of a pencil to push it into a more comfortable position, then cover the end with orthodontic wax. Do not cut the wire yourself, because of the risk of swallowing or inhaling it.

When To Go To Hospital Instead

A small number of situations need a hospital emergency department rather than a dental office. Go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following:

Swelling that affects your breathing or swallowing
Swelling around the eye, or spreading down the neck
Bleeding that will not stop after 20 minutes of firm pressure
A suspected broken or dislocated jaw
Facial trauma from a serious accident
Fever combined with facial swelling

For anything short of those, a dental office is both faster and better equipped to help you.

Cost, Insurance and the Canadian Dental Care Plan

We accept most major insurance plans and we are a Canadian Dental Care Plan provider. Our team will review your coverage with you before treatment begins, so you know what to expect. If you do not have insurance, we will explain your options and the cost up front rather than after the fact.

You can read more about the Canadian Dental Care Plan and our financial arrangements.

Emergency Dental Questions

In most cases yes. We hold appointment time open each day for emergencies and we prioritise patients who are in pain. Call 289-408-5100 as early in the day as you can, since same day availability fills up.

Yes. You do not need to be an existing patient of Panacea Dental to be seen for a dental emergency. We treat emergency patients from Waterdown, Burlington, Flamborough and the surrounding area.

Anything involving uncontrolled pain, bleeding that will not stop, a knocked out or broken tooth, facial swelling, or a lost crown or filling that has left a tooth exposed. If you are unsure, call us and we will tell you honestly whether it needs urgent attention.

It depends entirely on what treatment is needed, and we will not know that until we examine you. What we will do is explain the cost before we begin any treatment, not after. We accept most major insurance plans and we are a Canadian Dental Care Plan provider.

We are open until 7:00pm Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Those hours cover the times when many dental offices in the Waterdown area are already closed.

Pick the tooth up by the crown and not the root, rinse it briefly in milk if it is dirty, and if you can, place it gently back into the socket. If you cannot, keep it in a container of milk and call us immediately. Getting to a dentist within 30 to 60 minutes gives the best chance of saving the tooth.

Go to the nearest emergency department if you have swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, swelling near the eye or spreading down the neck, bleeding that will not stop after 20 minutes of firm pressure, a suspected broken jaw, or fever with facial swelling. For everything else a dental office is faster and better equipped.

Call Health811 by dialling 811 for nurse advice at any hour, and go to a hospital emergency department if you have spreading swelling, difficulty swallowing or breathing, uncontrolled bleeding or a facial injury. Otherwise call us at 289-408-5100 when we open on Monday.