A severe toothache, a broken tooth, swelling that will not go down: dental emergencies are frightening, and they never pick a convenient time. If you need urgent dental care in Bethlehem, call New Street Dental at (610) 867-7112. We keep room in our schedule for same-day emergency appointments, and when the schedule permits, Dr. Tunney can often complete same-day treatment, including root canals and extractions, so you leave with the problem handled, not just discussed.
Our office is at 920 N New Street, right in the heart of Bethlehem, with easy parking. If you are in pain right now, skip the reading and call us. If you want to know what counts as an emergency and what to do first, everything you need is below.
Is This a Dental Emergency?
Some dental problems can wait a few days. These cannot. Call us the same day if you have:
- Severe or constant tooth pain, especially deep inside one tooth
- A knocked-out, loose, or broken tooth
- Facial swelling, or swelling in your gums or jaw
- A pimple-like bump on the gums, pus, or a bad taste that will not go away (signs of an abscess)
- Bleeding from the mouth that will not stop
- A lost filling or crown that has left the tooth sensitive or sharp
A dental abscess deserves special mention: it is an infection, and infections spread. If you have swelling along with fever or trouble opening your mouth, do not wait for an appointment. Get emergency medical care first, then call us for the dental follow-up.
What to Do First: Quick Help by Emergency
Toothache. Rinse with warm salt water and gently floss to remove any trapped food. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever if you need it, but never place aspirin against the gum. Then call us.
Knocked-out tooth. Time matters most here. Pick the tooth up by the crown (the white part), not the root. Rinse it gently if dirty, and try to place it back in the socket. If that is not possible, keep it in milk and get to us as quickly as you can. Teeth replanted within the first hour have the best chance.
Chipped or broken tooth. Rinse your mouth with warm water and save any pieces. A cold compress on the cheek helps with swelling. Cover any sharp edge with dental wax or sugar-free gum if it is cutting your tongue.
Lost filling or crown. Keep the crown if you have it and bring it with you. Avoid chewing on that side until we can reattach or replace it.
Abscess or swelling. Do not try to drain anything yourself. Rinse with mild salt water, use a cold compress, and call us right away.
What to Expect at Your Emergency Visit
We designed our emergency visits to get you answers and relief in one trip:
- A focused exam, fast. Dr. Tunney examines the problem area and takes instant digital X-rays with our Nomad 2 Pro unit, which uses extremely low radiation and shows us exactly what is going on within minutes.
- You see what we see. Intraoral cameras and chairside TVs let us show you the problem and walk you through your options in plain English.
- Relief first. If you are in pain, treating that comes before anything else, including local anesthesia where needed.
- Same-day treatment when possible. Schedule permitting, root canals, extractions, and other urgent treatment can often happen in the same visit.
- A clear plan and a clear estimate. Before any treatment, you get a same-day insurance estimate so there are no surprise bills.
What Does Emergency Dental Care Cost in Bethlehem?
Cost worry keeps a lot of people sitting at home with a toothache, so let us be direct about how we handle it.
Before we treat anything, we tell you what it will cost. You get a written, same-day insurance estimate at your visit, so you know your out-of-pocket amount before you say yes. Most dental insurance plans cover emergency exams and many urgent treatments at least in part, and we accept most major plans, including Aetna, Blue Cross Dental, Cigna, Concordia, Delta Dental, Guardian, and MetLife. Our front desk team deals with insurance companies every day and will help you get the most out of your benefits.
No insurance? You are still welcome here. We work with third-party financing companies that can spread treatment costs into manageable monthly payments, and we will go over every option with you before treatment begins.
One honest note: waiting almost always costs more. A cavity that needs a filling today can need a root canal and crown next month. If something hurts, the most affordable time to treat it is now.
Dental Emergencies in Children
A child’s dental emergency is stressful for everyone. Dr. Tunney treats kids as part of our family practice every day, and the same same-day approach applies: call us, describe what happened, and we will tell you exactly what to do while you head in.
For a knocked-out baby tooth, do not try to replant it (that can damage the adult tooth underneath). For a knocked-out permanent tooth, follow the same steps as adults: keep it moist and come in immediately. And for sports of any kind, ask us about a custom mouthguard. It is the single best way to prevent the next emergency. You can read more about how we care for young patients on our kids dentistry page.
After-Hours Emergencies
If a serious emergency happens outside our office hours, use this rule: anything involving uncontrolled bleeding, significant facial swelling, fever with dental pain, or trauma from an accident should go to the nearest emergency room first. For everything else, call us at (610) 867-7112 and choose the earliest appointment we can offer; we prioritize emergencies at the start of each day.
Emergency Tooth Extractions and Same-Day Root Canals
Two treatments come up in a large share of emergency visits, and we handle both in-house:
Emergency extractions. When a tooth is broken below the gumline, split at the root, or too infected to save, removing it is what ends the pain. Schedule permitting, Dr. Tunney can complete the extraction at your same-day visit, with the area fully numbed and every step explained first. Before you leave, you will know your options for replacing the tooth, from a dental implant to a bridge, so a quick decision made in pain never becomes a permanent gap by accident.
Same-day root canals. If the tooth can be saved, a root canal is usually the treatment that saves it, and it is the one that ends a severe toothache for good. It is far gentler than its reputation: with modern anesthesia, most patients feel only pressure. When the schedule allows, we complete emergency root canals the day you call.
Either way, the decision is made with you, on camera, with the X-ray in front of you. You will never be talked into losing a saveable tooth or saving a doomed one.
How to Prevent the Next Emergency
Most dental emergencies are cavities and cracks that were quietly building for months. The boring advice is the effective advice:
- Keep your six-month exams and cleanings, where we catch small problems while they are still small
- Brush twice a day and floss daily
- Do not chew ice, hard candy, or unpopped popcorn kernels
- Wear a custom mouthguard for sports, and a night guard if you grind your teeth
- Never use your teeth as scissors
Regular checkups are the cheapest insurance against emergency visits. Our preventive dentistry page covers what a routine visit includes.
Why Bethlehem Chooses New Street Dental in an Emergency
Dr. Gene Tunney earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from New York University and leads a team patients consistently describe as calm, kind, and honest. If you are anxious about dental visits, especially in a stressful moment, you are in the right place; anxiety-free care is what we are known for.
“Got in super quick and they were so nice and helpful.” That is from one of our many 5-star Google reviews, and “got in quick” is exactly the point when you are in pain.
We serve patients from across the Lehigh Valley, including Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township, Fountain Hill, Freemansburg, Hellertown, Catasauqua, Center Valley, Nazareth, and Allentown. If you can get to 920 N New Street, we can help.