Straight answers from our Belmont Cragin office for anyone on the Northwest Side with a tooth that hurts, cracked or came out. Call (773) 555-0199 first; a person answers at any hour. Below: how fast we can see you, what the visit costs, what happens after 1:00 PM or on a weekend, and when the hospital is the right call.
The $99 covers an emergency exam, consultation and panoramic X-ray. Fees may be adjusted due to complications or unforeseen circumstances. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
Same-day appointments · $99 exam + X-ray · Phones answered 24/7 · Se habla español
Getting seen today in Chicago
Can I see an emergency dentist in Chicago today?
Yes, on a weekday. We hold same-day emergency slots at 8:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Call (773) 555-0199 when the office opens at 7:00 AM and the front desk gives you the first one open. Call early and you get your pick of the three. The same-day dentist page explains the visit from the call to the chair.
What are your office hours?
We see patients Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM, and not at all on Saturday or Sunday. The phone runs on a different clock: it's answered 24/7. During the day you get the front desk. Nights and weekends, an answering service records who you are, how to reach you and what hurts, then reserves the earliest opening for you. Chair time happens only inside those weekday hours.
Do you take walk-ins?
No. Call before you come, even from the 77 bus two stops away. The call is how we confirm a time, pull a room and the X-ray for you, and check your insurance before you're standing at the desk. Without it, you may make the trip and find the morning's slots already taken. Budget about a minute for the whole call.
What an emergency dental visit costs in Chicago
What will the visit cost me?
$99 pays for the exam, the consultation and the panoramic X-ray, which is to say the diagnosis. Treatment costs extra, and our dentists write that figure down for you before any work begins, so you decide with the number in front of you. Where we work with your insurer, the exam and X-ray are billed to your plan. There's more detail on the cost and insurance page.
Why can't you quote treatment over the phone?
Because the phone can't see your tooth. Two people describe the same throb, and one has a tooth that can be kept while the other has a root split below the gum. The panoramic X-ray settles it. Once our dentists have looked at the image and the tooth, the price for what they recommend goes on paper. You read it, then you choose.
Which dental insurance plans do you accept?
Most PPO plans, many Medicare dental plans and selected HMO plans. The full list of plans we work with is on the cost and insurance page. Coverage depends on your specific plan, so have your member ID handy when you phone, and the front desk verifies it before you arrive. You'll know your position before you leave the house.
Do you accept Medicaid?
No. Medicaid is not accepted at our office. Medicaid holders who still want to come in are treated as patients paying on their own: $99 for the exam, consultation and X-ray, then a written quote for any treatment before it begins. You're welcome to phone and talk through your situation with the front desk.
Is financing available?
Yes. We work with CareCredit, Cherry, Sunbit, Eve Financial and Proceed. Ask about financing when you get the written quote, before treatment starts. Each company sets its own terms, so questions about how a plan works go to that company. Patients paying on their own and insured patients with a share left over can both apply.
After 1pm, weekends and the emergency room
What if I call after 1:00 PM on a weekday?
Call anyway. We may be able to see you later that day by appointment. If not, you get the first opening the next morning, and we hold it for you. A Monday 3:00 PM call, for example, is usually Tuesday at 7:00 AM. The person who answers takes your details so the morning team already knows what's wrong when you walk in.
What happens if I call on a Saturday or Sunday?
Our answering service picks up. They write down your name, number and what happened, and they hold you the first opening: Monday at 7:00 AM. A Friday-night call gets the same Monday slot. The service doesn't give medical advice or triage. For getting through the weekend, read our weekend and after-hours page.
When is the emergency room the right choice instead of you?
When the trouble has moved beyond the tooth. Swelling that interferes with breathing or swallowing. Swelling that's traveling up to the eye or down past the jaw. A tooth infection paired with a high fever. A blow to the face that may have broken the jaw or opened a cut that needs closing. Hospitals treat spreading infection and injuries; they generally don't treat the tooth itself. Once you're stable, the tooth is still ours to see.
Where is the nearest emergency room to your office?
Community First Medical Center, 5645 W Addison St, at Addison and Central. From our office it's about a mile north, 3 to 6 minutes by car: north on Central to Addison. If you go there tonight, call us in the morning so the tooth that started the trouble gets looked at.
Specific dental problems we treat in Chicago
My tooth got knocked out. What's the first thing to do?
Hold it only by the crown, the chewing end, and leave the root alone. A clean tooth can go straight back into its socket, held in place with light bite pressure. When that isn't possible, carry it in milk or between your cheek and gum, and never let it dry out. Then call us straight away; minutes matter more than anything else. Full steps are on the knocked-out tooth page.
Can you take a tooth out the same day?
Yes, within office hours. Once the exam and X-ray show the tooth can't be kept, our dentists can remove it, often during that same visit, whether that means a straightforward extraction or a surgical one because the tooth is broken or impacted. The written price comes first. See the emergency tooth extraction page for what to expect.
My jaw is swollen. Is it an abscess?
It could be. An abscess is a walled-off collection of pus, either at the tip of a root or in the gum beside it, and a puffy cheek or jaw is one of its usual signs, along with a foul taste or a fever at times. It wants a dentist soon. Should the swelling climb to your eye, drop into your neck or interfere with breathing, the ER comes first. If not, call us. More on the dental abscess page.
I broke a tooth or my crown fell off. Now what?
Save the pieces and the crown. Rinse with water, chew on the other side, and call. A sharp edge can be smoothed, a tooth that can be kept may get a crown, and a crown that popped loose usually goes back on with fresh cement. See broken tooth repair and the lost crown page.
Do you treat wisdom tooth pain?
Yes. The first job for our dentists is working out whether the tooth is coming in straight, stuck under the gum or infected around the edges, then treating what the X-ray shows. That may mean medication and cleaning out the area, or taking the tooth out. Start with wisdom tooth pain or the wisdom tooth extraction page.
My denture broke. Can you fix it?
Usually, yes. We repair dentures, reline them, and make partials, full dentures and immediate dentures after extractions. Bring every piece, even small ones, and don't glue anything at home. Call first so the morning slot is yours. The emergency denture repair page covers what we can do and how.
Spanish and finding our office
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes. Our office staff handle Spanish during office hours, Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The after-hours line is a different story; Spanish isn't a sure thing there, so at night keep it short: who you are, how to reach you and what's wrong. Our Spanish pages start at the Spanish site; two to try are costos y seguros and dolor de muela.
Where are you, and is there parking?
We're at 5841 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60634, on the north side of W Belmont Ave between N Central Ave and N Austin Ave in Belmont Cragin. Parking is on site. The 77 Belmont bus stops along the avenue and the 85 Central bus runs on Central. Directions by neighborhood are on the contact page.