Our office is closed Saturday and Sunday, and weekday hours end at 1:00 PM. The phone has no closing time. Call (773) 555-0199 whenever it happens and a live person picks up, jots down the problem and holds the next open slot for you: 7:00 AM the following business morning at 5841 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60634. Phone us on the weekend and that means Monday at 7:00 AM.
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
How an after-hours call to our Belmont Cragin office works
While the office is closed, our answering service picks up for us. They're not dentists and won't offer medical advice. What they do: note your name, a callback number and a short line on the problem, and hold the earliest opening for you. For a call on Saturday or Sunday, that's Monday at 7:00 AM. For a call on Tuesday evening, it's Wednesday at 7:00 AM. For a call at 2:00 PM on a Thursday, we may be able to see you later that day by appointment; if not, Friday at 7:00 AM is yours.
When the front desk arrives Monday morning, your note is the first thing they read. If anything about the appointment needs confirming, they call you back. Then you come in, our dentist examines the tooth, takes a panoramic X-ray and gives you a written price before any treatment starts.
We don't take walk-ins on Monday morning either. The 7:00 AM opening exists because someone called for it.
Getting through the night with a toothache
A toothache at 11:00 PM on a Saturday feels like it'll never end. It does. Here's what helps until Monday.
Take a drugstore pain reliever and follow the package dosing to the letter. Don't exceed the dose because the tooth hurts more than usual. Don't put aspirin directly on the gum; it burns the tissue and doesn't help the tooth. Swish warm salt water a few times a day. Keep your head raised when you lie down, since lying flat pushes more blood to the jaw and pain tends to climb at night for that reason. Something cold held against the cheek for twenty minutes at a time can take the edge off.
Steer clear of very hot, very cold and very sweet food and drink. Chew on the opposite side. If a piece of the tooth is sharp, a small bit of sugarless gum pressed over it keeps it off your tongue until Monday.
If the pain is coming from a tooth you already know is in trouble, read our toothache relief page so you know what the 7:00 AM visit is likely to involve.
Swelling in the jaw, face or gums
Swelling means infection, and infection is the one dental problem that can get worse in a hurry. A swollen gum around one tooth, a tender bump, a bad taste: those point to a dental abscess, and our dentists drain and treat abscesses in our office at the first opening. Until then, warm salt water rinses and an over-the-counter pain reliever as labeled. Don't try to pop or squeeze it. Don't put heat on the outside of your face; it can draw the infection outward.
Watch the swelling. If it climbs toward your eye or moves down your neck, if you run a fever, if swallowing becomes hard or you have any trouble breathing, go to a hospital emergency room right away. Don't wait for Monday. Hospitals treat spreading infection and injuries; they generally don't treat the tooth itself. Community First Medical Center at Addison and Central, about a mile north of us, is the closest ER. Once the hospital has handled the spread, call us and we deal with the tooth that caused it.
A knocked-out tooth on a Saturday
An adult tooth that comes all the way out has a chance of being saved if it's handled right and put back soon. Pick it up by the white part, the crown. Don't touch the root or scrub it. If it's dirty, rinse it very briefly in cool water or milk, no soap. Then try to seat it back in the socket the right way round and keep it in place by biting softly on a clean cloth.
If it won't seat, keep it moist. Milk is the usual choice. Holding it inside your cheek works too, if you can do that without swallowing it. Don't store it dry in a tissue, and don't put it in plain tap water for long.
Call (773) 555-0199 as soon as you can. A tooth that has been out for more than an hour or two is much harder to save. On a weekend that honestly means the odds are against it, and we'd rather tell you that now. Monday at 7:00 AM, our dentist looks at the tooth and the socket and tells you whether it can be repositioned and splinted. If it can't, we talk through your options for replacing it.
If there's a cut lip, a loose jaw or any sign of a head injury along with the tooth, the hospital comes first. Hospitals treat injuries; they generally don't treat the tooth itself. Once the injury is handled, call us.
A broken denture before Monday
A cracked plate or a tooth popped off a denture isn't dangerous, but it can mean two days of soft food and not wanting to be seen. Don't reach for glue. Household adhesives eat into the acrylic and can make the repair harder on Monday. Keep every piece, including small chips. Store the denture in water or a denture-soaking solution so it doesn't warp.
If a sharp edge is rubbing your gum, wear the denture as little as you can over the weekend. Call us and the 7:00 AM opening is yours. Our dentists handle denture repairs and relines in our office.
When the hospital is the right call
Most weekend dental emergencies can wait for Monday morning with the steps above. A few can't. Go to a hospital emergency room for swelling that spreads to the eye or neck, trouble swallowing or breathing, bleeding that won't stop after twenty minutes of firm pressure, a jaw that may be broken, or a head blow that came with the dental injury.
Hospitals treat spreading infection and injuries; they generally don't treat the tooth itself. That's why the hospital visit and the dental visit are two separate things. Handle the dangerous part first, then call us so the tooth gets fixed.
Monday morning at 7:00 AM: what to expect
The office opens at 7:00 AM, before most of Belmont has its lights on. Parking is on site. The 77 Belmont bus stops along the avenue and the 85 Central runs on N Central Ave, so even a snowy January morning without a car is workable.
Have your photo ID handy, along with an insurance card if you carry one. Our dentist examines the tooth and takes a panoramic X-ray. You hear what's wrong and what we recommend, and you get the treatment price in writing. The exam, consultation and X-ray are $99. If we work with your insurer, the exam and X-ray are billed to your plan. More on that is on our cost and insurance page.
Nothing starts until you've agreed. When you have, most emergency treatment we offer, including extraction, abscess drainage and broken tooth repair, happens at that same visit.
After-hours help across the Northwest Side
We're in Belmont Cragin, and Monday morning traffic on Belmont and Central is lighter at 7:00 AM than it will be an hour later. From Logan Square, take Milwaukee northwest to Belmont and head west, about 10 to 16 minutes. From Irving Park, come west on Irving Park Road to Central and south to Belmont, roughly 8 to 13 minutes. Elmwood Park patients take Belmont east from Harlem, around 9 to 15 minutes. The service area page lists every neighborhood with miles and minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any dentist at your office on Saturday or Sunday?
No. We're closed both days and we won't pretend otherwise. What we offer on a weekend is a phone that a real person answers at any hour and a held 7:00 AM Monday appointment. Our Monday morning slots exist for people who called over the weekend.
Will the answering service give me advice about the pain?
No. The service takes your details and holds your appointment. They don't give medical advice. For managing pain overnight, use the steps on this page and the directions on any over-the-counter medicine you take. For spreading swelling, trouble breathing or heavy bleeding, go to a hospital.
Can I just come in at 7:00 AM Monday without calling?
No. We don't accept walk-ins. Call (773) 555-0199 over the weekend and the opening is held under your name. Showing up without an appointment means waiting for the front desk to find you a time, and that may be later in the morning or the next day.
My tooth stopped hurting on Sunday. Should I still keep the appointment?
Yes. When a toothache fades by itself, the usual reason is that the nerve inside has died, not that the problem is gone. The infection can still spread. Keep the Monday appointment so our dentist can look at the X-ray and tell you what the tooth actually needs.
Does the weekend call cost anything?
No. The call is a phone call. The $99 covers the emergency exam, consultation and panoramic X-ray when you come in, and treatment is quoted in writing before any work starts.