Emergency Dentistry in Chicago, IL
Emergency Dentistry is available at these locations:
A dental emergency rarely gives you any warning, and every hour you wait can turn a small problem into a much bigger one. Dr. Raffi Leblebijian and our team have treated a wide range of oral injuries and sudden tooth pain at our Chicago office on Touhy Ave, caring for patients across Chicago, Niles, and Skokie. Whether you already belong to our practice or are brand new to it, we hold time open for urgent visits. Call us immediately and we will get you in quickly.
In a dental emergency right now? Call our Chicago office immediately at (773) 792-1043. Same-day emergency appointments are available. If you are dealing with uncontrolled bleeding, difficulty breathing, or facial trauma affecting your airway, go to the nearest emergency room instead.
What we treat
Anything urgent: severe toothaches, knocked-out or broken teeth, cracked teeth, lost fillings and crowns, abscesses, facial swelling, traumatic injuries, and more.
Who can come
Current patients and newcomers alike. You do not need an existing chart with us to be seen and treated for a dental emergency.
How we help
Same-day emergency appointments, precise diagnostics, fast pain relief, and the full range of emergency care, from root canals and extractions to trauma repair.
Dental pain has a habit of getting worse overnight. Call our Chicago office now and we'll see you today.
Dental Emergencies We See Most Often
Toothaches
A bad toothache can bring your whole day to a halt. Severe tooth pain usually points to an infection, a deep cavity, or a cracked tooth that needs prompt attention, so we track down the cause and get you relief, often within the same visit.
Root Canal Therapy
When infection or decay reaches deep inside a tooth, a root canal clears out the damaged tissue and rescues the tooth. Warning signs include swelling, lingering sensitivity to hot and cold, and a deep throbbing ache. Today's root canal treatment is comfortable and reliable, and it is often the best way to keep your natural tooth.
When a Tooth Is Damaged, Broken, or Lost
Tooth Extractions
Sometimes a tooth is simply too far gone to rescue, and removing it brings immediate relief while stopping infection from spreading. Between modern anesthetics and Dr. Raffi's experience, an extraction today is far gentler than its reputation, and many patients report little or no discomfort.
Traumatic Injuries
A tooth that has been knocked out, loosened, or shoved out of position needs attention right away. Dr. Raffi is trained to reposition, stabilize, and treat injured teeth, and acting quickly gives that tooth its best chance of being saved.
Cracked Teeth
A crack can appear in an instant from an injury or build up quietly over years of grinding and heavy biting. Some fractures throb painfully while others go unnoticed. Dr. Raffi pinpoints where the crack runs and how deep it goes before recommending a course of action, and many cracked teeth can be treated with root canal therapy.
In a dental emergency, minutes matter. Call our Chicago office now for same-day care.
What to Do in a Dental Emergency
Knocked-Out Tooth
- Pick up the tooth by the crown, or top, and never touch the root
- If it is dirty, rinse it gently with water, but do not scrub or wipe off any tissue
- If you can, ease the tooth back into its socket and bite on a clean cloth to hold it there
- If it will not go back in, tuck the tooth into milk or saliva to keep it moist
- Reach our office within 30 minutes, because the faster you arrive, the better the chance of saving the tooth
Severe Toothache or Swelling
- Swish with warm salt water to help calm bacteria and soothe the area
- Take over-the-counter pain relievers as directed, and never rest aspirin directly on the gum
- Hold a cold compress against the outside of your cheek to ease swelling
- Keep heat away from the sore area
- Call us right away, since pain paired with swelling often signals an infection that needs prompt treatment
Frequently Asked Questions
A dental emergency is any urgent problem with your teeth, gums, or mouth that cannot safely wait for a routine appointment. If you are in real pain, bleeding, swelling, or worried you might lose a tooth, treat it as an emergency and call us.
Situations that usually qualify include:
- Severe or lingering tooth pain
- A knocked-out, loosened, or broken tooth
- A lost filling or crown that leaves the sensitive inner tooth exposed
- Facial swelling or a dental abscess
- Uncontrolled bleeding or any traumatic injury to the mouth
When you are not sure whether your situation counts, err on the side of calling our Chicago office. We would far rather hear from you and rule out a problem than have you wait at home while an infection or a small fracture quietly gets worse.
Yes. You do not have to be an established patient to be treated for a dental emergency with us. If you are hurting and need to be seen, we want you to call, whether or not you have ever set foot in our office before.
We deliberately hold room in the daily schedule for urgent cases, so in most situations we can fit you in the same day you call. Come in as a new emergency patient, and once you are comfortable and out of pain we would be glad to become your regular dental home too.
Move quickly, because the first half hour matters more than anything else. Handle the tooth only by the crown, never the root, and rinse it gently with water without scrubbing off any tissue still attached.
If you are able, slip the tooth back into its socket and bite gently on a clean cloth to hold it in place. If that is not possible, keep it moist in a small container of milk and head straight to our Chicago office. Call on your way and treat a knocked-out tooth as the true dental emergency it is.
In many cases it can, and the sooner you are seen, the better the outlook. A shallow crack in the outer enamel might only need smoothing or a simple filling, while a crack that reaches the nerve usually calls for root canal therapy followed by a crown to seal and reinforce what remains of the tooth.
The tricky part is that you cannot judge the depth of a crack from home, and a tooth that only twinges today can fail suddenly later on. During your emergency visit, Dr. Raffi examines the crack, explains exactly what he finds, and walks you through the options before any treatment begins.
Until you can be seen, take an over-the-counter pain reliever exactly as the label directs, rinse gently with warm salt water, and hold a cold compress to the outside of your cheek in short stretches. Avoid resting aspirin directly on the gum or tooth, since it can burn the soft tissue.
These steps only quiet the symptoms, though, and they do nothing about the cause of the pain. Think of them as a bridge to your appointment rather than a fix. Call our Chicago office, describe what you are feeling, and come in so we can find the source and give you lasting relief through the right emergency treatment.
For the large majority of tooth problems, our office is the right first call and can usually treat you faster than a hospital can. A general ER is not set up to fix teeth, so a toothache, a broken or lost tooth, or a dental infection is almost always better handled here.
Save the emergency room for problems that are genuinely medical: bleeding that will not stop under firm, steady pressure, swelling that begins to affect your breathing or swallowing, a possible broken jaw, or an injury that involves much more than the mouth. Once any medical danger has been ruled out, we can take over the dental side of your care.
Right here at our Chicago office on Touhy Ave. Dr. Raffi and our team provide emergency dentistry for patients throughout Chicago, Niles, Skokie, Park Ridge, and Norwood Park, treating everything from severe toothaches and abscesses to broken, cracked, and knocked-out teeth.
If you are dealing with a dental emergency right now, call us so we can get you on the schedule, often the same day. You can also request an appointment online and we will reach out to confirm a time.
Dental pain shouldn't wait. Call (773) 792-1043 now for emergency care.