Toothache
What you can do on your own to get through the first few hours, what to avoid, and how to tell whether you need to come in now or can wait for opening hours.
Call today. Toothache rarely goes away on its own, but it can often wait a few hours with a pharmacy painkiller. Call us today and we will tell you whether to come in now or during opening hours.
What to do now
- Take a pharmacy painkiller. An anti-inflammatory or a standard painkiller, taken as the leaflet says. If you take other medicines or have a long-term condition, ask the pharmacist.
- Rinse with warm salt water. Half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water. Rinse gently, without forcing it, to clear food from around the tooth.
- Put a cold compress on your cheek. If your cheek is swollen or warm, hold a cold compress on the painful side for about 10 minutes, then take a break. Do not put ice directly on the skin.
- Go easy on the tooth. Chew on the other side and avoid anything very cold, very hot or sweet. At night, sleep with your head slightly raised.
- Call us. Tell us how long it has hurt, whether the pain comes on by itself or only with cold and sweet things, and whether you have swelling or a temperature. From that, we tell you how soon to come in.
What not to do
- Do not put an aspirin or any other tablet on the gum or tooth: it burns the lining of the mouth and does not ease the pain.
- Do not put heat on your cheek (a hot-water bottle or heat pad) if it is swollen.
- Do not start leftover antibiotics you have at home. If you need them, the dentist will prescribe them after seeing the tooth.
- Do not take more painkiller than the leaflet says, and do not mix different types without asking a pharmacist.
- Do not put it off for weeks just because the pain has eased: the cause is often still there.
When to come in
Call now if
- your cheek or gum starts to swell
- you have a temperature as well as the pain
- the pain does not ease with a painkiller taken as the leaflet says
- the pain wakes you at night or throbs constantly
- you notice a bad taste or pus coming from beside the tooth
It can wait for an appointment if
- it only hurts with cold or sweet things, and the pain passes within a few seconds
- the pain is mild and eases with a painkiller
- you have no swelling and no temperature
Call 112 or go to a hospital A&E (UPU) if the swelling makes it hard to breathe or swallow, if you can no longer open your mouth, or if you have a high temperature and the swelling is spreading towards your eye or neck.
What we do at the clinic
The dentist asks how the pain started, examines the tooth and takes an X-ray if needed. They tell you what they have found and what your options are before starting anything.
In an emergency, the first priority is to stop the pain. Sometimes a filling is enough; other times the nerve needs to be removed, and when the tooth cannot be saved, it is extracted. The dentist tells you at the consultation what can be done at the same visit.
You know the price before treatment. Before you leave, we tell you what to do at home and whether you need another visit.
How much it costs
Prices are in Romanian lei. The consultation is from 150 lei, and you do not pay for it if you have the treatment at the same visit. Treatment depends on what the dentist finds; below are the most common ones for toothache. See all prices.
| Consultation | from 150 lei (≈ 28 €) |
| Filling | from 400 lei (≈ 74 €) |
| Nerve removal | from 350 lei (≈ 65 €) |
| Extraction | from 500 lei (≈ 93 €) |
The price covers everything: the anaesthetic is included, and you do not pay for the consultation if you have the treatment at the same visit. Outside opening hours the price may be higher; we tell you on the phone.
Questions
Can toothache wait until Monday?
If the pain is mild, eases with a painkiller and you have no swelling or temperature, it can often wait. If swelling appears or the pain stops responding to painkillers, call us: the phone is answered at weekends too.
Why does it hurt more at night?
When you lie down, pressure in the inflamed area rises, and at night there is nothing to take your mind off the pain. An extra pillow helps a little, but toothache that wakes you at night is a reason to call today.
The pain has gone. Do I still need to come in?
Yes, so the dentist can check the tooth. Sometimes the pain stops because the nerve has died, not because the problem is solved, and an abscess can follow.
Will the tooth need to come out?
Not necessarily. The tooth can often be kept, with a filling or root canal treatment. The dentist tells you at the consultation, after seeing the tooth and the X-ray.
The phone is answered 24/7.
Contact and map
Call about pain that cannot wait or to book a visit. We answer just as calmly either way.
How would you like to get in touch?
Bucharest, Sector 3 · the phone is answered 24/7
Sector 3, Bucharest
The clinic is on the ground floor, on Traian Popovici Street, between Calea Dudești and Bulevardul Mihai Bravu. From Piața Alba Iulia, take Bulevardul Decebal towards Calea Dudești; from Dristor, come down Bulevardul Mihai Bravu.
