In pain today
If it hurts now, ring rather than read.
During opening hours
+220 449 7788Say it is an emergency. We keep four appointments free every working day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Nights, Sundays and public holidays
+220 770 7788Answered 24 hours by the duty dentist. An out of hours visit is D2,500 including whatever is needed to stop the pain that night.
What counts as an emergency.
Come in today
Pain that keeps you awake or is not touched by paracetamol. Swelling of the face, gum or under the jaw. A tooth knocked out or pushed out of position. Bleeding that has not stopped after an hour of firm pressure. A broken tooth with a sharp edge cutting your tongue or cheek.
Can safely wait a few days
A lost filling with no pain. A chipped tooth that is not sharp. A loose crown that is not causing discomfort, provided you keep it and bring it. Sensitivity to cold that passes within a few seconds.
Before you get here.
A knocked out adult tooth. Hold it by the crown, never the root. If it is dirty, rinse it in milk or saliva, not water, and never scrub it. Put it back in the socket if you can and bite on a clean cloth. If you cannot, keep it in milk. You have about an hour for the best chance, so ring while you are travelling. Do not do any of this with a child's baby tooth; bring the child and leave the tooth out.
Swelling. Ring straight away, at any hour. Swelling that reaches the eye or under the jaw, or that makes swallowing or breathing difficult, is a hospital matter and not a dental one. Go to Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital and telephone us afterwards.
Pain. Paracetamol and ibuprofen together work better than either alone for dental pain. Do not put an aspirin against the gum; it burns the tissue. Do not use heat on a swollen face.
Bleeding after an extraction. Roll a clean cloth, bite firmly for twenty minutes without checking it, and sit up rather than lie down. If it is still bleeding after an hour of that, ring us.