Recognise it
Simple, plain-language signs that tell you whether your symptoms point to a dentist, an urgent dental clinic, or a true medical emergency.
Dental emergency awareness
A toothache is urgent. The ER is rarely the answer.
DentalER is a public-awareness initiative helping people recognise a dental emergency and reach the care that actually treats it — a dentist — keeping hospital emergency rooms free for life-threatening cases.
Where should you go?
Knocked-out or broken tooth → call a dentist now
Severe toothache or abscess → dental, same day
Facial swelling closing the eye or airway → ER / 911
~2M
dental visits to U.S. ERs each year
#2
reason young adults visit the ER
14s
how often a dental ER visit occurs
80%
are better treated by a dentist
What we do
Clear answers in the moment that matters
When pain strikes at 2am, most people default to the emergency room. Hospital ERs can ease the pain — but they rarely fix the tooth, and the bill follows you. DentalER exists to make the right path obvious.
Reach the right care
Most dental practices keep emergency slots and after-hours lines. We help you find and reach definitive care faster than a crowded waiting room.
Protect the ER
Every avoidable dental visit kept out of the ER preserves capacity for heart attacks, strokes, and trauma. Better care for you helps everyone.
The problem
Hospital ERs were never built for teeth
Emergency departments are equipped for life-threatening illness and injury — not for the drills, fillings, and root canals a dental emergency usually needs. Most ER visits for tooth pain end with antibiotics, painkillers, and a referral back to a dentist.
- The underlying problem is rarely resolved on the night.
- Costs are typically far higher than a dental visit.
- Wait times grow for genuinely critical patients.
- You still need to see a dentist within days.
The shift
Right care,
first time.
first time.
DentalER turns a stressful, expensive detour into a clear two-step plan: stabilise the pain at home, then reach a dentist who can actually fix it. Keep the ER for the emergencies only it can handle.
Read the guidanceHelp spread the word
Dentists, hygienists, and patients all play a part. Share the message in your community and help keep emergency rooms ready for those who need them most.
Get involved