Emergency dentist · Great Barr, Birmingham
Aftercare after emergency dental treatment
You’ll get written aftercare at your appointment. This page is a reminder of the key points, and of when to get back in touch.
- GDC-registered dentists
- CQC-registered practice
- Prices agreed before treatment
After an extraction
- Bite on the gauze for 20–30 minutes. Don’t rinse, spit, smoke, drink alcohol or have hot drinks for 24 hours.
- From the next day, rinse gently with warm salty water after meals for a week.
- Bleeding that won’t stop? See bleeding after extraction.
- Pain that gets worse after two to four days, with a bad taste, may be a dry socket. Get back in touch.
After a dressing or the start of root canal treatment
- The tooth may ache for a few days. Painkillers usually help.
- Avoid hard or sticky food on that side until the tooth is finished.
- Keep your follow-up appointment. A temporary dressing isn’t a long-term repair.
If you were prescribed antibiotics
- Take the full course exactly as prescribed.
- Metronidazole: no alcohol during the course and for 48 hours after.
- Stop and seek urgent help if you get a rash, swelling of the lips or tongue, or difficulty breathing.
Get back in touch if
- Swelling increases after 48 hours, you develop a temperature, or the pain is getting worse rather than better.
Call 999 or go to A&E now if swelling is spreading towards your eye, down your neck or under your tongue, you’re finding it hard to breathe or swallow, you have a high temperature with facial swelling, bleeding won’t stop after 20–30 minutes of firm pressure, or you’ve had a serious injury to your face or head.
How to get seen
- Call 0121 582 4557. We answer whenever we can. If we miss you, you’ll get a text with a link to book online, and we’ll call back as soon as we’re free.
- Or book online, any time of day or night. Our booking page shows the live diary. Pick a time and pay a £20 deposit to hold it. The deposit is refundable when you attend.
- Come to 341 Birmingham Road, Great Barr, B43 7AP. We’re just off junction 7 of the M6, with parking on site.
Ask us to call you back
Leave your number and a few words about the problem and we’ll call you back as soon as we can. If you’re in severe pain or have swelling, please call 0121 582 4557 now — or pick an appointment time online.
In pain now?
Call 0121 582 4557 — we answer whenever we can, and if we miss you we text you a booking link. Or pick a time online, any time of day.