Three dental tools that work like a patient advocate
A worksheet that lines two treatment quotes up side by side and flags the vague ones. A checklist for deciding — and preparing for — a second opinion. And an emergency helper that tells you plainly: ER, emergency dentist, or first aid first. Built for Tennessee patients, free, no sign-up, and nothing you type leaves your phone.
In a dental emergency right now? Skip to the emergency helper — or, if you have trouble breathing or swallowing, bleeding that won't stop, or swelling spreading toward your eye or neck, call 911 first and read later.
How the money figures work here: these tools use your quotes, not invented prices. Where a typical range helps you judge a quote, it is labeled an estimate drawn from published national ranges — Tennessee offices vary, and your written quote is the only number that counts.
Tool 1: Quote-comparison worksheet
Two dentists, two treatment plans, two very different totals — this happens constantly, and the cheaper-looking quote is often just the thinner one. Type both quotes in line by line, exactly as written. The worksheet totals each side, shows the difference on every line, highlights procedures that appear in one quote but not the other, and flags the warning signs of a vague quote.
What to copy from each quote: the procedure name, the tooth number, the CDT code if one is listed (CDT = Current Dental Terminology, the standard code — like D2740 — that dentists and insurers use for each procedure), and the price. If a quote has no line items at all, enter just its stated total in the box at the bottom of that column — the worksheet will flag that for you.
Red flags & gaps this worksheet found
How was each quote presented? Check anything that happened
These can't be read off the paper — they happened in the room. Each one is a documented pressure pattern from our guide to reading a dental quote.
Everything runs on this page, in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere or saved — close the tab and it's gone, which is why the download button exists.
Reading the result
A big gap between two quotes usually has one of three explanations: different diagnoses (one office found problems the other didn't — the case for a second opinion), different materials or methods (a metal-free zirconia crown vs. porcelain-fused-to-metal, an implant vs. a bridge), or different inclusions (one quote bundles the lab fee, follow-up visits, and a night guard; the other doesn't mention them). The total is the last thing to compare — match the lines first. Our full guide walks through each section of a written quote: How to read a dental quote.
Tool 2: Second-opinion checklist
Work through it top to bottom. The first group tells you whether a second opinion is worth getting — and it takes only one box. The second is your packing list for the appointment, built around your legal right to your own records. The third is how to line the two plans up afterward (the quote worksheet above does the math).
Step 1 — Should you get one? Check anything that sounds familiar
0 of 8Step 2 — What to bring to the appointment
0 of 7Step 3 — Afterward: comparing the two plans
0 of 6Ticks live only on this page, while it's open — there is nothing to save to and nothing is tracked. Screenshot the list if you want to take it with you.
Tool 3: Emergency dental helper
Two questions, in order. First: is this an emergency-room problem? A hospital ER can stop bleeding, treat a spreading infection, and manage pain — but most ERs have no dentist and cannot repair a tooth. Second: if it's a dentist problem, what do you do in the first hour? That hour decides whether a knocked-out tooth survives.
General information, not medical advice
This helper is general information to help you act quickly — it is not a diagnosis and not a substitute for professional care. If you have any of the danger signs below, call 911 or go to the emergency room now. For everything else, contact a dentist as soon as you can; if you're unsure which this is, treat it as urgent and call.
Step 1 — Check for ER danger signs first
A dental infection or injury stops being a “dental” problem when it threatens your airway, your blood, or your eye. Check anything you have right now:
Go to the emergency room now — or call 911
You checked a danger sign. Don't wait for a dental office to open and don't drive yourself if you feel faint. Call 911 or get to the nearest hospital emergency room. These signs can mean an infection or injury is spreading somewhere it can become life-threatening.
Once you're being seen, the ER can also tell you whether an emergency dentist should follow up — most dental problems do need one within a day.
None checked — good. That points to an emergency dentist, not the ER. Step 2 below covers what to do first, and how fast.
Step 2 — What happened? First-hour steps
Tap your situation. The clock matters most for a knocked-out tooth — everything else here is measured in hours or a day, not minutes.
Knocked-out permanent tooth
- Pick it up by the crown — the white chewing top — never by the root. Touching or scrubbing the root kills the cells that let the tooth reattach.
- Rinse briefly with water or milk for a few seconds if it's dirty. No scrubbing, no soap, no wrapping it in tissue.
- Put it back in the socket if you can. Gently push it in, facing the right way, and bite down softly on clean gauze or a cloth to hold it.
- Can't replant it? Keep it moist. In a glass of milk is best; inside your cheek (against your gum) works for adults. Never store it in plain water for long, and never let it dry out.
- Get to a dentist within 30 to 60 minutes. That window gives the tooth its best chance of surviving. Call ahead and say “knocked-out tooth” — offices treat that as drop-everything.
Baby tooth knocked out? Do not put it back — replanting a baby tooth can damage the adult tooth forming underneath. Control any bleeding with gauze and call your child's dentist the same day.
Lost crown or filling
- Find and keep the crown. Rinse it with water and store it in a small container — bring it to your appointment. A crown that still fits can often be re-cemented, which is far cheaper than a new one.
- Look, don't poke. The exposed tooth may be sensitive to air, cold, and pressure. Avoid chewing on that side and skip very hot, cold, or sticky foods.
- Temporary fix, if the crown will stay on: pharmacies sell temporary dental cement. A dab inside a clean, dry crown can hold it for a short time. Denture adhesive works in a pinch. Never use super glue — it isn't safe in the mouth and can ruin the crown and the tooth.
- Lost a filling instead? Temporary filling material from the pharmacy can seal the hole for a few days. Sugar-free gum pressed into the spot is a stopgap for an hour, not a solution.
- Call your dentist the same day and describe it as a lost crown or filling. An uncovered tooth can crack or decay quickly, so “within a day or two” is the pace — not next month.
Swallowed the crown? It will almost always pass safely on its own. If you have any trouble breathing, though, that's 911, not a dental visit.
Severe tooth pain
- Rinse with warm water and gently floss around the sore tooth. Trapped food is a surprisingly common cause of “emergency” pain, and it costs nothing to rule out.
- Take an over-the-counter pain reliever as directed on the label — ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol), whichever is safe for you. Never hold aspirin or any pill directly against the gum; it burns the tissue and adds a second injury.
- Cold compress on the cheek, 15 minutes on and off, if there's any swelling or the pain throbs.
- Call a dentist today. Pain that wakes you at night, pain when biting, or pain with a bad taste in your mouth often means the nerve is infected or dying — that doesn't heal on its own, and antibiotics alone won't fix the source.
Escalate to urgent, same-day care — or the ER — if pain comes with facial swelling, fever, or any of the Step 1 danger signs.
Swelling or a possible abscess
- Treat swelling as an infection until a dentist says otherwise. An abscess — a pocket of infection at the root of a tooth or in the gum — can spread to the jaw, neck, and beyond. This is the dental problem most likely to turn serious.
- Call an emergency dentist today and use the words “facial swelling.” If no dentist can see you and swelling is growing, go to urgent care or the ER for antibiotics and assessment.
- Cold compress on the outside of the cheek. Do not apply heat — it can draw the infection outward and make swelling worse.
- Don't try to drain or squeeze it yourself, and don't start leftover antibiotics from another illness — wrong drug, wrong dose, and it can mask how fast this is moving.
- Watch the Step 1 signs hourly. Swelling heading toward the eye, under the jaw, or down the neck — or any trouble breathing or swallowing — means ER / 911 now.
A “gum boil” — a small pimple-like bump on the gum — is often an abscess draining. It may not hurt, but it still means infection at the root. Book a dentist within a day or two even if it feels fine.
Chipped or broken tooth
- Rinse your mouth with warm water and save any broken pieces in milk or in your cheek — a dentist can sometimes bond a clean fragment back on.
- Cold compress on the cheek if your face took a knock too, and check for cuts. Bleeding that won't stop after 15 minutes of pressure is a Step 1 sign.
- Cover a sharp edge with dental wax (pharmacy) or sugar-free gum so it doesn't cut your tongue or cheek.
- Call a dentist within a day or two — today if the break hurts, bleeds from the tooth itself, or you can see a pink or red spot in the middle of the tooth (that's the nerve showing, and it shouldn't wait).
A small chip with no pain isn't a midnight emergency, but don't let it drift: exposed inner tooth decays faster than enamel-covered tooth, and a “small” crack can deepen when you bite down on it.
Bleeding after an extraction
- Bite firmly on folded gauze for 30 to 45 minutes without peeking. Steady pressure is what lets a clot form; checking every few minutes restarts the clock.
- Still oozing? Fresh gauze, another 30 minutes. A damp black tea bag works too — the tannins help clotting. Some pink-tinged saliva for the first day is normal; steady red flow is not.
- Protect the clot: no spitting, no rinsing, no straws, no smoking, no poking the socket with your tongue. Losing the clot leads to dry socket — a painful setback a few days later.
- Still bleeding steadily after two rounds of gauze? Call the dentist who did the extraction — most have an after-hours line. If bleeding truly won't stop, that's the Step 1 rule: ER or 911.
On a blood thinner? Never stop your medication on your own — call the dental office or your prescribing doctor for instructions instead.
Nothing selected yet — tap the situation closest to yours above.
TN Finding emergency care in Tennessee
TennCare members: adult dental benefits are administered by Renaissance — call 866-864-2526 for covered emergency care and help finding a participating dentist near you.
No insurance? Dental school clinics charge less in exchange for longer appointments: the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry runs public clinics in Memphis, plus a clinic in Kingsport for the Tri-Cities region.
Checking an unfamiliar office? Verify any Tennessee dentist's license in the state's Licensure Verification portal (Tennessee Board of Dentistry) before you go.
ER Why “dentist first” is usually right
Most hospital ERs have no dentist on staff. For a tooth problem without danger signs, an ER visit typically ends with pain relief, possibly antibiotics — and instructions to see a dentist, which is the appointment that actually fixes the tooth.
The ER is absolutely the right call for the Step 1 signs: airway trouble, spreading swelling, uncontrolled bleeding, jaw injuries. Everything short of those, an emergency dentist will usually treat faster, more completely, and for less money.
When in doubt, call. Any emergency dental office would rather triage you over the phone for two minutes than have you guess wrong at home.
Questions these tools raise
Line the quotes up procedure by procedure: same tooth, same CDT code (the standard code dentists use to bill each procedure), same material. Only then do the prices mean anything. A cheaper total often just means fewer procedures, a different material, or lab and follow-up costs left out. The worksheet on this page does the lining-up for you and flags items that appear in one quote but not the other.
The clearest ones: a single lump-sum total with no itemized procedures, no CDT codes or tooth numbers, a discount that expires if you don't sign today, pressure to start treatment the same day, and reluctance to show you the X-rays behind the diagnosis or to let you take the plan home. Any one of these is a reason to pause and get a second opinion before anything irreversible is done.
Go to the ER — or call 911 — for trouble breathing or swallowing, bleeding that won't stop after 15 minutes of firm pressure, facial swelling spreading toward the eye or down the neck, a broken jaw, or swelling with a high fever. For almost everything else — a knocked-out tooth, a lost crown, severe tooth pain — an emergency dentist is the right call, because most ERs cannot do dental work beyond pain relief and antibiotics. A knocked-out permanent tooth is the most time-critical: a dentist within 30 to 60 minutes gives it the best chance.
Pick the tooth up by the crown (the chewing top), never the root. Rinse it briefly with water without scrubbing, then gently place it back in the socket and bite down on clean gauze. If you can't replant it, keep it in a glass of milk or inside your cheek, and get to a dentist within 30 to 60 minutes. Do not replant a baby tooth — that can damage the adult tooth forming underneath.
Tennessee expanded TennCare adult dental coverage, administered by Renaissance. For current benefits, eligibility, and help finding a participating dentist, call Renaissance at 866-864-2526. Coverage details change, so confirm what your plan covers before treatment — especially before a large treatment plan.