City guides › Memphis: Emergency dentist
Emergency Dentist in Memphis, TN: Where to Go, What It Costs & First-Hour Steps
A dental emergency splits into two questions: is this dangerous, and where do I go? This page answers both for Memphis — the first-hour steps that can save a tooth, the line between the ER and a dental chair, what it costs if you have no insurance, and the low-cost clinics that actually exist here.
The short answer
A knocked-out tooth gives you 30–60 minutes: hold it by the crown, rinse gently, push it back in or keep it in milk, and get to a dentist. In Memphis, the UTHSC emergency clinic sees patients first-come, first-served for a flat $100. Severe swelling or trouble breathing or swallowing means the ER or 911 — not a dental office.
How to read the numbers on this page: dollar figures marked (estimate) are national ranges for paying without insurance — they are not quotes from any Memphis office. The one exception is UTHSC's published $100 emergency fee, which is a set price, not an estimate. Whatever office you land in, ask for the full treatment plan itemized with a price per line before work begins.
First decision: ER, 911, or a dentist?
Most dental emergencies belong in a dental chair. A short list belongs in an emergency room, because the risk isn't the tooth — it's your airway, or an infection spreading beyond the jaw. Sort yourself with these two lists before you start calling offices.
Go to the ER or call 911
- Severe facial swelling
- Trouble breathing or swallowing
- Fever along with dental pain
- Facial trauma — a blow, fall, or accident involving the face or jaw
- Bleeding that won't stop
The ER can treat infection and pain and protect your airway, but it won't fix the tooth itself. Expect to still need a dentist afterward.
Call an emergency dentist
- Toothache, mild to severe
- Knocked-out, chipped, or broken tooth
- Lost filling or crown
- A cracked tooth or sharp pain when you bite
These are dental problems with dental fixes. The sections below cover the first-hour steps, the Memphis clinics that take emergencies, and what it should cost.
Knocked-out tooth: the first hour decides it
A permanent tooth that comes out whole can often be reimplanted and survive — but the living cells on its root die quickly once they dry out. The window is roughly 30–60 minutes. Here's the sequence, in order.
- Pick it up by the crown only. The crown is the white chewing part you normally see. Never touch the root — the cells that make reattachment possible live on it, and handling crushes them.
- Rinse gently if it's dirty. A brief rinse under water is fine. Don't scrub, don't use soap, and don't wrap it in tissue.
- Put it back in the socket if you can. Face it the right way around, push it in gently, and bite down softly on gauze or a clean cloth to hold it in place.
- If it won't go back, keep it moist. Carry it in a small container of cold milk, or hold it inside your cheek. Plain water is a last resort; a dry tooth is a dead one.
- Get to a dentist now — within 30–60 minutes if at all possible. Call ahead from the car if someone else is driving.
One exception: baby teeth
Don't reinsert a knocked-out baby tooth — pushing it back can damage the permanent tooth developing underneath. Keep the child comfortable, control any bleeding with gentle pressure, and call a dentist the same day.
What an emergency visit costs without insurance
Two charges surprise people. First, the visit fee usually buys diagnosis only — an exam and x-rays that tell the dentist what's wrong. Second, the treatment itself is quoted separately, after the diagnosis. Neither is a scam; both are worth knowing before you're in the chair.
| Service | Typical cost | What the fee covers |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency exam with x-rays | $50–$350 (estimate) | Diagnosis — finding out what's wrong. Treatment is quoted separately. |
| Simple extraction | $75–$500 (estimate) | Removal of a single erupted tooth, quoted after the exam. |
| UTHSC emergency clinic visit (Memphis) | $100 flat | X-ray, exam, diagnosis, and extraction of a single erupted tooth — one published fee. |
The first two rows are national ranges (estimates), not Memphis quotes — your actual price depends on the tooth, the imaging needed, and the office. The UTHSC row is that clinic's published emergency fee. Before any treatment starts, ask for the plan itemized: one line per procedure, one price per line.
If the number is more than you can pay today, ask what is urgent now versus what can safely be phased. Stabilizing a tooth today and finishing the work later is often legitimate dentistry, not a compromise. And before you assume you can't afford care at all, check the safety-net clinics in the next section and your TennCare status below.
Affordable emergency care in Memphis
These are the verified low-cost doors in Memphis: a university teaching clinic and safety-net health centers. We list institutions, not private practices — no office pays to appear here, and none can. Hours and capacity fill fast, so call before you go when you can.
UTHSC Emergency Dental Clinic
875 Union Ave, Memphis
Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 7:30am until full, first-come first-served — when the morning's slots are gone, they're gone, so arrive early. The flat $100 emergency fee covers x-ray, exam, diagnosis, and extraction of a single erupted tooth.
Adults: 901-448-6200, option 2 · Children up to age 13: 901-448-6240
Health Loop–MidSouth
1955 Third St, Memphis · 901-515-5800
Takes walk-ins for immediate care, with a $15 minimum fee. A reasonable first call when the problem can't wait for an appointment but isn't an ER situation.
Christ Community Health Services
A federally qualified health center system operating five dental centers in Memphis. As a safety-net provider, it's built for patients paying out of pocket or on TennCare; call ahead to find which center can see you soonest.
Church Health Center
A long-standing Memphis nonprofit providing care to people without insurance. Call to ask about current dental availability and how its fees are set.
Memphis Health Center
A federally qualified health center serving Memphis regardless of ability to pay. Call to ask about dental appointments and urgent slots.
If you have TennCare
TennCare has covered dental care for adults since January 1, 2023 — many adults enrolled before then don't realize the benefit exists. It covers emergency-adjacent categories such as exams and extractions, which are exactly what most urgent visits involve.
TennCare's dental benefits are managed by Renaissance (since November 1, 2025). Before you book anywhere, call Renaissance at 866-864-2526 to find a participating dentist near you and confirm your coverage for the treatment being proposed. That one call prevents the most common TennCare surprise: having work done at an office that isn't in the program.
Nights and weekends: the honest answer
No verified weekend emergency clinic in Memphis
We looked for a dedicated weekend or after-hours emergency dental clinic in Memphis and could not verify one. We'd rather tell you that plainly than send you driving to an office on a rumor. If a Memphis practice later confirms standing weekend emergency hours, we'll add it here.
So after hours, the triage rules above do the work: severe swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing, fever with dental pain, facial trauma, or bleeding that won't stop means the ER or 911, at any hour. Anything else follows the get-through-the-night steps in the next section, then the UTHSC clinic or another office first thing on the next open morning.
Getting through the night
When the problem is a dental one — not an ER one — but no office is open, the goal is simple: control pain, protect the tooth, and don't do anything that makes tomorrow's fix harder.
- Over-the-counter pain relievers — use them as directed on the label, at the dose and interval printed there.
- Cold compress on the outside of the cheek, on and off, for swelling and throbbing.
- Don't chew on that side. Stick to soft food and keep the area clean with gentle rinsing.
- Never put aspirin directly on the gum. It's an old home remedy that chemically burns the tissue and does nothing for the tooth — swallow pain relievers as the label directs instead.
- Save anything that comes out — a crown, a filling, a tooth fragment — and bring it with you.
Stop waiting if this changes
If swelling starts spreading, a fever shows up, or swallowing gets difficult, the situation has crossed into ER territory — go now, whatever the hour. Those are the signs of an infection moving beyond the tooth, and they don't improve on their own overnight.
Go deeper: our cost and insurance guides
Our cost guide for Tennessee goes further than the emergency numbers above: full procedure price tables by region, plus a cost estimator you can run for your specific situation. Our guide to how dental insurance works explains how emergency claims typically process, what in-network versus out-of-network actually does to your bill, and how to read a quote line by line before you sign anything.
Frequently asked questions
You have 30–60 minutes. Pick it up by the crown (the white chewing part), never the root. Rinse it gently if dirty — don't scrub. Try to push it back into the socket facing the right way, or keep it in cold milk (or inside your cheek). Then get to a dentist immediately. Don't let it dry out — drying kills the cells that make reattachment possible. (Baby teeth are not reinserted — call the dentist.)
ER or 911 for: severe facial swelling, trouble breathing or swallowing, fever with dental pain, facial trauma, or bleeding that won't stop. Emergency dentist for: toothache, knocked-out / chipped / broken tooth, lost filling or crown. The ER can treat infection and pain but won't fix the tooth — you'll still need a dentist after.
Swelling plus fever, trouble swallowing, trouble breathing, or swelling that's visibly spreading = go to the ER now; dental infections can become dangerous quickly. Localized swelling without those symptoms = call a dentist the same day. Don't wait out facial swelling to see if it improves on its own.
Nationally, an emergency exam with x-rays runs about $50–$350 (estimate); a simple extraction $75–$500. The visit fee usually covers diagnosis only — treatment is quoted separately, so ask for the full plan itemized before agreeing. Sliding-scale clinics (listed in the affordable-care section) base fees on income; bring proof of income. TennCare covers emergency-adjacent categories like extractions and exams.
Usually not a middle-of-the-night emergency, but don't ignore it. Keep the area clean, don't chew on that side, and save the crown if you have it. See a dentist within a few days — the exposed tooth underneath is vulnerable to fracture and decay. If the underlying tooth hurts sharply or the gum bleeds significantly, call sooner.
Three moves: (1) ask for the treatment plan itemized with a price per line before anything begins; (2) ask what's actually urgent today versus what can be phased — stabilizing the tooth now and finishing later is often legitimate; (3) check the low-cost doors in the affordable-care section and your TennCare status (Renaissance 866-864-2526) before assuming you can't afford care. Our insurance guide explains how emergency claims typically process.
The UTHSC Emergency Dental Clinic at 875 Union Ave sees patients Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 7:30am until full, first-come first-served — $100 covers x-ray, exam, diagnosis, and extraction of a single erupted tooth (adults: 901-448-6200, option 2). The Health Loop–MidSouth (1955 Third St, 901-515-5800) takes walk-ins for immediate care with a $15 minimum fee. Severe swelling or trouble breathing/swallowing: ER or 911.
Yes — children up to age 13 have a dedicated line: 901-448-6240. Note that children under 12 must remain in the waiting room with a responsible adult and aren't allowed in the treatment areas (uthsc.edu). Same $100 emergency fee structure, same first-come-first-served mornings — arrive early.
Sources and method
The Memphis clinic details on this page — hours, fees, phone lines, and who each clinic serves — come from the institutions' own published information and the statewide safety-net directory below. Prices not tied to a named clinic are national estimates, labeled as such wherever they appear. One honest gap: we could not verify a dedicated weekend emergency dental clinic in Memphis, so this page says so rather than guessing.
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) Emergency dental clinic hours, the $100 flat fee, and the adult and children's phone lines. uthsc.edu
- Tennessee Oral Health Coalition Safety-net dental directory for Tennessee, updated June 2026 — the listing behind the Memphis health centers in the affordable-care section. tnoralhealth.org
- TennCare Adult dental coverage and the Renaissance dental benefits manager. tn.gov
Water quality in Memphis
Curious about your tap water? Tennessee Water Authority has the full Memphis water quality guide — contaminant data, utility details, and filter recommendations.