Time is set aside every weekday for exactly this. Or book online — you'll get a callback as soon as possible.
Not every dental problem is an emergency, and not every emergency belongs at a dental clinic. If you're not sure where you fall, call. Better you ring and it isn't urgent than wait and it was.
Geraldton Health Campus ED handles these first — we can follow up for the dental work afterward.
If we're closed, Geraldton Health Campus ED can help you through the night.
Still worth getting seen promptly — small problems have a way of becoming bigger ones.
None of this fixes the problem — it stops it getting worse until we see you. Every one of these still needs a dentist.
Keep the tooth moist — milk is ideal, or hold it in the saliva of your cheek. Don't scrub it or let it dry out.
Re-implantation works best within the first hour. The longer it's out, the less likely it takes.
Rinse gently with warm water. Save any broken pieces in milk or a clean container.
The nerve may be exposed even if there's no pain yet. Waiting can turn a filling into a root canal.
Warm salt-water rinses every hour. Don't apply heat packs — they make swelling worse.
Infections don't resolve without treating the cause. Antibiotics and prescription medications are not provided without a clinical assessment by the dentist.
Keep the crown if you have it — we may be able to re-cement it. Avoid chewing on that side.
The tooth underneath is unprotected and vulnerable. It can chip or become sensitive quickly.
Over-the-counter pain relief per the packet. Cold compress on the outside of the cheek, not directly on the tooth.
Pain this intense means something's wrong underneath. Painkillers only buy time — they don't treat the cause.
Gentle pressure with a clean cloth for 10–15 minutes. Cold water rinse, then leave it alone.
Some bites need sutures. Others heal themselves — we'll tell you which without you having to guess.
Call us the moment you know something's wrong. A five-minute phone conversation helps us understand your situation — and whether we can see you in the next hour, the next afternoon, or tomorrow morning.
The clinic is closed evenings, weekends, and public holidays. That's honest rather than a sales pitch for availability we couldn't actually deliver well. Here is the plan when we are closed.
51-85 Shenton Street, Geraldton WA 6530 · Open 24/7 · Main phone: (08) 9956 2222. For severe bleeding, facial trauma, breathing difficulty, significant swelling, or another medical emergency, attend ED or call 000. Chapman Road Dental follows up for dental care afterward.
It's a different process — pain first, plan second, and nothing definitive until you've had time to think.
A five-minute conversation before you drive anywhere. We'll ask what happened, where the pain is, when it started, and whether you need to be seen right now or later today. We'll tell you what to bring.
We keep space for urgent care, though there may be a short wait as emergency patients are fitted between scheduled appointments. We then examine, take a small x-ray if needed, and work out what's actually going on. The first goal is pain relief, not a long treatment plan.
Today's job is getting you comfortable: numbing, draining, temporising, or prescribing. Definitive treatment — the filling, the crown, the root canal, the extraction — gets discussed once you're out of pain and can think clearly.
Our first job in an emergency is pain relief — not upselling you the perfect tooth.
If your situation isn't on this list, call anyway — most emergencies are variations of these.
A throbbing, relentless tooth pain that's hard to localise. Usually means the nerve inside the tooth is inflamed or infected — and it won't settle on its own.
Swelling, pus, and a bad taste — sometimes with fever. The tooth is usually painful to press on. This needs treating, not waiting out.
A tooth that's come completely out of the mouth after trauma. Time-critical — the first hour is what matters most.
A piece of tooth that's fractured, cracked, or chipped. Sometimes painful, sometimes not — depth matters more than how it looks.
A previous restoration has come out or come loose. Usually not urgent, but needs attention within a day or two before the underlying tooth is damaged.
Footy, netball, skate accidents, falls. Often a mix of chipped teeth, bitten lips, and soft-tissue injury. We see plenty of these — especially during local winter season.
Cost is often the reason people wait — and waiting usually makes things worse and more expensive. We'd rather have this conversation upfront than catch you off guard after the work is done.
Emergency visits vary widely — a five-minute adjustment costs very differently from a longer visit with x-rays and temporisation. We'll tell you what your specific situation will cost on the phone or at reception. Your written quote covers everything we plan to do that day.
HICAPS instant claiming is available at reception for eligible items. Reception can help process eligible HICAPS claims or estimates once treatment item numbers are known. Benefits, limits, waiting periods, and gaps depend on your fund, policy, and treatment item numbers.
For larger emergencies where care naturally needs more than one visit, we explain the clinical sequence and likely fees before you commit.
If cost is a concern, tell reception before treatment starts so the next step is clear and you can decide with the facts in front of you.
Veterans' cards and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule are accepted on-site. Bring the card and we'll explain any gap before treatment begins.
We see plenty of patients who aren't regulars — tourists driving the Coral Coast, FIFO workers flying in for shifts, visiting family in Rangeway or Spalding, or locals who've just moved to town. Emergencies don't wait for someone to be on our books.
We'll see you the same way we see everyone else: stabilise the problem, write a clear plan, and hand over to your regular dentist at home if that's where you're heading next. You won't be seen as a once-off — you'll be treated as a person in pain who needs help today.
Baby teeth aren't adult teeth, and the response isn't always the same. If your child has knocked out a tooth, broken one, or is in pain and swelling — call us, and we'll talk you through exactly what to do.
Visit our children's dentistry pageSources
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Whether you have an hour until close or you're ringing on a Saturday, picking up the phone is always the right first move. Even on a day you can't be seen, you'll know exactly where to go and what to do next.