Emergency Dentist in Gresham, OR

Dental emergencies do not wait for a convenient day. If you are in pain right now, call (503) 667-1184 — we keep time open every business day for urgent cases, and same-day treatment is usually possible if you reach us early.

Call Us First — Here’s What Happens Next

Call (503) 667-1184 and describe what is going on. We will tell you honestly whether we can see you today, what to do in the meantime to stay comfortable, and roughly what the visit will cost. If your situation needs a hospital rather than a dental office, we will tell you that too.

Our office is at 23479 SE Stark St, Suite 102, Gresham, OR 97030, a short drive from Troutdale, Fairview, Wood Village, and east Portland.

Office hours:

We are not a 24-hour clinic. Outside these hours we offer phone guidance for genuine emergencies. Go to an emergency room first if you have swelling that is spreading toward your eye or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, or bleeding that will not stop — then follow up with us.

What Counts as a Dental Emergency

If you have pain that stops you sleeping, visible swelling, an injury to a tooth, or bleeding that will not settle, treat it as an emergency and call. These are the problems we treat most often:

• Severe toothache — especially pain that wakes you at night or does not respond to ibuprofen. This often means the nerve is inflamed or infected.
• Knocked-out tooth — the most time-sensitive emergency there is. See the first-aid steps below.
• Broken, chipped, or cracked tooth — from a fall, a sports injury, or biting something hard.
• Abscess or facial swelling — a sign of infection. Swelling that spreads is the one symptom that should send you to an ER rather than waiting for our office to open.
• Lost filling or crown — the exposed tooth underneath is sensitive and vulnerable to fracture.
• Soft-tissue injury — cuts to the lip, tongue, or gums that keep bleeding.
• Something stuck under the gum that you cannot remove with floss.

Problems that can usually wait for a regular appointment include a dull ache that comes and goes, mild sensitivity to cold, a small chip that does not hurt, and a lost retainer. Call anyway if you are unsure — it costs nothing to ask.

What To Do Right Now, Before You Reach Us

Knocked-out tooth. Pick it up by the crown, never the root. Rinse gently with water if dirty — do not scrub. Put it back in the socket if you can and bite gently on clean gauze. If you cannot, store it in milk or a tooth-preservation solution. Get to us within the hour if at all possible.

Broken tooth. Rinse with warm water. Use a cold compress on the outside of your cheek to limit swelling. Save any pieces and bring them with you.

Severe toothache. Rinse with warm salt water and floss gently to dislodge anything trapped. Take over-the-counter pain relief as directed on the package. Do not hold aspirin against the gum — it burns the tissue.

Abscess or swelling. Rinse with mild salt water several times a day. Do not attempt to drain it yourself. This one needs professional treatment quickly.

Lost crown or filling. Keep the crown if you have it. Avoid chewing on that side. Clove oil on a cotton swab can dull the sensitivity until we see you.

Bleeding that will not stop. Apply firm, steady pressure with clean gauze for 15 minutes without lifting to check. If it continues after that, call us or go to an ER.

What Your Emergency Visit Looks Like

Most emergency visits follow the same four steps and are focused entirely on the problem that brought you in.

1. We get you comfortable. Pain relief comes first. If you are anxious about treatment, tell us — we offer sedation options and can plan for them.
2. We find the cause. A focused exam and a targeted X-ray of the affected area. We are looking for the specific source, not doing a full workup.
3. We explain your options and the cost. Before any treatment begins, you will know what we recommend, what the alternatives are, and what each one costs.
4. We treat it, or stabilize it. Many emergencies are resolved in a single visit. Others — a fractured tooth needing a crown, for instance — are stabilized and made comfortable, with definitive treatment scheduled soon after.

Treatments We Use for Emergencies

Which treatment you need depends on what is causing the problem, and we will always try to save the natural tooth first.

• Fillings — for decay or a lost filling, restoring the tooth in one visit.
• Root canal therapy — when the nerve inside the tooth is infected. This is what saves a tooth that would otherwise need removing.
• Same-day crowns — our CEREC technology mills a permanent crown in the office, so a badly broken tooth can often be fixed in one appointment instead of two.
• Emergency extraction — when the tooth cannot be saved. We will discuss replacement options such as dental implants or a bridge once you have healed.
• Abscess treatment — drainage and antibiotics to bring an infection under control.

Paying for Emergency Care

Your visit starts with a focused exam and any X-rays needed to diagnose the problem. Treatment is quoted separately, and we confirm the price with you before we begin. Call and we will give you a clear idea of the cost up front.

We accept most insurance plans and will check your benefits before treatment so there are no surprises. If you are uninsured, ask about our Dental Savings Plan, which gives members reduced fees, and about the payment plans we offer. Cost should not be the reason you sit at home in pain — tell us your situation when you call and we will find a way forward.

Why Gresham Patients Call Us in an Emergency

Dr. Kevin Shim and Dr. Jodi Pak have built Premier Dentistry around treating people gently, which matters most on the day something goes wrong. We reserve daily emergency time rather than telling you to wait a week. We have CEREC in the office, so a broken tooth can often be finished the same day. We offer sedation for patients who dread the chair. And we will tell you the cost before we start.

If you are in pain, do not wait for it to pass. Call (503) 667-1184.

Parents: our guide to pediatric dental emergencies covers knocked-out baby teeth, bitten lips and when to go to the ER instead.