Emergency dental care
Weekend and out-of-hours dental care: what to do and when
Dental problems keep their own hours. Here is what to do on a Saturday, a Sunday, a bank holiday and in the middle of the night, and which of those are actually a problem for us.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, Principal Dentist · GDC 301711 · Last reviewed April 2026
Saturday and Sunday are normal days here
The first thing to know is that the weekend is not out of hours at Deepcar Dental Care. We are open 8am to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays exactly as we are Monday to Friday, with a dentist in the building and emergency slots held in the diary. Ring 0114 288 2121 and the phone is answered at the desk. Around eight in ten people who ring are treated the same day, and that figure is no different at the weekend.
The one difference is cost. Weekend appointments carry an additional out-of-hours charge on top of the £30 examination fee, because staffing a Sunday costs more than a Tuesday. We tell you the amount on the phone before you book, and if we think you can safely wait until Monday morning we will say so. The charges are explained on our emergency dental fees page.
Bank holidays follow the same pattern: we are open on most of them, 8am to 8pm, with the weekend charge applying. If you are ringing on a bank holiday and get the overnight line rather than the desk, that is one of the few days we are closed, and Dr Ijaz will tell you the next opening time and what to do in the meantime.
Between 8pm and 8am: the 24-hour line
Overnight the practice number diverts to a mobile answered personally by Dr Ibraheem Ijaz, the principal dentist and owner. It is not a call centre and not a recorded message. He will ask what is happening, tell you honestly whether it can wait until 8am and how to get through the night, and where it cannot wait, arrange for you to be seen or tell you which hospital to go to.
In practice the great majority of overnight calls are managed with advice: which painkillers to combine, how to keep a lost-filling tooth comfortable, whether the swelling you can feel is the kind that can wait. A slot is then held for you at 8am. The problems that genuinely cannot wait until morning are a knocked-out adult tooth, bleeding that will not stop, and swelling that is spreading towards the eye or the neck, and for the last two of those the answer is often A&E rather than a dentist, for the reasons below.
When to ring NHS 111 instead
NHS 111 is the route to NHS urgent dental care. It is free to call and it is the right choice if you want NHS treatment (an urgent NHS appointment is £27.90), if you are exempt from NHS charges, or if you are away from Sheffield and need a dentist wherever you are. The 111 handler will ask a set of questions and, if you meet their threshold, book you into an NHS urgent dental slot, which may be at a clinic some distance away and may be the next day. It is not a substitute for 999 in a genuine emergency, and it cannot get you seen faster than ringing a practice that is open.
Most people who ring us at the weekend have already tried 111 and been offered a slot on Monday in another part of the city. If that is you, you are welcome here without being registered.
When it is more than a dental problem
A&E is the right place, at any hour, for anything that threatens your airway, your eye or your general health rather than just a tooth:
- Swelling that is closing your eye, spreading down into the neck, or crossing the middle of the face.
- Difficulty swallowing your own saliva, a muffled voice, or any difficulty breathing. Call 999 for this; do not drive yourself.
- A high temperature with a rapidly enlarging swelling, or feeling very unwell with it.
- Bleeding from a socket or a cut that has not stopped after 30 minutes of firm, continuous pressure, especially if you take blood thinners.
- A blow to the face with a suspected broken jaw, loss of consciousness, vomiting or confusion, or a tooth that cannot be found and may have been inhaled.
The nearest A&E with a maxillofacial unit is the Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7AU, about 20 minutes from Deepcar. They will treat the infection or the injury and can drain a serious abscess; they will not fix the tooth, so ring us the next morning for the dental part.
Getting through the night at home
What follows is what Dr Ijaz says on the phone most nights. It is safe for adults; check the packet for children and ask a pharmacist if you are pregnant or take other medicines.
Longer step-by-step advice for each of these is in our guide to temporary fixes before your appointment. Two things people ask about most: ibuprofen and paracetamol work on different pathways and can be taken together at their normal doses, which for most adults gives better relief than either alone; and lying flat makes a throbbing tooth worse because blood pressure in the head rises, so sleep on two pillows.
| Problem | Until 8am | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Toothache | Paracetamol and ibuprofen together, as directed on the packet; sleep propped up; cold water held in the mouth if heat makes it worse | Put aspirin or clove oil on the gum; take more than the packet dose |
| Lost filling or crown | Cover the hole with a pharmacy temporary filling kit or sugar-free gum; try the crown back on dry if it seats; soft food on the other side | Use superglue; swallow the crown; leave a crown loose overnight in your mouth |
| Broken tooth with a sharp edge | Orthodontic wax or gum over the edge; keep the fragment in milk | Bite on it to test it |
| Small swelling on the gum | Warm salt-water rinses; painkillers; head raised | Squeeze it; apply heat to the outside of the face |
| Bleeding after an extraction | Bite firmly on a damp gauze or clean handkerchief for 30 minutes without checking; then rest | Rinse, spit, smoke or drink alcohol; keep peeking |
| Knocked-out adult tooth | Replant it if you can, otherwise milk, and ring us now: this cannot wait until morning | Store it in water; scrub the root; replant a baby tooth |
| Wisdom tooth gum flare | Salt-water rinses, chlorhexidine mouthwash, painkillers, soft food | Ignore worsening mouth opening or swallowing |
What costs extra outside normal hours
Treatment prices themselves are the same whichever day you come: a white filling is £150–£220, an extraction £120–£260 and the emergency root canal stage from £200 on a Sunday just as on a Wednesday. The charge is for the appointment time, not the work. If you are unsure whether your problem is worth the weekend charge, our page on what counts as a dental emergency lists what needs seeing today and what can wait for a routine slot.
Most weekend emergency patients come to us from across north Sheffield, Stocksbridge, Penistone and Barnsley; directions and times are on our emergency dentist Sheffield page.
| When | Examination fee | Out-of-hours charge |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm | £30 | None |
| Monday to Friday, 6pm to 8pm | £30 | Yes, told to you when you book |
| Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays, 8am to 8pm | £30 | Yes, told to you when you book |
| Overnight call to the 24-hour line | No charge for the call or advice | None; if you are seen, the charge for the time of day applies |
Questions, answered
Common questions
Is there an emergency dentist open on Sunday in Sheffield?
Yes. Deepcar Dental Care is open 8am to 8pm on Sundays, as on every other day, with emergency slots held in the diary. Ring 0114 288 2121.
What do I do if I have toothache in the middle of the night?
Take paracetamol and ibuprofen as directed, sleep propped up, and ring the practice number, which diverts to a 24-hour line answered by the principal dentist. Most night-time toothache can be held until an 8am slot.
Should I ring NHS 111 or the dentist?
Ring 111 if you want NHS urgent care or are exempt from charges. Ring us if you want to be seen today, seven days a week. Ring 999 or go to A&E for breathing or swallowing difficulty, spreading facial swelling or uncontrolled bleeding.
Does it cost more to see a dentist at the weekend?
At Deepcar Dental Care the examination is £30 plus an additional out-of-hours charge at weekends and after 6pm on weekdays, which we tell you before you book. Treatment prices are the same on any day.
Are you open on bank holidays?
On most of them, 8am to 8pm, with the weekend charge applying. On the few days we are closed the 24-hour line still answers and will tell you what to do.
Can A&E fix my tooth?
No. A&E treats dangerous infections, facial injuries and uncontrolled bleeding, and will drain a serious abscess, but does not fill, root-treat or usually extract teeth. See a dentist afterwards for the tooth itself.
Is a dental abscess an emergency at the weekend?
Yes if it is painful or swelling; ring us and you will normally be seen the same day. If the swelling is closing an eye, reaching the neck or affecting swallowing, go to A&E instead.
Which hospital in Sheffield deals with dental emergencies?
The Northern General Hospital on Herries Road has the maxillofacial unit for Sheffield and is about 20 minutes from Deepcar. It handles severe infections and facial injuries, not routine dental treatment.
Related guides
More on emergency access
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