The staff provided excellent care, were nice to talk to and made a very comfortable visit. They were able to provide fillings to several chipped teeth with short notice while visiting Phoenix from out of country. Both myself and my dentist back home agreed the quality of the fillings were well done, and the colour was a great match. Highly recommend for the great staff and professional work done.
A same day dentist in Tempe, AZ is what you want when a tooth turns on you before lunch. Dr. Jeremy Chan, DDS, treats urgent problems at Tempe Dentistry under Arizona license 10020. He trained at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry and did his residency at El Rio Community Health Center. This page shows what decides whether you get a slot today. It also covers what to say on the phone and what one visit can finish.
Two fears keep people from calling, and both of them end up costing money. One is being told to come back next week, and the other is a bill nobody warned you about. Waiting is the expensive choice. A tooth that aches on Monday often becomes an infection by Friday, which costs more than the original problem. You will leave knowing how to describe symptoms so the desk can act. You will also know your price before treatment begins.
Can a Dentist Really See You the Same Day in Tempe?
Yes, in most cases. Tempe Dentistry opens at 7:00 AM Monday through Thursday and closes at 4:30 PM. Friday and Saturday are held for scheduled appointments. That early start matters, since a call before the first patient has the whole day ahead of it. Urgent problems get worked into that day rather than pushed to the next.
A same day slot isn’t a walk-in counter, though. Practices hold time back for urgent cases, and that reserved time gets claimed in the order people call. Someone in The Lakes calling at 7:15 AM beats someone calling at three. If you are unsure whether your problem counts, our guide to what qualifies as a dental emergency sorts it out. The full picture of urgent care sits on our emergency dental care in Tempe page.
What Decides Whether You Get a Same Day Appointment?
Five things decide it, and swelling ranks first. Front desk teams are not guessing when they hand out slots. They run a quick triage against a handful of signals, and your answers shape where you land in the day. Knowing what they listen for lets you lead with the useful part.
- Whether there is swelling, and whether it is spreading toward your eye, jaw, or neck
- How long the pain has run, and whether it wakes you at night
- Whether a tooth is broken, loose, or missing a filling or crown
- Whether you have a fever, or trouble swallowing or breathing
- How soon you can arrive after the call
Swelling and fever move you to the front every time. Pain alone still gets attention, though a dull ache from this morning sits behind a visibly swollen face. Be honest in both directions. Overstating wastes a slot someone else needed, and understating delays the care you need today.
What Should You Say When You Call for a Same Day Visit?
The trick is to lead with the symptom rather than the request. Saying you need an appointment gives the team nothing they can act on, so nothing moves. Say your lower left molar has throbbed since 4:00 AM instead. Add that the gum is puffy, and they can plan imaging, chair time, and who sees you. That one change is often the difference between today and Thursday.
Give five facts in one breath. Name the tooth or area, then say how long it has hurt and what makes it worse. Swelling and bleeding come next, because those two move you up the list. Finish with whatever you have taken for the pain, and add your insurance carrier if you have one. Nobody is judging the gap since your last visit.
There are two questions worth asking before you hang up. Ask what the visit will cost before any treatment starts, and ask what to do while you wait. Our guide to handling a severe toothache covers those hours. A good practice will tell you the same things by phone at no charge.
Why Do So Many People End Up at the Hospital Instead?
They assume nobody will see them, and the hospital is open. That assumption runs about $749 a visit. The emergency room three blocks south of us on Rural Road can manage pain and infection. It can’t fill, extract, or restore a tooth. You leave with a prescription and the same broken tooth you arrived with.
| Where you go | What it typically costs | What gets treated | What you leave with |
| Hospital emergency department | $400 to $1,500, averaging $749 when you are not admitted | Pain and infection only | A prescription and a referral |
| Dental office visit | $90 to $200 for the visit itself | The tooth causing the problem | Treatment started or a staged plan |
The national picture is worth sitting with. Around two million Americans visit a hospital every year for dental pain, and those trips cost triple. Most of them pass a dental office on the way. Calling a dentist first is nearly always the cheaper path, and often the faster one.
What Can a Same Day Visit Finish, and What Has to Wait?
A surprising amount gets finished in one appointment. A lost filling, a re-cemented crown, a simple extraction, and drainage of an abscess are all routine. Imaging comes first. Dr. Chan then explains what he sees and gives you the price before anything starts. Straightforward problems end with you walking out treated.
Some things shouldn’t be rushed, and this is where we talk you out of finishing today. Root canals and permanent crowns take more than one visit. Deep infection sometimes has to settle before definitive treatment will hold, so we stabilize you and control the pain. The rest gets staged as now, soon, and later. Results vary by patient and by how far a problem has already progressed.
What Does a Same Day Visit Look Like at Tempe Dentistry?
The practice runs urgent visits on a fixed sequence of five steps. Knowing that sequence removes most of the anxiety before you walk in. No number will surprise you at checkout. Nobody will lecture you about the six years since your last cleaning.
- A focused exam and digital X-rays of the area that hurts
- A plain explanation in words you can repeat to someone else
- A written estimate before treatment begins, with PPO benefits checked
- Pain relief and infection control handled ahead of anything elective
- A now, soon, and later plan for whatever cannot be finished today
Payment gets discussed openly rather than at the end. Tempe Dentistry is in network with most PPO plans, and CareCredit financing covers self-pay patients. In-house membership plans help too. If you stay on as a regular patient, the $125 new patient visit covers an exam, cleaning, and X-rays. That offer applies to ages four and up.
Get the Tooth Handled Before the Weekend
Dr. Chan grew up in Phoenix, and his patients come from Rural-Geneva, Tempe Gardens, and Downtown Tempe. Others drive in from Chandler, Gilbert, and Mesa. He treats an urgent visit as the start of a relationship rather than a one-time transaction. You get an honest read and a number before treatment begins.
Call 480-897-2274 and describe the symptom first. The team will tell you how soon they can see you, usually the same business day. Booking online at tempe.dental works when the pain is manageable. When it is not, call.
Questions Tempe Patients Ask About Same Day Visits
Can you just walk into a dentist?
Sometimes, though calling first gets you seen faster almost every time. The American Dental Association notes that most dentists reserve time in their daily schedules for emergency patients. It also asks that you call with as much detail as possible. That helps them size the slot. Walking in unannounced means waiting for whatever gap opens, which may be hours.
Will a dentist pull an infected tooth the same day?
Possibly, but extraction is one option among several. Cleveland Clinic lists incision and drainage, root canal treatment, extraction, and antibiotics as ways an abscessed tooth is treated. Two factors decide it. One is how much healthy tooth remains, and the other is how far the infection has traveled. Antibiotics alone won’t clear it, because the source sits inside the tooth. Expect imaging and a real conversation before anyone decides. Outcomes vary by case.
Are same day dentist appointments more expensive?
Not by default. The visit is priced like any focused exam with imaging, and treatment is quoted before it starts. What raises a bill is delay. A small filling costs less than the root canal that same tooth will need later. Cost worries have a fix. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research keeps a guide to finding affordable dental care. Coverage varies by plan.
How long should I have a toothache before going to the dentist?
Don’t wait it out. Harvard Health advises that all persistent tooth, gum, and jaw pain should trigger a call to your dentist. That goes double if you suspect an abscess or gum disease. Pain that fades on its own isn’t always good news, because a dead nerve stops signaling. The infection keeps spreading either way. Sudden neck and lower jaw pain warrants a call to 911 instead.
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