If your tooth is throbbing and the question under the pain is what this will cost, here is the surprise: in Solihull, a private dentist can see you the same day for the same figure as the NHS urgent charge. At Designer Smiles that visit is £27.90 in practice hours, you do not need to be a patient already, and by the end of this page you will know the whole bill.
How much does an emergency dentist cost in Solihull?
At Designer Smiles, the emergency appointment costs £27.90 in practice hours, which are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. That is the same figure as the NHS urgent charge in England, and yes, it is worth reading twice. Outside those hours it is £150, and the fee guide lists that one as including stabilisation, which is the dentist’s word for making the tooth safe and comfortable.
Now, it helps to know what that fee buys. Think of a plumber’s call-out. The call-out pays for someone to come round and stop the leak, and the new pipe is priced separately once the water is off. The emergency fee works the same way: it covers the examination and getting you out of pain. Anything the tooth then needs is priced from the fee guide and told to you before it is done, so there is no surprise on the way out. Payment is on the day.
The NHS urgent charge is £27.90, one charge for the whole urgent course of treatment. nhs.uk lists what that can include, among them “dressing of teeth (a temporary filling)”, “draining a dental abscess and treating any infection” and “removing up to 2 teeth”. Every item on that list is aimed at today, and nhs.uk is plain about what comes next: “You may need further dental treatment after your urgent appointment, which may have additional costs.” How NHS urgent dental care works, and who gets it free has a guide of its own.
What do other dentists in and around Solihull charge for an emergency appointment?
Here is the local picture before you pick up the phone: the emergency fees dentists in and around Solihull publish on their own websites, each figure exactly as its page shows it, with that page’s own words beside it.
| Practice or service | Emergency fee, as published | What its page says about the fee |
|---|---|---|
| Designer Smiles | £27.90 in practice hours; £150 out of hours | The examination and getting you out of pain; treatment priced and told to you before it is done |
| Blossomfield Dental Care | from £61 for registered patients and from £129 for non-registered patients | “We explain your options and the fees before any treatment.” |
| Emerdency, an emergency booking service | £49 | “covers an assessment and any small X-rays needed for a diagnosis. This fee does not include any further treatment.” |
| Heath Dental | £69.00 | “plus the cost of any treatment”; “appointment subject to availability” |
| Paul Lowe Dentistry | £170 | “for an emergency call out in addition to any treatment cost”, in its out-of-hours “emergency service for our registered patients” |
| Robinhood Dental Practice | from £35 | “When booked online this will cover assessment and x rays.” |
As published on each one’s own website on 3 November 2026. Prices change, so check with them.
What does the treatment after the emergency visit cost?
Every figure here is from the full fee guide, where each price sits beside what the NHS charges for it.
Toothache that throbs, wakes you at night and shrugs off painkillers usually comes from the nerve in the middle of the tooth. That nerve lives inside a hard shell with no room to swell, like a swollen foot in a shoe that will not stretch, and that is why it hurts so much. Dressing or removing it does two jobs at once: it gets you comfortable, and it is the first stage of a root canal. The fee guide lists the nerve dressed or removed at £76.60.
The root canal itself is planned for another visit once the pain has gone, usually within the fortnight. It is £550 for a front tooth or canine and £850 for a molar, and the gap between them is simply how much there is to clean: a front tooth has one canal, a molar has three or four, and every one of them is cleaned and sealed.
An abscess is drained at the visit. nhs.uk says a dental abscess “will not go away on its own”, and its treatment section puts the fix simply: “The dentist will drain away the pus.” That is why the treatment happens at the tooth itself. Antibiotics are prescribed only when they are the right treatment, which for tooth pain is less often than people expect, and the prescription is £30. Hoping tablets will sort it? Here is what antibiotics can and cannot do for a tooth abscess.
A filling that has fallen out is priced by its size: a small white filling is £76.60, a medium one £170 and a large one £250. The size sets the price because a bigger hole takes more material, built up in more layers, to get back to the shape of a real tooth. If yours has only just come out, here is what to do when a filling falls out.
Emergency tooth extraction: when it happens, and what it costs
Will an emergency dentist pull the tooth? Only if it cannot be saved, and you will be told why. You see, most toothache is settled by treating the nerve, and a root canal keeps the tooth. On a back tooth a crown usually follows: a cap over the whole tooth, a bit like a thimble, so the force of every bite is spread around it instead of landing on one weak wall. A metal crown is from £332.10, a white crown from £450, and a porcelain or ceramic crown from £800.
When a tooth cannot be saved, it can come out the same day. A simple extraction is from £76.60 and a surgical extraction is from £250. In a simple extraction the tooth comes out whole, rather like a fence post rocked gently loose from soft ground. A surgical one is for a tooth that has broken off at the gum, or has roots that curve, where the dentist has to make a little room first. The crowns and the extractions are the fee guide’s starting figures, and the figure for your own tooth is written down at the examination before anything is done.
On the NHS, an emergency extraction comes under the urgent charge of £27.90, and nhs.uk lists “removing up to 2 teeth” among what urgent treatment can include. An extraction booked later as ordinary treatment sits in Band 2, £76.60.
Can’t afford an emergency dentist? Here is where to turn
Then start with a call that costs nothing: NHS 111, or 111 online. In nhs.uk’s own words: “If you need emergency or urgent dental care you can get advice from NHS 111 or contact a dentist and ask for an appointment.” 111 looks for an NHS urgent dental slot where one exists, for £27.90, and some people pay nothing at all, depending on their age, certain benefits, or, in nhs.uk’s words, if “you’re pregnant or have had a baby in the last 12 months”.
In practice hours, the visit at Designer Smiles is that same figure, the same day.
The part that can be bigger is the repair, and two things help there. You are not talked into treatment while you are in pain; you are given the plan, with the fee guide’s price for each part in writing, to decide on once the pain has gone. And the larger repairs can be spread at 0% through Tabeo, over up to twelve months, arranged once your price is known.
While you wait, nhs.uk has one more kind suggestion: “If you’re in pain while waiting for a dental appointment, you can ask a pharmacist for advice on taking painkillers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen.” Follow what the packet says, and ask the pharmacist anything you are unsure of.
Does a rotten tooth count as an emergency?
“Rotten” is a harsh word for one of the most ordinary things in dentistry, so there is no reason to feel embarrassed about ringing. If it hurts or it has broken, ring; nobody will ask you to justify it.
Whether it is an emergency today comes down to whether it hurts. A rotten tooth that keeps you awake, stops you eating or has caused a swelling in your gum is exactly what the emergency appointment is for, and toothache like that sits right at the top of the practice’s own list of emergencies.
One that does not hurt yet can wait for an ordinary appointment, though sooner is kinder to it and to your wallet. nhs.uk notes that “Tooth decay may not cause any symptoms at first”, and also that “If tooth decay has reached the soft tissue (pulp) in the middle of your tooth, you may need root canal treatment.” So a quiet rotten tooth seen early, while a filling will still do, is often one of the cheapest fixes on this page.
How do I get seen fast in Solihull?
Ring early. The earlier in the day you call, the sooner the slot, because there is more of the day left to fit you in. Call 0121 709 3821, book online, or send a message on WhatsApp, and tell reception what has happened and how much it hurts.
In practice hours, Designer Smiles sets out to see anyone with a dental emergency the same day, with whichever of its dentists is free first. All of them do the whole of general dentistry, so the person who gets you out of pain is the person who plans the repair. Here is what happens at the emergency appointment, from the first call to the repair.
For every route in town, read how to be seen today in Solihull, and for evenings, nights and weekends there is our guide to an out-of-hours dentist in Solihull. If a swelling is closing an eye or making it hard to breathe or swallow, that one belongs at A&E or 999 instead of a dentist’s chair.
So there is the whole bill: £27.90 for the visit in practice hours, the repair priced in writing before anything is done, and 0% finance for the bigger jobs. Ring 0121 709 3821, and once you are in the chair, the first job is making it stop hurting.
