Very few dental offices in Winter Haven or the rest of Polk County open on Sunday, and ours isn't one of them. What you can do on a Sunday: call (863) 555-0170, where a real person answers and holds you the first Monday chair at 8:00 AM, manage the pain with the steps below, and go to an ER for the warning signs listed here.
A Sunday toothache feels like it has no good options. It has a few. The useful thing is knowing which one fits your situation before you spend the afternoon driving up and down US 17 looking for a lit sign.
What's actually open on a Sunday
Most dental offices in Winter Haven, Auburndale, Lake Alfred and the surrounding towns are closed on Sunday. A handful of chain clinics in larger Florida cities keep Sunday hours, but that generally means a drive to Lakeland, Orlando or Tampa, an unfamiliar office, and a wait. Hospital emergency departments are open, and for the right problems they're the correct place. For a toothache, they can't do much beyond medicine, and they don't treat the tooth itself.
What's also open, in a sense, is our phone. It's answered by a real person at every hour, including all of Sunday. They take your details and hold you the first appointment Monday morning at 8:00 AM. Because we open that early, Monday's first chair arrives before most offices have unlocked their doors.
Sunday problems that need the ER today
Hospitals treat spreading infection and injuries. Go to the emergency room on Sunday, and call us Monday, if you have:
- Swelling that makes it hard to swallow, breathe or open your mouth
- Swelling spreading toward the eye or down the neck
- A high fever with a dental infection
- A facial injury with a possible broken jaw, a head injury, or a cut that needs stitches
- Bleeding that won't stop after 30 minutes of firm pressure
Winter Haven Hospital's emergency department on First Street North is the nearest for most of the city. The Mayo Clinic's page on tooth abscesses explains why spreading infection can't wait.
Sunday problems that can wait until Monday at 8am, and how to get through the night
Most Sunday toothaches fall here. A throbbing tooth, a broken tooth, a lost crown, a sore wisdom tooth, an abscess that's confined to the gum: uncomfortable, not dangerous, and properly treated by a dentist on Monday morning rather than a hospital on Sunday afternoon. To get through the night:
- Medicine. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen as the package directs. Your doctor may allow alternating them. Never aspirin on the gum.
- Rinse. Warm salt water, several times. It cleans the area and eases gum swelling.
- Position. Sleep with your head propped up; lying flat makes a throbbing tooth worse.
- Temperature. Keep hot, cold and sugary things away from the tooth. A cold pack on the cheek in 15-minute stretches helps swelling.
- Protect. Cover a sharp broken edge with sugarless gum or dental wax. Keep a lost crown in a bag; a pharmacy sells temporary cement that holds it for a day.
- Call. (863) 555-0170, any time. You'll be on Monday's list before you hang up.
The American Dental Association's dental emergencies guide has similar first-aid steps for each kind of problem.
The one Sunday emergency that can't wait: a knocked-out tooth
If a permanent tooth is knocked out on a Sunday, the clock is running. Pick it up by the crown, rinse it briefly in milk, and put it back in the socket if you can. If not, keep it in milk or inside your cheek, never in water or a dry tissue. An emergency room can sometimes replant an adult tooth; call us for the splint and follow-up Monday at 8:00 AM. A tooth replanted within an hour has a real chance. The full steps are on our knocked-out tooth page. Baby teeth are not replanted; the child should still be seen Monday.
What Monday morning looks like
You call Sunday, or we already have your details from the answering service. At 8:00 AM Monday our front desk confirms your time. You arrive, our dentist examines the tooth and takes an X-ray, explains what's wrong, and writes down the price of the treatment. You decide. Most Sunday problems, from an extraction to a re-cemented crown, are handled at that first visit. More on how the weekend works at our office is on the after-hours page.
When to call a dentist today
If it's Sunday and a tooth hurts, call (863) 555-0170 now rather than Monday morning; you'll have the first slot instead of competing for it. Same-day emergency appointments run Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM at our office on Havendale Boulevard in Winter Haven. For patients paying without insurance the exam and X-ray are $70, with treatment quoted in writing before it begins. The cost and insurance page has the details.
The $70 is a minimum fee for patients paying without insurance. It covers a limited, problem-focused emergency exam (ADA code D0140) and the X-ray needed to diagnose the tooth. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a 24-hour emergency dentist in Winter Haven?
Not that we know of, if "24-hour" means a dentist in the chair overnight. Our phone is answered 24/7 and our office opens at 8:00 AM on weekdays. For overnight swelling or injury, the hospital is the right place; for pain, the steps above and a call get you the first morning chair.
Should I drive to Lakeland or Orlando for a Sunday dentist?
If none of the ER signs apply, usually not. You'd trade a long drive and an unfamiliar office for a few hours' head start on a problem we'll treat Monday at 8:00 AM. Manage the pain, call us, and rest.
Can I book Monday's appointment on Sunday?
Yes. Call any time Sunday and the answering service holds you the first opening Monday morning. Our front desk calls to confirm once we open.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for an exam by a licensed dentist.