Our Winter Haven office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Outside those hours, including all weekend, the phone at (863) 555-0170 is still answered by a real person who takes your details and holds you the first opening at 8:00 AM the next business day. This page explains what to do until then, and when the emergency room is the right call instead.
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.
Same-day appointments · $70 exam + X-ray · Phones answered 24/7 · Se habla español
Is there a dentist open on the weekend in Winter Haven?
Not this one, and we won't pretend otherwise. Our chairs are in use Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. What we do offer on a Saturday or Sunday is a person who picks up the phone, listens, tells you what to do for the pain, and books you the first slot Monday morning at 8:00 AM. That 8:00 AM start matters: it's earlier than most offices in Polk County open, so a weekend toothache is looked at before most people's Monday has started.
What happens when you call after hours
The number is the same day and night. From 2:00 PM to 8:00 AM on weekdays, and all weekend, our answering service picks up. They ask what's wrong, take your name and number, and hold you the first available time the next morning we're open. They don't give medical advice and don't triage; if you describe something that sounds like a hospital problem, they'll tell you to go, and so will this page.
When we open, the front desk already has your details, and our dentist knows what to expect before you're in the chair.
Managing a dental emergency until we open
Toothache: ibuprofen or acetaminophen as the package directs (or both, alternating, if your doctor allows), warm salt-water rinses, head propped up in bed, nothing very hot or cold on the tooth. No aspirin against the gum.
Swelling: a cold pack on the cheek, 15 minutes on and 15 off. Watch it. Swelling that grows over a few hours, spreads toward the eye or down the neck, or comes with fever is a hospital problem tonight, not a dental problem Monday.
Broken tooth: rinse, save the piece in milk, cover a sharp edge with sugarless gum or dental wax, and chew on the other side. More on our broken tooth page.
Knocked-out tooth: this is the one weekend emergency where hours count. Put an adult tooth back in the socket if you can, or keep it in milk, and read our knocked-out tooth page right now. If you can't replant it yourself, an emergency room can sometimes do it; we'll splint and follow up when we open.
Lost crown or filling: temporary dental cement from a pharmacy will cover the tooth for a day or two. Keep the crown. Details on the lost filling and crown page.
Bleeding after an extraction elsewhere: bite firmly on folded gauze or a damp tea bag for 30 minutes without checking. If it hasn't slowed after an hour, go to an emergency room.
When to go to the emergency room instead
Hospitals treat spreading infection and injuries; they generally don't treat the tooth itself. Go to an ER tonight, and call us afterward, if you have:
- Swelling that makes it hard to swallow, breathe or open your mouth
- Swelling spreading toward the eye or under the jaw into the neck
- A high fever with a dental infection
- A blow to the face with a possible broken jaw, a head injury, or a cut that needs stitches
- Bleeding that won't stop with firm pressure
Winter Haven Hospital's emergency department is on First Street North near downtown, about a mile and a half from our office.
Weekday evenings
We close at 2:00 PM. A tooth that starts hurting at 6:00 PM on a Tuesday gets the same treatment as a weekend call: a person answers, takes your details, and holds you 8:00 AM Wednesday. Because we open that early, "tomorrow morning" arrives sooner than it would at an office that opens at 9:00 or 10:00.
What the visit costs when you come in
For patients paying without insurance, the exam and X-ray are $70; treatment is priced separately and quoted in writing before it begins. If you have a PPO plan, the exam and X-ray are billed to your plan. Most PPO dental plans and several Medicare Advantage plans are accepted, and Cherry and CareCredit financing are available. The cost and insurance page explains the process.
Our Winter Haven office
1178 Havendale Blvd NW, Winter Haven, FL 33881, on Havendale Boulevard NW just west of US 17. Parking on site. A few minutes from downtown, Inwood and Auburndale; the service area page covers the rest of Polk County.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a 24-hour emergency dentist in Winter Haven?
Our phone is answered 24/7, and our office treats patients Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We don't know of an office in the Winter Haven area with a dentist in the chair overnight. For a true middle-of-the-night emergency with swelling or injury, the hospital is the right place; for pain, the steps above and a call to (863) 555-0170 get you the first morning chair.
What if my tooth is knocked out on a Saturday?
Replant it yourself if it's an adult tooth and you can, or keep it in milk, and go to an emergency room if you can't get it back in. Call us so we can hold you Monday at 8:00 AM for the splint and follow-up. A tooth replanted within an hour has a real chance.
Can the answering service tell me whether I need the ER?
No. They take details and hold appointments; they're not clinicians. Use the ER list on this page. When in doubt about swelling, breathing or a head injury, go.
Can I book a Monday appointment on a Sunday?
Yes. Call any time on the weekend and the answering service books you the first opening Monday morning. You'll get a call from our front desk confirming it once we open.