If you are in Hampstead with toothache, a broken tooth or a crown that has come away, you should not have to wait days to be seen. Lotus Dental and Aesthetics Clinic is a private practice at 943 Finchley Road, and we keep time back in the diary for patients in pain. We aim to see emergencies the same day, and on the rare day we cannot, we will tell you honestly on the phone and give you the earliest time we have.

Getting to us from Hampstead

Golders Green is one stop from Hampstead station on the Northern line, and we are a few minutes further north along Finchley Road. By road the journey is under two miles: over the top of the Heath and down North End Road if you are coming from the village or Whitestone Pond, or straight up Finchley Road if you are starting from South End Green or the Belsize Park side. When you are in pain, being fifteen minutes away rather than an hour is the whole point.

Our address is 943 Finchley Road, London NW11 7PE.

We have our own driveway with private parking for eight cars, so there is no circling Finchley Road for a space and no meter to feed. If you are driving over from Hampstead in pain, that is one less thing to deal with.

What counts as a dental emergency

Call us the same day if you have any of the following: toothache that throbs or wakes you at night, a broken or chipped tooth, a tooth knocked out in a fall or a knock, a lost filling, crown or veneer, swelling in the gum, face or jaw, a dental abscess, bleeding that will not settle, or an ulcer or rubbing caused by a brace or denture.

Some situations need a hospital rather than a dentist. If you have facial swelling spreading towards your eye or under your jaw, difficulty breathing or swallowing, or bleeding you cannot control, treat it as a medical emergency and call 999 or go to A&E. The Royal Free Hospital on Pond Street is the closest to Hampstead. Outside our opening hours, NHS 111 can direct you to an urgent dental service.

What happens at your emergency appointment

The first job is to get you comfortable. We will examine the tooth, take any x-rays needed to see what is happening below the surface, and tell you plainly what is wrong. We have CBCT scanning and intraoral scanning on site, so in most cases we can diagnose and treat in the same visit rather than sending you elsewhere and asking you to come back.

We will always explain your options and what each one costs before we start any treatment. If the problem needs more than one visit, for example a root canal or a new crown, we will settle the immediate pain first and plan the rest around you.

What an emergency appointment costs

An emergency appointment is £95. That covers the appointment time, any x-rays needed to diagnose the problem, and basic immediate treatment such as a temporary filling or a prescription. Definitive treatment is charged on top, for example a permanent filling, root canal treatment or an extraction, and you will always be told the cost before any of it starts. We are a private practice and do not hold an NHS contract.

When we are open

Monday to Thursday, 9am to 6pm. Friday, 9am to 4pm. Saturday, 10am to 3pm. Closed Sunday.

To be seen, call 020 8201 8080. You can also book online at any hour, though for an emergency the phone will always be faster.

Questions we are asked by patients from Hampstead

Do I have to be a registered patient? No. We see emergency patients who have never been to us before, and there is no obligation to stay with us afterwards, though many people do.

Can I be seen today? Usually, yes. We hold time back for emergencies and we aim to see you the same day, although on a very busy day we cannot promise it. Ring as early as you can. If we genuinely cannot fit you in, you will be told that on the phone rather than left waiting.

I am nervous about the dentist. Does that change anything? It changes how we treat you, not whether we will see you. Tell us when you call and we will give you longer and go at your pace.

Will you just take the tooth out? Almost never as a first move. The aim is to save the tooth where it can be saved, and to explain honestly when it cannot.

Call us

If you are in pain now, call 020 8201 8080. If we are closed, leave a message and we will come back to you when we open.