Emergency Dentist in East Brainerd, TN

Your East Brainerd Emergency Dentist Is Right Down the Street

If you live, work, or shop in East Brainerd and you are dealing with a dental emergency right now, the closest answer is also one of the most experienced. Peterson Family Dentistry has its Chattanooga office on Jenkins Road, off Shallowford and a short drive from Hamilton Place. We are not in another part of town. We are in your neighborhood.

Call (423) 206-9660. We hold same-day emergency slots Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you call before noon on a weekday, we can usually get you in that day.

Where Are We?

3328 Jenkins Rd: Where We Are in East Brainerd

Address: 3328 Jenkins Rd Ste 100, Chattanooga, TN 37421

Phone: (423) 206-9660

Hours: Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Driving here from common East Brainerd starting points:

From Hamilton Place: head south on Hamilton Place Blvd, turn west on Shallowford Rd, then onto Jenkins. Roughly five minutes in normal traffic.
From the Lee Highway / Gunbarrel Road area: take Gunbarrel south to Shallowford, then west.
From Eastgate: head east on Brainerd Rd, then north on Shallowford. Less than 10 minutes.
From the Standifer Gap area: take Standifer Gap to Gunbarrel, then south to Shallowford.
From Boyd Buchanan / Hardin Valley side: cross over via Shallowford.

Our office is in a professional building. Park in front. The suite is on the first level. If you are unsteady on your feet because of pain, our front-desk team can help you in.

Directions

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When Your Dental Problem Is an Emergency

Some dental issues need to be seen today. Others can wait a few days. The list below is a quick guide. When in doubt, call. We will tell you on the phone if it can wait or if you need to come in.

See us today:

Severe, throbbing, or unrelenting tooth pain
A tooth that has been knocked out (call as you head this way, time matters)
Facial swelling, especially with fever or that has spread overnight
A broken or fractured tooth, especially with pain or a sharp edge
A loose, dislodged, or missing crown, filling, or bridge
Bleeding from the mouth that does not stop after 10 minutes of pressure
Mouth or jaw injury from a fall, sports impact, or accident

Schedule a regular visit:

A small chip with no pain
Mild sensitivity to cold drinks
A discoloration you noticed in the mirror
A small filling that just feels rough

What to Do Until You Reach Our Office

Knocked-out adult tooth: Hold the tooth by the crown, never the root. Rinse with milk if available, water if not, and do not scrub. Try to slip it back into the socket and bite gently on a clean cloth. If you cannot reinsert, store it in milk or your own saliva and head this way fast. Within an hour the odds are good. After three hours, the odds drop sharply.

Cracked tooth or pieces: Rinse with warm water. Cold compress to the outside of your face. Save any tooth fragments in a small container.

Severe ache: Warm salt water rinse, gentle floss to clear food, ibuprofen with food. Cold compress to the cheek. Aspirin against the gum can burn the tissue, so skip that.

Lost crown: Save the crown. A drop of dental wax or a piece of sugar-free gum can hold it temporarily. Do not chew on that side until we see you.

Your Visit, Step by Step

Check-in. Most emergency patients are roomed within 10-15 minutes of arrival.
Targeted X-ray of the painful tooth or area, plus a quick visual exam.
We tell you what we see and what your options are. No pressure, no upselling.
Same-day treatment. Pain control, antibiotic if there is infection, broken-tooth restoration, extraction if the tooth cannot be saved.
Plan for the rest. If you need a permanent crown or root canal therapy, we book you back. You leave with a written plan and a written estimate.

Most emergency visits run 45 to 90 minutes start to finish. Complex cases (multi-tooth trauma, full restoration after an accident) take longer.

Insurance, Pricing, and Payment

We are in-network with most major PPO insurance plans. Existing patients are processed at the normal copay and deductible.

No insurance and a new patient? Ask about the $125 New Patient Exam with X-rays or the $199 Exam, X-rays, and Healthy Mouth Cleaning option. The cleaning is included if you do not have periodontal disease. Either offer applies to a new-patient emergency visit.

Treatment costs depend on what we find. We give you a written estimate before any work starts. CareCredit is available for payment plans. We do not push patients into treatment they cannot afford. The urgent piece comes first, the longer plan can be staged.

Yes! Schedule My Appointment

Why East Brainerd Patients Stay With Us

Dr. David Peterson earned his DDS from Loma Linda University and has been in private practice for 21 years. He has treated approximately 25,000 patients across his career, performed thousands of extractions, restored hundreds of dental implants, and placed thousands of veneers. He commits to 25 hours of continuing education each year (more than 800 hours total beyond dental school) and was named a Top Dentist in Chattanooga by BusinessRate in 2025.

Roughly 90 to 95 percent of patients have been with the practice for five or more years. The patient retention rate is 90 to 95 percent year over year. Patients stay with us because we answer the phone, we explain what we are doing, and we charge what we said we were going to charge.

Our East Brainerd Dental Services Include:

Frequently Asked Questions

Is your office actually in East Brainerd, or are you driving over from somewhere else?

The office is at 3328 Jenkins Rd Ste 100, ZIP 37421, which is East Brainerd. Dr. Peterson and the team are at this office during published hours. There is no commute on our end.

Can I get same-day emergency care?

Most weekdays, yes. We hold daily slots for emergencies. Call (423) 206-9660 as early in the day as you can. If we are full, we will check whether the Ooltewah office (about 20 minutes east) has a faster opening.

I am a patient at another local dentist. Can you still see me?

Yes. Many of our emergency patients are seeing us for the first time because their regular dentist could not fit them in. After the emergency visit, you decide whether to stay with us or return to your previous dentist for routine care. There is no pressure to switch.

I am close to Hamilton Place. How long is the drive?

From the Hamilton Place parking lot, the drive is roughly five minutes in normal traffic.

Do you handle pediatric dental emergencies?

Yes. We see children at the East Brainerd office. For very young children with major jaw or facial trauma, we may stabilize first and refer to a pediatric specialist for follow-up.

What if my emergency happens on a weekend?

Leave a voicemail at (423) 206-9660. The on-call team checks weekend messages. If your situation cannot wait until Monday, an urgent care or hospital ER can manage pain and infection until our office reopens. Call us first thing Monday morning and we will get you in.