Can you go to the dentist with a cold? Fever, cold sores, food, medicines and alcohol before your visit

When should you attend or postpone a dental appointment?

Always seek dental care for pain, swelling or injury, but postpone routine visits if you have a fever or a contagious infection. This approach follows the CDC’s 2016 dental guidance: where possible, postpone non-urgent treatment of potentially infectious patients and provide urgent treatment with additional precautions.

The table covers common situations. If unsure, call the practice the day before or on the morning of your appointment. The dentist will assess whether treatment can wait, and another patient can use the freed appointment.

Can you attend the dentist with a runny nose or cold?

You can attend with a runny nose or cold if you need urgent care. For routine treatment, speak to the practice before leaving home. CDC guidance recommends early identification of patients with respiratory symptoms such as coughing, nasal congestion or a runny nose, and postponing their non-urgent treatment where possible.

This protects other patients and staff, but also concerns your comfort. Many procedures require keeping your mouth open for a long time, so a blocked nose makes breathing difficult. With nitrous oxide inhalation sedation it is a barrier: a British NHS patient leaflet (2025) explains that sedation will not work if you cannot breathe through your nose, so the appointment is postponed.

If you cough or sneeze at the practice, the CDC recommends covering your mouth and nose, using tissues, wearing a mask and washing your hands after contact with secretions. Practices may also ask people with symptoms to sit away from other patients.

Can you go to the dentist with a fever?

It is better not to attend a routine appointment with a fever. Call the practice and arrange another date. According to the NHS, a high temperature in adults is usually 38 °C or above. Rest and drinking fluids are the main recommendations.

The situation differs if fever accompanies toothache or facial swelling, because this may indicate a dental infection needing treatment. The British NHS advises attending a hospital emergency department for swelling around the eye or neck, or swelling that makes breathing, swallowing or speaking difficult. In Poland, this means SOR or 112.

Infection also matters for anaesthesia. Australia’s Healthdirect notes that inflammation around the procedure site can reduce the effect of local anaesthesia. For general anaesthesia, the anaesthesiologist decides whether to proceed during an infection, so tell the provider about any fever in the days before the procedure.

Cold sores: should you postpone dental treatment?

With an active cold sore, call before a routine appointment because the dentist may decide to postpone it. According to the NHS, cold sores are infectious from the first tingling until fully healed, spread easily to other people and other body sites, and should start healing within 10 days.

Dental treatment involves touching and stretching the lips, so a sore on the lip or at the corner of the mouth can become irritated. The NHS also recommends washing your hands whenever you touch a cold sore, which is worth remembering in the waiting room.

Toothache or swelling should not wait for a cold sore to heal. Mention it when booking, so the dentist can plan what to do immediately and what can wait until healing.

Should you eat and brush your teeth before a dental visit?

For a procedure under local anaesthesia, the dentist gives any necessary instructions about food. Australia’s Healthdirect advises asking beforehand whether you may eat and drink on the day. Unless instructed otherwise, a light meal before the visit makes practical sense: numbness usually lasts several hours, and you must be careful with your lip and cheek until sensation returns.

Before nitrous oxide inhalation sedation, the NHS leaflet recommends eating and drinking, but avoiding a heavy meal. Strict fasting from food and drink applies before general anaesthesia. The anaesthesiologist specifies the last meal and drink times at the pre-anaesthetic assessment.

Brush your teeth as usual before attending. If you eat just before leaving, rinse your mouth or brush again, because food debris makes examination harder. Taking anticoagulants? The SDCEP patient leaflet (2022) advises caring for your teeth as usual: poor hygiene promotes gum disease and makes gums more likely to bleed.

Which medicines and information should you bring?

Bring a list of all medicines, including over-the-counter and herbal products, and information about conditions and allergies. The Scottish SDCEP programme’s patient leaflet (2022) stresses that the dentist needs to know all medicines and conditions because some, such as kidney, liver or blood disorders, can increase bleeding.

Do not stop anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines yourself. According to SDCEP, changes before dental treatment should be made only on a doctor’s, specialist’s or dentist’s instructions. Take regular medicines as usual unless advised otherwise, as the NHS inhalation sedation leaflet also recommends. The article on anticoagulants and tooth extraction gives details. Also useful are:

• A current INR result if you take warfarin.
• Hospital discharge summaries and recent test results, especially before surgery.
• Previous X-rays or scans taken at another practice.
• Information about doctor or hospital visits since your last dental appointment.

Can you attend the dentist after drinking alcohol?

After drinking alcohol, do not attend a planned procedure without contacting the practice first; the dentist will assess whether treatment is safe and whether you can give informed consent. Australia’s Healthdirect states that before local anaesthesia the doctor may advise avoiding alcohol from the previous day. The NHS inhalation sedation leaflet lists alcohol among things prohibited before the appointment and for the rest of the day. Do not delay seeking help after an injury or with signs of a serious infection, though: with difficulty breathing, swallowing or speaking, or swelling around the eye or on the neck, go to the hospital emergency department (SOR) or call 112, and do not drive.

Consent matters too: treatment consent follows information about diagnosis, methods and consequences (art. 16 of the Patient Rights Act, legal status as of 24 October 2026). A patient under the influence of alcohol may be unable to give informed consent. The anaesthesiologist provides advice about alcohol before and after general anaesthesia.

What should you tell reception before your appointment?

Tell reception anything that could affect the appointment: pain and swelling, fever and infection, pregnancy or breastfeeding, planned sedation and the need for interpreting. The NHS inhalation sedation leaflet asks patients to mention pregnancy or possible pregnancy and doctor or hospital visits since their last treatment.

Pregnancy is no reason to avoid the dentist. The American Dental Association (ADA) considers preventive, diagnostic and restorative care safe throughout pregnancy, and X-rays safe at any stage. The article on dental treatment during pregnancy explains further.

Preparing for a visit to DentalBlue

At DentalBlue in Białystok, patients with pain can start with “Wizyty z bólem” (visit with pain, 340 zł in the price list: panoramic X-ray, consultation, examination and pain relief), and those without pain with “Wizyty bez bólu” (visit without pain, 300 zł, including a written treatment plan). General anaesthesia is preceded by a combined dental and anaesthesiology consultation covering a panoramic X-ray, medical history, medicines and test results. Patients receive their last meal and drink times at this consultation. Reception: 85 748 00 50, weekdays from 8:00 to 20:00 and Saturdays from 8:00 to 16:00, in Polish, English, Ukrainian and Russian. Prices may change.