Emergency Dental Help!

Published Jan 04 2010

Emergency dental situations happen every day. A person biting into a normal meal could chip a tooth on something hard. A child playing outside could fall and knock out a tooth. Even when there are no apparent reasons, tooth pain can rise within a matter of minutes giving reason for an emergency dental situation. But when an emergency dental problem arises what should be done? Is there any help available in an emergency situation?

First, there are many different types of dental emergencies. As stated above, some emergencies arise due to a traumatic event such as a sporting accident, automobile accident, slip on ice, or other sudden trauma. In this type of instance, it is essential to get to a dentist as soon as possible because a dentist may be able to save the damaged tooth within a short time period. Sometimes a tooth might be chipped or broken through normal eating as well. Hard objects such as unpopped popcorn kernels and pieces of bone or grit are often hidden in foods. When a tooth bites down on hard objects like these, it could easily chip or crack.

Finally, some tooth problems develop slowly over time, but the pain can appear very suddenly causing a emergency dental problem. Although the problem may have existed for months or even years, once the problem gets to the root of the tooth, the pain will dramatically increase. This sudden pain must be dealt with immediately.

Dental offices are generally willing to accept emergency patients, although there may be an additional "emergency treatment" fee added to the bill. The application of this fee often depends on the availability of the dentist that day. If the dentist office has openings in its normal schedule that day, it will commonly be able to work you in as a normal patient. However, if the dentist is already booked full for the day, he or she will be going out of the way to work you in to an already busy schedule. This will probably result in having to pay the "emergency fee." Emergency dental fees vary greatly and can run anywhere from $30 to $150. In an emergency situation, the fee may seem a small price to pay for immediate relief!

If a person already has a dental insurance policy in place, the dental insurance will often help with the cost of the emergency fee as well as with the services themselves. If the person does not currently have any coverage, it can be a bit tricky to find coverage in an emergency situation. Most insurance policies will not cover a preexisting problem, and they also have waiting periods of up to a year before you can have any work done. There are also discount plans available which can help reduce the cost of dental work. Many dental plans can be used within three to five days, and some can be used within 15 to 20 minutes! These plans can be very helpful in an emergency dental situation.

If you are currently in an emergency dental situation, there is help available; but remember that time is of the essence. You want to try to get to the dentist as soon as possible before more damage occurs. In an emergency dental instance, a new dental insurance policy is not going to be helpful, but there are some dental discount plans available which are set up for immediate use. A quick search through the internet can yield some of these plans which can often be set up in a matter of minutes. With or without a plan, however, the most important thing is to be seen by a dentist as soon as possible.