Life can come at you pretty fast, and most of the time, it’s entirely impossible to anticipate an emergency, and dental emergencies are no exception! But if you ever find yourself experiencing an urgent situation involving your smile, you shouldn’t have to spend time panicking about the financial implications—even if you lack dental insurance! Here’s a brief guide from your emergency dentist on navigating dental emergencies without coverage so that you can be sure your smile’s health and beauty aren’t in any long-term jeopardy as a result of your situation.
A Closer Look at Dental Emergencies
A dental emergency is an umbrella term that encompasses any type of abnormal symptom that occurs inside the mouth and requires professional care. Most of the time, these situations are accompanied by pain and discomfort, since nerves and blood vessels inside and around the mouth can easily sustain damage. This can also sometimes result in infection that threatens your oral structures as well as the rest of your body.
Knowing how to identify dental emergencies can prove useful; here are a few common issues that often warrant urgent professional care:
- Tooth avulsions, also known as tooth loss. This is perhaps the most serious dental emergency since lost teeth need to be replaced promptly.
- Fractured or cracked teeth, also referred to as broken teeth. The issue can be localized solely to the enamel layer or extend deeper into the pulp, which can be quite painful and needs to be treated quickly.
- Abscessed teeth are the result of a bacterial infection running rampant, and pain and swelling are usually the prominent symptoms that manifest. Root canals are the go-to treatment for this issue.
- Tooth luxations refer to when teeth have become dislodged from the tissues and ligaments that hold them in place, and depending on the severity, a root canal might be able to correct things.
- Cellulitis, which occurs when a bacterial infection spreads to the soft tissues surrounding a tooth, but also has the potential to spread to the head, neck, and lymph nodes without treatment.
- Damaged dental restorations such as fillings, crowns, dentures, etc. also merit urgent professional care.
Making Urgent Dental Care More Affordable
It’s worth mentioning that you do not need dental insurance to receive emergency treatment. Even though the coverage is designed to alleviate the cost of care, you won’t be outright denied care by not having coverage.
That said, there are several ways of lowering your expected cost of care when it comes time to pay your bill. In addition to widely accepting many insurance policies, several practices also offer some form of in-house membership plan; these plans allow patients to pay a flat monthly fee in exchange for all kinds of beneficial discounts on care, including emergency treatment.
Many practices also work with third-party financiers that allow qualifying patients to pay for treatment in affordable, monthly installments. The bottom line is that while urgent care might seem expensive at first, you can do a lot to lower that final amount!
Why Emergency Care Is a Worthwhile Expense
Even though dental emergencies aren’t always obvious or might not seem too severe at times, it’s always going to be in your best interest to seek emergency care. Prolonging emergency care is a surefire way to end up with an even more serious and costly issue, as oral issues have an undeniable tendency to worsen and become tougher to address. Even if you lack dental insurance, don’t skip out on receiving urgent care—your dentist will always prioritize saving your smile rather than trying to empty your bank account!
About the Practice
The team at La Prada Family Dentistry is thrilled to provide patients and families in the Garland area with an exceptional level of care! They offer a wide range of preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatment options as well as emergency dentistry for all of your urgent needs. They also accept several insurance plans, offer an in-house dental plan, and work with third-party financers like CareCredit to make sure your cost of care doesn’t strain your wallet. If you or a loved one is suffering from a dental emergency, don’t hesitate to contact the practice today for assistance. Telephone: (214) 473-5696.
