Although it might not seem like the most fun task in the world, it is vital that you find an emergency dentist before you have a dental emergency. When you are having a dental emergency, you will be panicked and will find it very difficulty to take directions or find an office where you’ve never been to before. If you already have a dentist, then first contact your usual dentist to find out what emergency dentists are available in your area.
The Next Step
Just in case you don’t have a regular dentist or for whatever other reason, you need to look through the Yellow Pages (phone book) in order to find out where to get emergency dental care. If you have difficulty with reading the Yellow Pages, see if you can get online and go to the online version of the yellow pages (called MagicYellow). Even just entering “emergency dentist” and your city’s name into your favorite search engine can help.
Once you find one or two, your task is not done. Now, you have to contact each of the emergency dentist’s office to find out what kind of insurance they take and when their bills have to be paid. They may even accept checks or credit cards. Some places expect to be paid in full at the time of service, even when you are clearly in agony. It’s just like with emergency rooms, only you spend less time in the waiting room.
Know Where It Is
The next thing you should do is actually drive to the office of the emergency dentist. You don’t have to make an appointment and you don’t have to go inside. In fact, you can just drive by it. It may be on the way to your usual destinations like stores, work, picking up the kids from school or something like that.
Knowing where the emergency dentist office is now will save you a lot of agony later. When you also know what payment method they use, you can then take it with you and not have to drive back home to get it before you can get served. The odds are, you won’t be able to remember all of this information. That’s okay. Write it down in your address or emergency number book to remind you.
When all else fails and the situation is dire, just go to the nearest hospital emergency room. If you are having trouble seeing, sitting up or staying conscious, then you need someone to put you in an ambulance.
