How to Choose an Emergency Dentist: Everything You Need to Know

Finding the right professional for a dental emergency requires knowing your options. Here is everything to know about how to choose an emergency dentist.

In 2020, 63 percent of all adults visited the dentist at least once. Having a dental care provider is a necessity and finding one in an emergency is even more important.

If you’re looking to find out how to choose an emergency dentist, there are some things you need to bear in mind before you make the selection.

However, with so many dentists around you may be wondering what criteria you should have for selecting an emergency dentist for you or your family. Here is a closer look at what you need to know.

Stay Close to Home

When you have a dental emergency the last thing you want is to be driving for an hour or more to see your dentist. Your emergency dentist should be close to you. The longest you should take to get to your emergency dentist is half an hour.

You may want to ensure that the dentist is within a half hour’s drive of your work or your children’s school. However, the main thing you want to look out for is the distance the dentist practices from your home.

Having to drive long distances in a dental emergency can add stress to the pain you may already be experiencing. The bottom line is that the quicker you can get to your dentist the better it is for you.

Keep Your Insurance Plan In Mind

While it’s good to find a dentist that practices near you, you also want to make sure that you find one that will accept your dental insurance. Even if you find a dentist near you, if they do not accept your insurance then you will have a hefty out-of-pocket fee.

Ask your insurance provider to give you a list of the dentist who accepts your dental plan, and treats people during emergencies.

Affordability is also a major consideration When selecting a dentist. The cost of your dental emergency may vary based on what is needed.

You can expect that a simple dental issue will cost a lot less than one that requires a more complex intervention from your dentist. Ask about the prices, so you can know if it is affordable for you.

Office Hours

The office hours at your emergency dentist are critical to whether or not you should select them. This is something that you need to know the answer to when choosing dentists.

You should specifically, find out the hours your emergency dentist keeps in the evening or on the weekends.

Certain activities may cause injury to the teeth, sporting events are often one of the main culprits, and many of these tend to be held on a weekend.

It’s good to know if your emergency dentist will be open during those times when you have these high risks events taking place. Even if they are not to open during these hours, find out if they are willing to open if there is an emergency.

Having this knowledge ahead of time will save you a lot of issues should something happen.

The Services Offered

You need to find out the type of services that the emergency dentist can provide. Even if the dentist is open, if they do not provide services such as restorative dentistry it may not be beneficial for the problem that you have.

A dentist can provide emergency services such as extractions or treating gum disease. However, it could be that restorative dentistry is necessary when there is an emergency, if a tooth has become cracked, chipped, or knocked out.

It would be beneficial if a dentist is able to provide both services at once if you need them. Find out exactly what type of emergency dental care a dentist offers in your area so that you can go with the right one for your needs.

Patient Age

One thing you need to keep in mind is that some dentists specialize in taking care of adults and some specialize in taking care of children. You will also find dentists who specialize in taking care of both children and adults.

When making the selection of an emergency dentist you need to find out what your age range they see. This can save you a lot of time so that when an emergency strikes you know exactly who will be able to assist you.

Reputation Is Important

One thing that you cannot afford to bypass is the reputation of the dentist you are selecting. Any dentist that you are choosing for your dental care needs to have a solid reputation for quality service.

Make sure you ask family members and friends about the emergency dentist you are considering and if they have used them before. You can also find out by reading online reviews for the dentist to learn about patient care.

Selecting a dentist with a wealth of experience is also important. The more experienced the dentist is, the more likely it is that they will offer superior service.