the Price of Emergency Dental Care

I paid 107 dollars for an emergency exam at the dentists office. The exam included an exam by a dental assistant, two x-rays of my teeth and a short talk with the Dentist. In the same visit I had a tooth filled and paid 240 dollars for that, so the total for the emergency visit was 347.00, I had no insurance so this was the cash visit price.

The service I got was excellent. I woke with tooth pain and called the dental office that I had been to once before. The receptionist made me an appointment for lunch time- I assume the Dentist puts emergency patients in his lunch hour because the rest of his schedule is full. I arrived five minutes early to do paperwork, but they pulled my old file and said that was all they needed. I appreciated that, I didn't feel like doing paperwork. The dental assistant called me at my appointment time, so I didn't sit in the reception room for long. She did the exam, took the X-rays and then I waited about 5 minutes for the Dentist. He did an exam, explained everything in detail and I agreed to a filling. They both did a good job. They explained what they were doing as we went along, I felt no pain after one shot of novicane, and they worked quickly and efficiently. Before I knew it I was back at the front desk, writing my check.

If you don't have a regular dentist, ask around for a referral from friends and family. When you call the office, if it's an emergency ( you are in pain) tell them that so they can make special arrangements to get you right in. Ask what the charges are for cash patients if you don't have insurance, sometimes they have a slight discount for cash payments. Ask if they accept credit cards and if so, what ones. If you go to the dentist in pain, be prepared to make a quick decision about what you want done. Have a back up plan for getting home in case they have to do something major that might cause you to be woozy or unable to drive when they are done.