Roughly 1 in 6 Americans will experience a dental emergency this year, and this statistic often interacts with another—about 50% of the U.S. population does NOT have dental insurance.
If you find yourself in the sizeable group that is dealing with an urgent dental issue but doesn’t have insurance, what should you do? How can you receive the immediate care you need without having to deal with a huge bill afterward?
Thankfully, you don’t have to just wait and deal with the pain—here’s what you can do to get the relief you deserve without breaking the bank.
Step 1. Don’t Delay
The natural instinct for many people with dental issues who lack insurance is to simply not get care and hope things improve on their own. Unfortunately, dental problems rarely resolve themselves, and in the majority of cases, they only become worse.
One of the best ways you can limit your dental care costs is to schedule an appointment right now and address whatever problem you might have as early as possible. That way, it doesn’t have time to become more complicated and require more extensive/expensive care to fix.
Step 2. Know Your Options
Dental insurance is not the end-all-be-all when it comes to reducing your costs.
Many practices also have an in-house membership plan you can sign up for. These typically cost less than traditional insurance while offering many of the same discounts. And unlike insurance, you can start taking advantage of their benefits immediately.
Step 3. Make a Plan (with Your Dentist)
It will often take multiple procedures to fully resolve a dental emergency. An example is that a cavity leads to a tooth needing to be extracted, which then has to be replaced with a denture, bridge, or dental implant.
But, you don’t have to get (and pay) for everything at once! Your dentist can work with you to space things out so you have time to save and don’t have to sacrifice your budget. They can get you out of pain at one appointment and repair your tooth at a later date.
Dentist work with emergency patients lacking insurance all the time, so they know how stressful the situation can be. The good news is that they can offer you options so that you can get the treatment you need without breaking the bank.
About the Author
Dr. Ramona Rivera earned her dental degree from the NYU School of Dentistry and has helped countless patients navigate a wide variety of dental emergencies. She offers an in-house membership plan to help keep dentistry affordable for those without insurance. You can learn more about it here or call her office at (916) 702-3375 to ask questions or sign up.