If you don't have dental insurance, you shouldn't fall into the trap of not taking care of your teeth because you feel you can't go to the dentist. Many health problems can develop if you aren't taking care of your teeth, and those will end up costing you much more money than the amount you are saving by not paying for dental insurance. Here are three of the major things you shouldn't do when you don't have dental insurance.
Not Visit the Dentist At All
Just because you don't have dental insurance doesn't mean that you cannot visit a dentist. Many dentists accept patients who do not have dental insurance for basic dental care, such as regular teeth cleanings. You will need to pay a fee for dental cleanings; however, you can find dental offices that are offering discounts for regular teeth cleanings throughout the year that will ensure your teeth are getting the care that you need without having to spend a ton of money on it. Just keep in mind that if the dentist discovers some kind of oral health problem during the cleaning, they may not treat it if you don't have dental insurance.
Avoid Treatments
If your dentist does point out some kind of problem, such as a cavity, during your regular teeth cleaning, you will want to have it treated right away. If the dentist you have visited for your teeth cleaning won't do it unless you have dental insurance, you should actively seek out a dentist who will. The longer you wait to have these issues taken care of, the worse they become, which is going to lead to you having to spend much more money once you can no longer wait to take care of it.
Use the Emergency Room for Dental Pain
Many times, people without dental insurance will go to the emergency room when suffering from dental pain. The problem with this is that emergency rooms do not have the proper tools or medical knowledge to properly treat tooth pain. In fact, you will usually leave with antibiotics to help ease the pain, but, once the antibiotics wear off, you will experience the pain once again because there is an underlying dental problem that you need to take care of. Don't spend tons on emergency room care just to keep having the same problem reoccur. Visit a dentist that will work with you even if you don't have insurance, or look into getting insurance.
When you know these three things that people commonly do when they do not have dental insurance, you can be sure that you don't fall into making the same mistakes. You will save more money by avoiding these three things and be able to maintain a healthy smile despite not having insurance for it.
Share8 November 2016
The average dentist takes many client appointments each day and also deals with emergency situations on a regular basis. Dental emergencies are very common because people are likely to put off having tooth pain fixed until the pain becomes unbearable. Some people have anxiety about dental visits, and others are trying to avoid the expense of dental care. In either case, the end result is often a dental emergency. I have worked as a professional dental hygienist for many years and have seen all types of dental emergencies. I hope that this blog will help people identify potential emergencies before they become too serious and will allow people to know when to get help.
