How Much Does Emergency Dentistry Cost?
There are many variables that factor into emergency dentistry costs. For example, your geographic location, as in where you live, will influence baseline costs, as well as the severity of the situation and how emergent it really is. Finally, the actual procedure necessary to restore the dental issue. First, we will address the primary cause of an emergency dental and then we will address the ranges of costs for common procedures.
The Reasons for a Dental Emergency
There are really only two categories. An unfortunate, unscheduled accident or simple neglect from poor hygiene. Any age at any time can and will experience accidents. Whether it is a child on the playground, a young adult in a sporting event or an aging adult taking a fall, accidents happen. These can often end up resulting in chipped, broken, or fractured teeth.
A situation resulting from neglect is just that, not caring for your teeth or gums properly resulting in infections, cavities, and abscesses. Most of these can all be easily avoided with good oral hygiene habits but still happen.
Common Procedures in Emergency Dentistry
Your first step is to place a call to your family dentist. The office will either answer, return your call or direct you on how to handle the situation if is outside business hours. The most frequent reason for a dental emergency is a toothache. Can the discomfort be tolerated until business hours? Or is the pain too intense that an emergency room visit is your solution.
If it is a broken tooth from an accident the solution might be a root canal. Even from neglect the tooth could be infected and must have a root canal. The range for this treatment can be $700 to $900 for a front tooth, up to $800 to $950 for a bicuspid and finally $1,000 to $1,200 for a molar.
If the damaged tooth cannot be saved and will need to be extracted the costs can range for $75 to $300 for a non-surgical extraction. If the extraction requires anesthesia, it can jump up to $200 to $600.
If the fractured tooth has developed a cavity, has decay, or otherwise damaged a dental filling can cost from $110 to $200 if the filling material is porcelain or silver amalgam. If the filling is a resin-based composite material it be just a little more, ranging from $135 to $240.
All dentists are taught to do everything possible to keep a natural tooth, even if the solution is a root canal. After that a dental crown will be suggested to protect the tooth. A porcelain dental crown for a front tooth or a metal crown for a molar will average between $1,200 and $1,400 per crown. A ceramic bonded crown can be less, averaging from $1,000 to $1,150.
How to Prevent a Dental Emergency
A mouthguard goes a long way in protecting your teeth from an accident in a sporting or physical activity. Brushing twice daily, flossing once a day and scheduling preventive dental examinations twice a year will also go a long way in protecting the health of your teeth and gums and avoid emergency dentistry costs.