Blog Post

The Complete Guide to Choosing an Emergency Dentist in Laurel, MD

Dr. Garland K. Davis • Jan 15, 2023

Finding the right specialist for a dental emergency requires knowing your options. Here is the complete guide to choosing an emergency dentist in Laurel, MD.

When a dental emergency occurs, you need to act quickly. All the same, you can't choose a poor dentist for such important work.

So, before you go rushing out the door, you need to do a bit of research. Need help? You're in the right place.

Without further ado, here is your complete guide to choosing an emergency dentist in Laurel MD.

Understand the Different Types of Dental Emergencies

There is no shortage of dental emergencies out there, most of which require immediate attention. Some of the most common dental emergencies include tooth pain, lost teeth, and loose teeth. Infections and abscesses are causes of emergencies as well.

If you have any of these, you're strongly advised to seek out an emergency dentist as soon as possible. If your problem is minor in comparison, you can probably wait it out.

If you have questions as to whether your problem is an emergency, call up any dentist in your area. They should be able to consult you over the phone.

Use Google

If you're sure that you have a dental emergency, you should start seeking out specific dentists. You can do this by using Google. Type in something to the effect of "emergency dentist in Laurel."

This should return a long list of options in your area. Next to these options should be star ratings, along with reviews from past patients. Reading online reviews and assessing these star ratings should give you a good idea as to who the best options are.

Once you've read through the reviews and ratings for a few different dentists, make a list of 3 to 5 options. You'll compare these over the following steps.

Compare Dental Emergency Experience

Now that you have your list of candidates, you can start comparing them. Begin by comparing their dental emergency experience.

Are they used to providing dental services on short notice? Do they list emergency services specifically on their websites? If so, they're probably good to go; if not, they should probably be avoided.

At a minimum, the dentist you choose should have 2 years of experience in providing emergency services. This is generally sufficient time for a dentist to develop the on-the-fly dental skills needed to accommodate emergencies.

Inquire About Services

Not all dentists provide the same services. Whereas some might provide root canals, for example, others might not. Some might perform dental implants, others may not.

Therefore, before choosing an emergency dentist, you need to make sure that they provide the services you require. You can usually learn about their services by checking their website. If they're not on their website, you should just make a call instead.

Make Sure Your Insurance Is Accepted

Do you have dental insurance? If so, you had better make sure that your chosen dentist accepts it. If they don't, or if they're not covered by your insurance company, you'll end up having to pay full price.

To check whether a specific dentist is covered under your plan, you should start by checking your insurance company's website. They'll likely have an interactive tool available that enables you to search for prospective dentists.

If this tool doesn't exist, you should simply call up the insurance company and ask. They'll walk you through your options until you've found one that you like.

Note, however, that you should also check with your prospective dentist to ensure that they do, indeed, accept your insurance. In other words, get confirmation from both parties before commencing.

Ask About Cost

Not all dentists charge the same rates. In fact, dentists' rates can vary greatly from dentist to dentist. As such, you need to make sure that your selected dentist is affordable to you.

Call up the different dentists on your list and ask what they charge for a specific service. When doing this, take your insurance information into account. With the right dentist, your insurance could end up saving you hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars.

Note that cost alone should not make your decision for you. In other words, choosing the cheapest dentist isn't necessarily the best option. You should weigh costs along with other attributes in order to make a decision.

Assess the Location

This is a dental emergency, after all. As such, you want to get in sooner rather than later. What this means, of course, is that you want your dentist to be fairly close by.

This means that, before scheduling any appointments, you need to look online and find the address of your dentist. Put it into your GPS and find out just how long it's going to take to make the trip. We recommend traveling no more than 30 minutes.

Speak on the Phone Beforehand

Our last piece of advice is to speak on the phone beforehand. This way, you can gauge the quality of customer service that the dentist's office will provide.

Dental work can be stressful, after all, especially in an emergency situation. The last thing you need is a negative atmosphere exacerbating your discomfort.

Talk to the receptionist, ask questions, and get a feel for the place. If they're forward with their answers and accommodating in general, it's probably a solid choice. If they're abrupt and reluctant to answer, you should probably look elsewhere.