Who Pays for Dental Emergency Injuries?

January 14, 2019 5:25 am | Published by
If someone else causes you to have a dental emergency from their behavior, like a car accident, can they be billed for the dental work. I have a couple of loose teeth from impact and I have no money. I don’t know what to do and certainly don’t want to lose my teeth. Pam Dear Pam,
a woman and her dentist

Most dentists are compassionate and will help you in a dental emergency

I’m very sorry about the injuries you sustained in the accident. I hope you aren’t too badly harmed in addition to your teeth. One of the first things you should know is that most dentists care about people. That’s why they went into their field. What your experiencing is a dental emergency and needs to be looked at in a timely manner in order to save your teeth. Don’t put off repair out of worry for the finances. Generally, if you let the dentist know ahead of time your situation, they will be willing to work with you.

Who Pays for Dental Emergencies?

Legally, the only one your dentist can bill for the work is the person receiving the work, unless they are a minor or someone else agrees to make the payments. Talk to the person who caused the accident and see if they’re willing to take responsibility for their actions. If it’s a car accident and they’re proven in the wrong, their insurance should cover your expenses. However, If they’re responsible and refuse to do the right thing, you can always take them to court to recoup any money you lost as a result of this. One word of caution. Even if you win the case, the reward will only be for the treatment you’d have received if you went to the dentist in a timely manner. For example, let’s say your teeth are loose but just need to be splinted and possibly get a root canal treatment, but you wait to go to the dentist and end up losing your teeth, then as a result you need dental implants to replace them; the compensation would be for the treatment you should have have received (x-rays, splint, root canal). The other treatment which resulted from a delay in treatment for the extractions and implants will be totally out of pocket for you. This blog is brought to you by Portland Dentist Dr. Mo Saleh.
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