What is an emergency

[pearly]

I have a dentist appointment on June 25th. I haven't been in several years, due to dental phobia. I have 2 side teeth that have partially broken off (like almost half the tooth gone). Even though it's not completely noticable, it makes me feel really really self concious, like I can't smile normal or someone might see it. I explained one of the teeth and the woman at the dentist said they might be able to fill a cavity if they had time on the 25th. I'm not sure they understand the severity. What should I do. I need to get these two teeth fixed asap and only want to go to the dentist I have chosen. What is a normal timeframe once you go to your first appointment to getting things fixed? I don't have any pain, but when would it be appropriate to consider this an emergency? Generally how much extra does "emergency" dental care cost?

 

[olivacs]

Well after I went for my initial consultation of a loose tooth they scheduled me to come back 1 week later for treatment.
Not sure how broken your teeth are but if you found a dentist that you would like to stick with why not give them a call back and ask them to put you on a list in case someone should cancel. That way if someone should cancel they could give you a quick call to see if you can come in.
I have a broken molar that's been like that for about a year. I will be finally get that fixed sometime in July.

Chances are if you go in for "emergency" treatment they will charge you a lot higher fee to see you that soon and usually they will still schedule you to come in at a later date to have the work done. I guess it all depends on their schedule that day.

Why not give them a call and ask them to notify you if a cancellation arises?

 

[letsconnect]

Hi pearly ,

you didn't say whereabouts in the world you are. I would think that if this is private treatment, then it's kind of up to the individual dentist to decide what constitutes an emergency? However, if this is NHS treatment in the UK, then it would not be an emergency, if it's "only" a cosmetic problem (rather than you being in pain or having a problem that needs to be attended to immediately, where every minute counts - such as a tooth that's been knocked out).
I would ask if they could give you a call if they have any cancellations. If you're prepared to see them at short notice, often they can fit you in sooner (edit: oops, just noticed that olivacs already mentioned that ). 3 1/2 weeks sounds like quite a long waiting time, if this is the first appointment they had available.