How To Have Tooth Relief Without Having Dental Coverage?

In The United States, 43% of the people or 130 million people don’t have any dental insurance coverage. In other words, in every 10 Americans, more than four of them do not have any dental coverage. In fact, as unemployment rate nationwide increase and as health care costs and premiums rise, the number of uninsured individuals will continue to shoot up. Fewer employers are offering dental insurance, and those that do offer dental coverage are increasingly selecting low cost and low patient satisfaction Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), that have restricted provider choice.

If you are part of the statistics, what can you do to have a toothache relief without having dental insurance? First, you may look in the phone book to find a dental school from universities in your area.  The dental school does procedures and check-ups for much less money, sometimes even for free, and the care is excellent.  Usually there are students in their final semester or intern year that perform actual procedures to the patients, and these students are all supervised by the best professionals in the area.

Secondly, you can call your community health department to check if there is a free or reduced fee dental clinic in your area. Most counties have one.  Get your dental appointment as soon as possible.  Alternatively, you can also visit the Emergency Room (ER) in a hospital, if your toothache is unbearable and dental appointment is too long to wait for.

If you live in Kansas, you may also benefit from The Kansas Dental Foundation.  The Kansas Mission of Mercy provides three days of free dental care to people in Kansas once a year.  Each year, Kansas Missions of Mercy (KMOM) is held in a different location. Locations have ranged from Kansas City to Garden City, with many locations in between. While this facilities may not apply to toothache sufferers who need to have their teeth relief urgently, but it is great to consider the free service as an annual dental care for the uninsured Kansas residents. As good oral health is conducive to productivity, general health and well-being, individuals without dental insurance would benefit from public support in this respect.

In the meantime, Over the Counter medications such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen may help in reducing your toothache before you visit the dentist.  If you prefer to have natural home remedies for tooth relief rather than taking any medication, you can try ice. 

If you have the toothache due to hypersensitivity then this might not be the best option for you.  But if you’re not overly sensitive to cold then this may be an effective solution. Toothache arising from non-sensitivity usually indicates infection where ice is the best line of defense.

Ice works by numbing the localized area by interrupting the pain signals the nerve cells transmits to the brain giving you temporary relief. It also reduces swelling and inflammation that arises from infection from abscesses.  Simply place the ice inside a plastic bag, then wrap it into a handkerchief, place it on the affect area, this should be able to give you instant tooth relief before you visit the dentist.

With the above tooth ache remedies, you should get relief from your pain after a while. If the problem persists, it is advisable that you set up an appointment and see a dentist. I understand that you may not have dental coverage, but you can get the list of dentists who are willing to offer services to patients without dental plan or insurance from the Emergency Room during your visit, so you can have a thorough check up of your affected tooth by the dentist.