How to Get Free Dental Work

Some people can't afford to pay the high costs associated with caring for their teeth, and must look for free dental work in order to maintain their oral health. Free dental work isn't abundantly available, but it is something that with a little searching and perseverance can be acquired. Below are the basic steps needed for obtaining free dental work.

Instructions

1. Locate dental schools associated with local colleges and universities, and inquire about which procedures they offer for free. Most places like this offer free dental work so that their students have patients to gain experience on. Don't worry about students making mistakes on your mouth because they are closely watched and guided by their professors who are actual dentists.

2. Schedule your appointment as soon as you find a school that offers free dental work and has an available opening, because these slots fill up very fast. Some schools offer certain procedures for free that others don't, so you may have to go to one school to get your teeth cleaned and another to get cavities filled, but you can't really complain about that when you are getting free dental work.

3. If you can't find any schools that offer free dental work, you will have to attempt to get state provided health insurance which covers the total cost of your dental care. The first step in doing this is to contact whichever agency administers the health care in your state (generally health and human services) and ask them what the process is for applying for government health care in your state. In general this will require filling out an application for health care which is based on your assets and financial status. You will have to meet certain financial need requirements before you will be approved for government health care.

4. Go to the government center and fill out your application for health care and submit it while you are there. This will save a decent amount of time and will also allow you to ask any questions that you might have or make use of an interpreter if you need one. You may have to wait several weeks until you find out of you are approved for a plan which will cover free dental work.

5. Once you are approved, you'll need to search for a dentist that accepts government health care insurance. You can ask your state for a list of providers who accept this insurance, but be aware that the list isn't always comprehensive and it's better to call dentists on your own and ask them because they don't always report to the state on their status of whether or not they accept government health insurance.

6. To search yourself, open the phone book and start by calling dentists in your area, then branch out further from your home if you don't have any luck. Let the receptionist know right away that you have government dental insurance and ask them if they are currently accepting those types of patients. Most dentists make very little money by accepting government dental insurance so they limit these cases to a very small percentage of their practice, so don't be surprised if you spend hours trying to find an office that will accept you as a patient. Don't give up though, because if you call enough places you will get in somewhere.

7. Book your dentist appointment and make sure that you show up on time and don't miss it. Dentists are sometimes less tolerant of people who have government dental insurance because they hardly make any money doing the work, and the appointments fill up fast and are fewer than regular appointments.