Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

My son yesterday face planted off his bike and smashed his mouth, resulting in snapping and cracking 2 of his front teeth (adult teeth). I phoned the medical telephone people for advice on what to do. They told me to take him straight to ED at royal Darwin Hospital which i did. I got there and he has suffered damage to put him in category 2 of broken tooth/teeth and as pulp was exposed but not roots needed to be seen by a dentist with in 24 hours. The Dr who saw him explained that unfortunatly there is no emergency dental services at the hospital and none in the whole of Darwin for that day. She faxed a referal over to a recommended private dentist who i was assured would be able to sort him out the following day once id phoned up. So fast forward to today phoned recommended person and got put through to the out of hours medical center who informed me that there was no emergency dentist working today to make an appointment for monday.
Its also my sons 10th birthday today so not only can he not smile his mouth , lips chin and under his nose is all swollen His teeth are throbbing and im now going to have to try and get him sorted out at the dentist tomorrow.
I know medical services are bad in Darwin but never realised it was the same for dental services.
So has anyone else had similar expereinces getting emergency dental treatment in Australia?
Mandy

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Sorry to hear about your son, I hope he gets sorted quickly. I'm afraid that is one of the many reasons I wouldn't live in Darwin. I would assume it would be similar in lots of other places.

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

I had a dental emergency last month, broke a tooth, thought the thing was a lost cause as it broke downwards from the top right down to the gum line. I was told that if it went just a fraction further down below the gum line it would have been past saving, was very lucky indeed apparently.

Anyway I am a member of BUPA and use a really good BUPA dentist that had access to emergency treatment. I broke the tooth and within 40 minutes of breaking it I had the temporary filling in and an appointment booked to get it filled properly. Couldn't have asked for any more than that :thumbup:

You need to look in to private health funds and what you can access as part of this. BUPA picked up the majority of the cost for this emergency.

My 4 year old son is also covered by our BUPA card. Don't know your health care circumstances but having good private health care cover in Australia is a must, and a good level of cover.

Hope your son gets fixed up soon. When they have finished it will look perfect, they are great with cosmetic dentistry these days.

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

We have got private health cover the highest cover we can get it was compulsory for us in Darwin through Defence Health. But it was no use as there was just no dentist who covers emergencies at all in Darwin and that was my problem no one could see my son despite being told it was crucial for him to be seen within 24 hours. That was Saturday so hoping i can get him seen on Monday.
Mandy

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

That is awful. I hope you can see someone asap and that there is no permanent damage that can't be fixed.

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Christ! I hope he's ok and gets sorted!!

Full face helmets for my lot then!

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Ouch your poor son, just wanted to say how brave he must be putting up with that all day and it will sure be a birthday to remember, lets hope that it is sorted out promptly poor thing.

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

All the private health cover in the world won't help if there aren't eny dentists covering out of hours as is the case in Darwin.

I had a 'temporary' root filling come out 18 months ago while I was up in Darwin. The only out of hours dentist (supposed to be there until 8pm) I could find was at Casuarina shopping centre. Unfortunately, the dentist decided to go home early the day I needed treatment and the reception there don't asnwer phones after 5pm - completely wasted trip from the city and back again.

The GP that was on duty wrote me out a script for pain killers even though she and I knew damn well that they wouldn't help.

I ended up waiting until the next day when I got back to civilisation (Adelaide).

Cheers

LG

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Just to let you know i finally got him seen by a public dentist in palmaston this morning, after phoning every dentist in the book resorted to going public and they agreed to see him. He screamed blue murder but they have managed to to a tooth coloured filling which should last him a couple of years. With my son having aspergers it was an ordeal and a half for both of us. I had to virtually pin him down so the dentist could do the work. They have suggested next time he has any dental work done he may need to go to hospital so he can be sedated.
So after a stressful couple of days all is good.
Thanks for all the kind wishes.
Mandy

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

I was very tempted to book a flight out to get him sorted . The one in Casuarina was the one the hospital refered us to and dentist was the same decided not to work. So frustrating, glad you got sorted out of Darwin
Mandy

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Glad it's sorted for now! Was it expensive?

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Glad you got him sorted in the end.

I hate going to the dentist. The only thing that made me go was losing the root filling. I figured out that if I couldn't eat or drink anything it was time to go see a dentist about it.

When I got to the dentist in Adelaide, they offered me nitrous to calm me down it made the world of difference. A couple of times after when I went and had some invasive stuff done, the dentist turned up the concentration and I was well away with the fairies - not sure if this would be an option for your son?

Cheers

LG

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Didnt cost a thing as children using public dentists are free in Darwin. Also he has a health care card due to his aspergers, so we would have got reduced fees going privately i believe.

LG the nitrous certainly sounds like a good option as hearing your son scream blue murder is not nice and having to pin him down makes me feel awful.
Mandy

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Glad you got him sorted Mandy. Next time you have to go why not ask the dentist about the nitrous? It certainly would be better than having to hold him down. I used to have to hold my son down for blood tests that he needed every 3 months.

Funny how different Aspergers kids are, eh? My son always liked going to the dentist when he was little. Our dentist in Canada used to have a TV above the chair where the kids could watch cartoons and they got prizes when they were done - toothbrush & floss :lol: He actually asked a couple of weeks ago if I could make an appointment for him to get a cleaning.

Re: Would this happen elsewhere in oz of having no emergency dental services?
 

Glad you got him sorted. My OH is very nervous at the dentist, to the extent of closing his mouth on the dentist's hand!! He changed to a dentist who gives him a sedative, and all is good.