How to Choose Pediatric Dentist for a 3 Year Old?

We asked our dentist. You can also ask his pediatrician. If he has a large cavity and it needs to be treated, I would be making a lot of calls. I would not want the tooth to be lost. I'm glad he's on antibiotics, though, because a tooth infection can become systemic. The other thing you can consider is paying upfront (being out of network) and filing with any insurance you have. You might also find out if any medical insurance he has (not dental) will cover any of the procedure or medications. He may end up needing to be treated at the hospital, as they often do not do sedation for small children anywhere else.

I would do a search in your area for all pediatric dentists and start calling. Explain your situation and see if they can work out payments, etc. I would not wait too long since your child is in pain. Most pediatric dentists will do what they can without using gas or drugs for the child.

Call the insurance company. They have a list of docs that accept their plan. That is the only way to find a doc.....otherwise you have to call every dentist in the phone book in every town around you to find out if they take your insurance....go to the horses mouth, your own insurance company.

The main reason I chose the office I did was the person who answered the phone gave me detailed information about what exactly a pediatric dentist is and how they differ from a family dentist. I was so impressed with her answers I made an appointment.

My granddaughter had fallen and broke her front tooth off. It had to be capped. The doc was an older man, he would only do a silver cap and I didn't care for him so I asked if a different doc in the clinic did white fillings and they said yes. I have been extremely happy with my choice ever since.

Your insurance provider will have a list, it may not be up to date exactly. They often will have a doc that just can't accept anymore patients and stopped taking that plan without telling them.

Find a dentist who will take your son and set up a payment plan. We have no dental insurance, pay everything out of pocket and use payment plan options for large medical and dental bills.

Are you saying the pediatric dental clinic won't take anyone that doesn't have MetLife?
That's odd to me.
They should be able to give you a breakdown on the cost out of pocket for his procedure accounting for the fact that you won't be using any insurance.
I'd call them back & ask again.
MOST dentists will allow you to pay over 2 or 3 months if you need to--they might require 50% up front or something.
Good luck!

You can always call your pediatricians office and ask for a few referrals for pediatric dentists, too.

I agree with the others about making lots of of calls.once you find someplace that can help I would file a formal complaint drand/or send a letter to the first dentist office. There is also Foundation that helps pay for medical issues with kids with cleft problems. I worked with a lady whose son receive a lot off help from them. Not sure what it is called but you can google it. Good luck. N.