If you're paying without insurance, an emergency visit to our 4500 South office starts with a $99 exam and X-ray. That buys you a diagnosis and a price on paper for the work the tooth needs. Phone (385) 480-0270 first; we'll block out a same-day time for you, and nothing beyond the exam is done until you've seen the number and agreed to it.
Same-day appointments · $99 exam + X-ray · Phones answered 24/7 · In network with four major plans
The $99 emergency exam fee is for patients paying without insurance. It covers a limited, problem-focused emergency exam and the X-ray needed to diagnose the tooth. Treatment is priced separately and quoted to you in writing before any work starts.
How emergency dental pricing works at our Salt Lake City office
There are three parts to the visit, and the price of each part is settled before the next one begins.
The exam and X-ray come first. A dentist examines the tooth, asks about the pain, and takes an X-ray that shows what a mirror can't: a crack running below the gum, infection around the root, decay that has reached the nerve. For a patient without insurance, this part is $99.
The diagnosis comes second. The dentist tells you what's wrong and what can be done about it. Sometimes there's one answer. Sometimes there are two, a root canal with a crown on one hand and an extraction on the other, and you hear the case for each.
The written price comes third. You get the name of the procedure and its cost on paper, before treatment. Read it over, raise any questions, then decide. Want to sleep on it? Go home; the exam is paid for, and the price you were quoted doesn't change when you come back.
What the $99 emergency exam fee covers
The fee pays for two things: a problem-focused exam of the one tooth that's causing trouble, plus the X-ray that shows what's going on under the surface. That's the whole list. It isn't a full-mouth checkup and it isn't the price of fixing anything.
If the exam shows the tooth needs no treatment that day, $99 is what you pay. If it needs a crown, a root canal, an extraction or a filling, each of those is its own procedure with its own price, and that price is the number you see in writing before the dentist picks up an instrument.
Dental insurance we accept in Salt Lake City
We are in network with four plans: Delta Dental Premier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah, SelectHealth and Cigna. If we are in network with your plan, your plan, rather than you, is billed for the exam and X-ray. Have your card, or at least the member number, handy when you phone so it can be noted on your file.
Most other dental plans are out of network, and we submit the claim for you. What an out-of-network plan pays back depends on that plan's rules, not ours, so the written quote shows the full procedure price and your plan's payment comes off according to its terms.
Medicaid and HMO dental plans are not accepted here.
Paying without insurance
Cash and credit cards are accepted. For treatment that's more than you'd like to pay in one go, CareCredit financing is available, and credit union financing for larger treatments is an option as well. In some cases we can split a larger bill into payments; ask when you call, so the arrangement is set before the work starts rather than after.
Why there are no treatment prices on this page
Patients ask, and the honest answer is that a printed price would be wrong for most of the people reading it. An extraction of a loose front tooth and an extraction of a broken lower molar with curved roots are different jobs. A root canal on a tooth with one canal is not the same as one with four. The X-ray decides which job you have, and the quote follows from the X-ray.
What we can promise is the order of events: exam, diagnosis, written price, then treatment. You're never asked to approve a procedure you haven't seen the cost of. That holds for a patient driving in from Murray, from Taylorsville, or from anywhere else in the valley we serve.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an emergency dentist visit cost in Salt Lake City without insurance?
For patients without insurance, $99 covers the emergency exam and X-ray that open the visit. The treatment carries its own price, which you receive in writing once the dentist has diagnosed the tooth and before any work starts. No procedure begins until you've agreed to its cost.
Is the $99 fee billed if I have insurance?
If we are in network with your plan, your plan, not you, receives the bill for that exam and X-ray. Our in-network plans are Delta Dental Premier, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utah, SelectHealth and Cigna. With other plans, the claim is submitted on your behalf and the plan's rules determine what it pays.
Do you take Medicaid or HMO dental plans?
The short answer is no, for both. Patients paying without insurance are welcome, and the $99 exam and X-ray applies to them. CareCredit and credit union financing are available for larger treatments if you need to spread the cost out.
Can I pay for a same-day extraction over time?
Possibly. CareCredit financing and credit union financing for larger treatments are both available, and in some cases we can split a larger bill into payments. Ask about it when you call for your same-day appointment so the paperwork is handled before the procedure, not during it.
What if I don't want the treatment after I hear the price?
Then you don't have it. A written quote is just that, a quote, not a promise to proceed. Take it with you, mull it over, and call back when you're ready; the exam and X-ray you paid for are already done. The FAQ page answers more questions about visits, hours and what to expect.