I was at a small concert venue and some people started arguing. They started pushing and I was pushed in the Frey. For some reason, the bouncer thought I was one of the main parties and grabbed me. I told him I wasn’t and tried to pull away from him. That’s when he hit me. I was pretty ticked but couldn’t do much about it. So far, I’ve lost ticket money and now, this morning I realize one of my teeth are loose from where he hit me. I don’t have money for this kind of thing. Can I charge the venue?
Lance
Dear Lance,
I’m sorry about you missing your concert. I know those tickets don’t come cheap, even at small venues. The first thing I would do is call the venue and see if they’ll agree to cover the expense after you explain what happened. If they don’t, the dentist will not be able to charge them. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get the treatment you need.
I’d call your dentist and let them know what’s going on. A loose adult tooth is considered a dental emergency. Most dentists are compassionate and went into the field in order to help people. If you let them know about your financial situation, they may be willing to allow you to receive the treatment you need and then pay out the procedure.
If you don’t have a dentist at the moment, you can do an internet search for an emergency dentist. These are simply general dentists who are willing to see non-established patients when there is a situation such as yours and timely care is important.
What to Expect From and Emergency Dentist
Because you have a loose tooth he’ll likely start by doing x-rays. This is to see if there is any internal damage to the tooth. If there is, he may have to do a root canal treatment and provide you with a dental crown.
If that is not an issue you need to worry about, then it’s probably just a stretched ligament. He’ll stabilize your tooth with some form of splint which will give the tooth time to heal.
In order for you to try and recoup your money from the venue, you will want to make sure you get timely treatment. If you end up taking them to small claims court and winning, they will only charge the venue for work which would have been done if you’d gotten seen right away. If you post-pone this and end up losing the tooth, they won’t charge the venue for a tooth replacement which was avoidable.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.