<p>Total ignoramus question - I just realized that I have no idea how most college students handle getting their dental cleaning, fillings etc done.</p>
<p>At home. We always scheduled cleanings and checkups for those times S would be home. </p>
<p>My kids went at home at Christmas and then again in the summer. Sometimes they were only home for 2 weeks, so I had to schedule well in advance. Plus my dentist was pretty nice about giving them last minute cancellation slots, if nothing else was available. </p>
<p>Some would find a dentist in the area in/near campus, especially if it is remote and they find a dentist they like. </p>
<p>Others wait till weekends/holidays to go to the dentist back in their hometowns. </p>
<p>Still others end up never feeling the need to go to/fearfully avoid the dentist during their entire 4+ years of college. NOT RECOMMENDED. </p>
<p>Breaks and summer. Fortunately, none of our kids have ever had a dental emergency while at school- I guess then I would tell them to ask around?</p>
<p>Ditto to the winter break and summer break. But those winter break appointments get taken up months in advance, so schedule out early, or be willing to take last-minute cancellations.</p>
<p>I schedule far in advance for over school breaks for the dentist. Almost had a problem, D2 has only 2 weeks at home due to summer research this summer, and the dentist office tried to cancel the day before! I groveled, and they got her in with a different dentist on the day of the planned appointment. I also schedule eye doctor appointments during the time home. Would of course have her go to someone within walking distance of campus if an emergency arises at school.</p>
<p>My Ss were/are only 50 miles away so it hasn’t been too diffcult for them to come home. </p>
<p>It is often advised to have wisdom teeth removal done preemptively, as you don’t want an emergency that will invariably occur during finals. </p>
<h1>8 Luckily D already has her wisdom teeth out - they came in last year and boy was that week not fun! She only has 2 - I never knew you could get less than the 4.</h1>
<p>One of our kids had her wisdom teeth out Dec. 26 of freshman year of college. 
We got 2nd one taken care of early in the summer before freshman year (learned our lesson).</p>
<p>At home during breaks.</p>
<p>However, if your kid is attending a large university, one with a dental school affiliation, (or even just in the same city as a dental school) their clinics are a good option. </p>
<p>Many years ago (poor med school years) my husband and I used a dental school clinic for our care, both for regular check ups/cleanings and for more extensive work. I had surgery for a receeding gum around a tooth, and my husband had his wisdom teeth removed. It was very cheap, the dental students (and oral surgery residents) were extremely well supervised. The only drawback was that it was time consuming.</p>
<p>My son recently went to the dental school clinic affiliated with his university to have a quick check on a wisdom tooth that had suddenly begun to erupt a few weeks before a planned 8 week stint in a third world part of Africa. He didn’t have time to drive home to our regular dentist. It cost under $50 for an x-ray and a quick reassurance that the tooth should be fine for the summer. </p>
<p>(He has an appointment to have them all removed during winter break.)</p>
<p>My oldest just had the two removed, my youngest had at least three done.
I never had mine taken out, as I had four bicuspids removed as part of ortho work.
There are several threads for people who are now thinking they should schedule this for the winter break!</p>
<p>( I commiserate with them, I had my tonsils taken out when I was six during my holiday break, and I was so MAD!) </p>
<p>LOL! It was like negotiating to buy a car: trying to fit in the surgery plus a couple of days of down time, plus a two week post op check up… Around his already packed schedule of,“I was planning to work at X during the break, plus I have plans to go to Y for New Years,” and the regular holiday closing days of the oral surgeon’s clinic. </p>
<p>Don’t have your kid go to the dental school clinic if you can help it. If the dental FACULTY run a clinic, and they take your insurance, that is a good choice.</p>
<p>Our experiences were fine. There were always faculty supervising, who were required to inspect and sign off on every single step of everything the dental students did. Which is why a check up and cleaning took so long. </p>
<p>Try to schedule at Christmas or summer vacation, but definitely do it early. Some offices may be closed for vacation during the Christmas holidays. For emergencies during the school year try the dental school if available, otherwise you may have to go to a local dentist (get advise/recommendation from the hospital or emergency clinic at the school).</p>
<p>I always tried to schedule them for a cleaning when they were home but with my oldest two occasionally over the years went to a local dentist in their college town for one reason or another. And neither of my two oldest wanted to come home much after freshman summer so having someone local worked out just fine. One needed oral surgery for a cracked wisdom tooth that the local dentist diagnosed and his college town and college was so small there was no oral surgeon so he came home for a long weekend and flew back to college with his jaw packed. He survived nicely. </p>
<p>Our kids went to school 3-4 hours away. We scheduled all of their medical/dental check ups during their breaks. They used their school’s health center for minor issues and came home for anything major.</p>
<p>Dental visits were during the winter break and summer…here at home!</p>