TravelParis23

Husband needs a root canal - How to file a claim with travel insuranceNow we have a new problem - my sweet husband has developed sharp pain in a lower molar. Dentist started him on antibiotics and wants to see him first thing Monday morning do "possibly" doing a root canal.
Here is my concern. Dentist thinks the procedure can be completed in one visit - my husband can continue on antibiotics and pain killer and we can STILL make the trip to Paris on Tuesday .

Help- is the dentist being overly optimistic ? I told the dentist we have trip insurance but he seems reluctant to get involved . If the dentist does not write a note , insurance will not process our claim .

Any one have any experience trying to cancel a trip and file insurance claim ?
Should we cancel flight and hotel now or wait and see how the dental work goes?

I do not like being in limbo as you can imagine

I have another thread about the upcoming Train Strike Dec 5 but this is new problem

RoamsAround

<<...Dentist thinks the procedure can be completed in one visit - my husband can continue on antibiotics and pain killer and we can STILL make the trip to Paris on Tuesday. Help- is the dentist being overly optimistic ?...>>

Sorry, how can anyone tell you if your dentist is being optimistic? Your dentist is the best one to advise you on this. we can only guess!!!

<<...Should we cancel flight and hotel now or wait and see how the dental work goes?...>>

Now, you are putting the cart before the horse.

if you file a claim on your travel Insurance on the basis of cancelling due to a medical condition you will have to provide proof. Merely telling the insurance company your husband is ill won't cut it. So, you'll need documentation from your dentist and from what you say he is unwilling to provide that for you now. However, he/she will probably be willing to do so after the procedure if the situation warrants.

What that means is you should wait until your husband has the procedure and see how he feels afterwards. If he feels OK and you go on the trip - all well and good. If, however, he feels too sick to go, you simply cancel your plans, call the insurance company and begin the claims process. Your insurance company will tell you exactly what documentation you will need and assuming your dentist is a "professional" he/she should be able to provide you with the documentation you need (most likely it will be prepared by the dentist's office staff, if he/she has a staff).

yestravel

My husband had a root canal and was fine after it. We flew within a week of the procedure. He did have antibiiotics. He was not in pain, but may have taken some pills with im if I recall. I think you may have to wait until you have a procedure.

eliztravels2

I have had lifelong dental problems with numerous root canals and all manner of other procedures so I can empathize with your dilemma. I never get on a plane for a journey of more than a few hours without some heavy duty pain meds and some penicillin in my carryon, just in case. Here are some things I suggest you consider:

How much do you trust your dentist? If you have had sound treatment and advice from him/her over a reasonable length of time that counts for something. However, even a very qualified/experienced dentist with a thorough knowledge of your husband’s general health and dental history can at best make an informed guess about what might happen this time.

It is unlikely to be helpful to hear other people’s experiences in filing an insurance claim. Circumstances differ, policies differ, companies differ. However, it is safe to assume that no company will pay out on a claim without asking a lot of questions, and requiring documents (including treatment records from your dentist) to validate your claim. I expect your dentist is justifiably reluctant to ‘get involved’ at this juncture as it requires predicting what could/couldnot happen on Monday and afterwards. However I expect the professional association or other governing body would require that these records be produced for the insurance company or released to you if you give permission.

Read your travel insurance policy--twice. Make sure you understand what is covered under what circumstances. Do the math.

If you take the trip and your husband develops problems while away, would appropriate medical care be readily available? What would it be likely to cost? Assuming your travel insurance would not cover out-of-country costs given that his condition was unstable at the time of departure, would you be able to cover those costs out of pocket? Based on your assessment on how likely problems are, and how big the costs would be, is that a risk you are willing to take?

What does you husband think?

Such unfortunate timing--if this had happened a week or two earlier you would have a few days to let events unfold before you made your decision.

I wish you well.

WeisserTee

Years ago, I had a "problematic" root canal before a long flight to Paris from the U.S. Traveled with antibiotics and prescription strength pain killers. Everything went fine and hoping the same goes for your husband

Just in case it doesn't, here is the website for the dentist I had to see in Paris last December when I developed a serious tooth infection: https://dr-benichou-bernard.chirurgiens-dentistes.fr/

He's in the 7th arrondissement on the Ave de la Bourdonnais. Was able to get a next-day appointment.

suze

I would never get on an international flight the day after that kind of dental work myself. Sorry don't know anything helpful about insurance, but it jut seems such a gamble, that he could be in pain at best or have complication at worst. I also don't get the part about the dentist being reluctant to write a letter stating the situation.

But since you aren't sure yet what is going to be done on Monday, you're right, really hard to know what to do without all the facts. Sorry you are both having to deal with this.

TravelParis23

Thank you so much for the thoughtful replies

Yes, I wish this was not the case but we will wait and see what Monday brings

We were immediately referred to an endodontist after describing the sudden onset of pain to our family dentist ( over the phone ).

We have been patients of this family dentist for more than 40 years
Last routine check-up was October 24, 2019 - all was well then

Endodontist saw us just before Thanksgiving , took X-rays and prescribed antibiotics which helped enormously
His office seemed surprised our family dentist did not send any notes about prior crown and adjacent dental implant

suze

I'm glad you have moved on to a specialist. I think many people become comfortable with long term dentists who might not be as up-to-date in their practice as you would hope.