[20M NY Fidelis] Been trying to get an emergency dental appointment for 6 days now. Every office my insurance company refers me to says they don’t accept my insurance.

I’ve had a monster toothache since Friday 7/1. My jaw has been swollen for days. I can’t really eat, or sleep. I’ve been told I need a root canal, or else it will need to be extracted.

Most offices were closed Sat-Mon for the holiday weekend. I’ve called over 2 dozen offices, and either can’t get an appointment, or they can’t do the work I need.

I keep getting referrals to offices that don’t offer root canals, don’t accept my insurance, aren’t accepting new patients, only offer pediatric care, or just don’t answer the phone/return calls.

I can’t afford to pay out of pocket.

I spoke with a dentist over the phone who referred me to an out of network emergency dentist that was open on a Saturday. I paid $250 for an exam that lasted all of 5 minutes. He looked at my tooth and said he doesn’t do root canals, and referred me to another dentist, and gave me a prescription for ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and antibiotics.

Then on Tuesday I called around to several more dentists and got an appointment. They gave me another exam, and said they can’t do a root canal either. They gave me a referral list of 6 endodontists. Including a local hospital with an emergency dental center part of their dental school.

I got two no responses, including the hospital. Two said they don’t take my insurance, one said they don’t accept outside referrals, and one said the soonest they could see me is between December and March.

I haven’t been able to go to work or function, what am I supposed to do?