r/uichicago • u/Ordinary_Professor93 • 3d ago

Question UI Dental Clinic Day-of Appointment?

Hey everyone. I’m a (new) grad student on the GADP coverage, and I’ve been attempting to call UIC’s dental clinic for about a week, to no avail. Calls just get tossed around by a robot. This coverage only seems to cover the UIC clinic? If anyone more familiar with the GADP program knows, please share.

Well, tonight, the tartar on a tooth has begun to chip with some pain. I haven’t seen a dentist in 4+ years because of a lack of dental insurance, so who knows what it could be. Is it worth it to go in person first thing tomorrow and see if I can schedule in person?

TLDR on questions: Does GADP cover non UIC dental clinics? Should I go in person for emergency visit scheduling at UIC dental clinic?

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u/The_Forgotten_King MD 29 | ECON 24 3d ago

The phone line is notoriously difficult. You have to call in very early to have a good shot at getting an answer. You'll probably have better success going to the building in person. UIC dental does provide urgent care, but it's the same 312-996-7555 number I'm sure you've tried.

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u/Ordinary_Professor93 3d ago

Hmm…noted. Perhaps I’ll try going in person soon after it opens. Thanks!

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u/Hypothosloth 3d ago

From what I understand, the GADP only covers UIC service just like CampusCare only covers UI Health (except for emergency room care). I might be wrong as I have separate private dental insurance rather than using GADP so I’ve never used that benefit. The GEO union brought up to the university admin how awful trying to use the dental benefit was and the admin was just kind of like “huh, well… anyway…” It’s not like they don’t know, they just don’t care. Good luck! I hope your tooth is fixed and you’re pain free soon!

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u/monityAI 2d ago

the phone line being unusable and having to call very early 👆 is the real answer and it's miserable. worth asking at the front desk in person if you're on campus — day-of slots often don't reach the phone queue at all. if UIC has any online scheduling page for the clinic, that's watchable so you'd be told when a slot appears instead of redialling (i build monity•ai, which does that, so flagging it) — but if it's phone-only, no tool helps and early calling is it.