§02Emergencies & out-of-hours care

Outside normal Ordinationszeiten, Vorarlberg operates a weekend and public-holiday Zahnärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst coordinated by the Landeszahnärztekammer; the duty roster covering Hard and the Bregenz Bezirk publishes the on-call practice and hours, typically Saturday and Sunday mornings. For trauma, uncontrolled bleeding, facial swelling or suspected jaw fracture, the nearest hospital with a 24/7 emergency department is Landeskrankenhaus Bregenz, with maxillofacial backup at LKH Feldkirch. Call 144 for ambulance dispatch or the pan-European 112 for any life-threatening situation; 141 reaches the general medical out-of-hours service.

§03Frequently asked questions

Do Hard clinics treat Swiss cross-border patients paying in CHF? Most practices invoice in EUR only, but Swiss patients are common given the 20-minute drive from St. Margrethen. Treatment is typically paid privately at the clinic and submitted afterwards to the Swiss insurer under Grundversicherung rules, which usually do not reimburse routine adult dentistry. Patients should request a detailed Honorarnote with tariff codes, and confirm in advance whether their supplementary Zahnversicherung accepts Austrian invoices — many do, but at Swiss reference tariffs rather than the full Austrian bill.

Is German required to be seen in Hard? German is the working language of every listed practice, and most reception staff handle bookings only in German. Several dentists speak conversational English given the cross-border patient flow, but complex consent discussions — implant planning, endodontic alternatives, orthodontic contracts — are easier in German. Patients without German often bring a family member or use practices in nearby Bregenz that explicitly advertise English-speaking staff. Always ask when booking rather than on arrival.

Where do Hard patients go for orthodontics for children? Hard itself has no dedicated kieferorthopädische Fachpraxis among the six listed clinics; paediatric orthodontic cases are generally referred to specialist Kieferorthopäden in Bregenz or Dornbirn. The Gratis-Zahnspange programme, funded jointly by ÖGK and the federal government since 2015, covers fixed appliances for medically indicated cases (IOTN grade 4–5) in under-18s at contracted specialists — parents should confirm contract status before starting treatment.

Can I get same-day implant consultations locally? Surgical implant work in Hard is concentrated at Praxis DDr. Stampfl, who as a trained Kieferchirurg handles both consultation and placement. Other general practices in town will typically perform the prosthetic phase — abutment and crown — but refer the surgical step. Same-day consultations are uncommon; expect a one- to three-week wait for an assessment appointment, with CBCT imaging arranged separately if the practice does not have an in-house scanner.

§04Safety note

This directory is informational only and is not medical advice. Patients should consult a licensed dental clinic for individual clinical decisions.