I learned the hard way NOT to wait on what I thought was a cut that could be dealt with by first aid. My oldest daughter got cut on the chin by her younger sister's tooth (yes, wrestling with daddy was involved in this incident), and since it was 7:30 on a Sunday evening, we opted to patch her up ourselves. Seemed to be fine.
Except that the next morning the cut--which was 1/2" long, was gaping open. So off to the ped we went. Who told us that had we gotten it looked at the night before, it could have been super-glued, but since it was more than 12 hrs from the incident, stitches were needed. Off to a plastic surgeon we went...sigh.
In the Lehigh Valley there is a medical practice that does house calls. I encourage all parents to find out if there is something similar in their area, and keep the phone number handy. In most cases they will not be covered by insurance...but they do tell you the fee up front so you can decide if it is worth it to you. We checked later on the cost of repair of a small facial cut...$75. We would have paid a $25 co-pay in the ER, and likely sat around for hours waiting to be seen. So yes, had we known about this service, we most DEFINITELY would have taken advantage of it! As it was, I think we ended up paying $60 in copays for the pediatrician and 2 visits to the plastic surgeon.