If you watered properly, it shouldn't dry out before it germs and sprouts.
when you irrigate, you irrigate entire pot, not a portion of it. partial irrigations lead to problems over time.
if it's hot or otherwise going to dry too fast, put a cup over where it was planted but remove it once it sprouts. This should avoid any need for an irrigation before the sprout has a tap root all the way to the bottom of a seedling pot. if using larger pots, stop doing that. start in a small one and up-pot as needed. At this point you can wait for top layer to dry and irrigate. The higher the water capacity of your substrate the longer you should wait as far as drying up top -- weight of the pot is also an excellent way to do it.
anything taking longer than 3-5 days is rare and more likey caused by planting method than a "bad" or slow seed. Some older seed may take longer than normal, too. this is a trial and error learning process of how deeply to plant it and gently to tamp down the substrate over it. you want enough friction to pull the seed shell off and not take longer than ~3 days. A heating mat helps if in a cold climate.