Times are tough for many Americans, and as a result some families have had to tighten their purse strings and cut costs where they can. Unfortunately, this often means backing out of important preventive care like dental exams and cleanings. That’s because while it may seem as though you are saving money by keeping that co-pay, your dentist could be missing the warning signs of a costlier problem down the road.
Here’s why it’s so important to see the dentist regularly, even if you’re on a restricted budget.
Dental Insurance: Use it or lose it
If you are already paying for dental insurance through your employer or another source, you may not think too much about it, especially if it’s automatically deducted from your paycheck. But the truth is, even if you don’t have to write a check or click a submit payment button, you’re still paying for it. That means that if you aren’t using your benefits, you’re essentially throwing your money away each month. Don’t waste your hard-earned paycheck. Maximize your dollars and cents by using your dental insurance benefits for your biannual cleaning and exams. Most are completely covered by your dental insurance or may have nominal co-pay.
The Importance of Preventive Care
When you brush your teeth, things in your mouth may seem great. Maybe they look white and clean and aren’t causing you any pain or sensitivity. But even clean, white teeth can harbor dangerous secrets like infection and cavities and sometimes emerging or impacted wisdom teeth can cause damage to even the healthiest mouth if you don’t know they’re there to stop it. Furthermore, signs of things like oral cancer can be easy for you to miss, but not for your dentist to diagnose, and early diagnosis could save your life!
Thus, visiting your dentist twice a year for your regular, preventive cleaning and exam may not seem important but it can often alert you to problems that could become more expensive later.
Worsening Woes
The other problem with avoiding your oral health is that those expensive problems you’re neglecting can also become more painful and dangerous. Early detection is key to surviving oral cancer, but other problems can become painful, too. A small cavity can grow larger if left untreated and could eventually require a more expensive treatment such as a crown instead of a filling. A tooth infection that might have been corrected with a standard root canal may instead need an extraction and dental implant or bridge. Thus, the sooner you correct the problem, the less painful it has a chance to become.
Remember, while it’s natural to want to cut costs from your already strained budget, an important expense like oral health care should not be one of them. Preventive maintenance like your biannual exam and cleaning doesn’t just make your teeth look whiter, it helps diagnose and prevent any costly and painful dental problems that could be otherwise missed. Start the new year off right and schedule your biannual exam and cleaning appointment today!
About Dr. Robison
Dr. J.D. Robison is a skilled, compassionate third-generation dentist. In fact, he first learned about the power of personalized care from watching his own father and grandfather growing up. Today, Dr. Robison is proud to provide his own patients with that same high-level of expertise and gets great joy from being able to help them improve their oral and overall health.
To schedule an exam and cleaning at Robison Dental Group, please visit our website or call us today at 734-453-6320.