Grim news about the global financial crisis dominates headlines daily. Consumer confidence is at its lowest point in history. Even if your monthly income has not recently changed, you are probably looking at your household budget, trying to decide where you can cut back in personal expenses. It only makes sense to prioritize spending and cut back on the things that just are not necessary right now.
Personal Reflection: All of us have ongoing expenses that we can certainly reduce or perhaps go without. We want the item or service, but do we really need it? On the other hand, there are things that we need but we don’t really want. In these hard times, it is certainly easy to rationalize that you can’t afford something you actually need if it isn’t something that is high on your emotional priority list. Often, health care falls into that category. You need it but you don’t necessarily want it, and it is moved down the priority list when it comes to monthly spending.
Making Good Choices: Making the decision to reduce or eliminate health care in the short term during lean financial times can have long term repercussions. There are very few procedures in dentistry that are preventive (or elective) or that can be delayed. Often the public has considered regular hygiene visits (professional teeth cleaning), resin sealants, examinations and x rays as procedures that are preventive in nature and not totally necessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. Delaying any needed procedure, including a hygiene visit, will lead to more dental disease. A delay in needed therapy will result in dental treatment that is more extensive, more expensive, and with a poorer prognosis. Often, it leads to the loss of the tooth entirely. 90% of the dental diseases that we diagnose have no symptoms for the patient. The decision to not treat the disease until you feel it can be a costly mistake. Taking care of it now will be the most conservative treatment option, with the least expense and the best prognosis.
The doctor and your hygienist will make a recommendation for the frequency of your professional dental cleanings based on your level of periodontal disease and your ability to control the bacterial levels in your mouth, as well as your medical conditions. This is necessary to control or eliminate the dental disease process. Every patient is different; therefore, every patient’s frequency rate for professional cleaning and examination will vary.
The decision to spread out your regular dental visits for the sake of saving money in the monthly household budget may not be a wise choice. It would be the equivalent of a diabetic deciding to take insulin every other day, or a high blood pressure patient deciding to skip their medications twice a week for the sake of saving money. Could that decision create an unstable medical condition for the patient? You bet! The decision to delay or skip regular dental visits or needed treatment will create an unstable dental situation as well.
We Want To Help: We are dedicated to assisting our patients in achieving and maintaining excellent oral and systemic health. We know that means not only providing the services necessary but also the information and education necessary for our patients to make good decision about their care. We know that also means working with each patient individually to find a way to comfortably afford treatment. Let us help you with your questions and considerations during this unusual economy.
Invest In Yourself: The troubled financial times leave few places for an individual to securely invest their time and money. While Wall Street is seemingly in a state of disarray, the financial institutions are lacking credibility and real estate investments have become unpredictable, your continued good health becomes your best investment. We look forward to serving you in that endeavor.
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