When Smiles Pay Off: Why Dental Visits Save You Money

The economy can seem unsteady these days, so it’s only natural to trim your budget a bit. You want to make sure you have cash for daily needs, holiday gifts – the list goes on. With that said, you shouldn’t include dentistry in your cost-cutting work; dental visits save you money over time. Skipping them would put an even greater stain on your long-term finances. For more details on these points, just look at this summary from your local Freedom dentist.

Dentistry Prevents Pricey Problems

While dental visits incur some costs, they also protect you from very pricey problems. Skipping them increases your risk of issues that’d drain your budget, including:

Tooth Decay & Infection

Brushing and flossing alone can’t protect your teeth, as they let bacteria grow in your mouth’s hard-to-reach places. You also need dental checkups to ensure your mouth is free of harmful plaque. Without them, there’s a good chance you’ll get cavities and tooth infections.

As you’d expect, it costs more to treat cavities and tooth infections than to prevent them. Fixing such issues requires procedures like dental crowns, root canals, or even extractions. Since these treatments rely on special knowledge and resources, they have higher prices than your standard checkup.

Severe Gum Disease

Just as your teeth need more than home care, the same applies to your gums. A toothbrush and floss aren’t enough to protect these tissues from inflammation and infection. To that extent, going without checkups greatly increases your risk of gum disease.

Overall, treating gum disease is rather costly. The required therapy has a higher price than a dental checkup, as the former involves special cleaning methods. A patient’s final treatment could also involve pricey tooth replacement when gum disease causes tooth loss.

Ways to Make Dental Care Affordable

If you really want to reduce your dental costs, the best option is to rely on the following tips:

• Use Your Dental Plan – Note that most dental plans fully cover dental checkups, and that they partially cover restorative work. Getting a good one would thus reduce your expenses.
• Try Flexible Financing – If a required treatment seems expensive, ask your dentist about flexible financing. Many dental providers let patients work with 3^rd party financiers like CareCredit. In doing so, they allow you to pay for care in manageable monthly installments.
• Choose Cheaper Services – When all else fails, you can always opt for low-cost dental work instead of pricier stuff. Examples of these include dental bonding, teeth whitening, and so on.

Dental visits really do save you money, so don’t cut them out. Use the tricks above and other resources to maintain your budget into the new year!

About the Practice

Dental Expressions is based in Freedom, WI. Led by Drs. Robert and Heather Heil, our practice offers truly advanced and cutting-edge dentistry. We provide preventive, cosmetic, and even restorative treatments, all while using the latest technology to tailor your care. That means you can trust us to deliver the best results possible for your smile. For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (920)-788-6280.