Delaying Dental Care Due to Cost…Why it Doesn’t Make Cents

According to a recent survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, cost is the number one reason, amongst readers polled, for delaying dental care.

The complete report is available to subscribers in the February issue of Consumer Reports.

One of the most interesting conclusions revealed by the Consumer Reports study was how most people were satisfied with their dental care.

Take it from the stalwart consumer community defender, not us:

Going to the dentist is no one’s idea of a good time, but the 51,768 Consumer Reports subscribers who told us about their oral health were nevertheless overwhelmingly satisfied with their dental care.

In fact, they rated it higher than most other services and on a par with the care they got from their doctors.

What’s more, few readers reported experiencing anything beyond mild pain—even for the infamous root canal.

No Pain for a Root Canal?

We had to check our hearing for that one…you mean to tell us that for something as necessarily off-putting as a root canal, we can actually feel no pain?

Techmology is wonderful isn’t it?!?

But it’s ultimately our trusted local dentists that deserve the kudos, so let’s all do ourselves a favor and not ignore them like we ignore our own optimal oral health from time to time.

Just as Consumer Reports defends and informs their subscribers, our local dental enforcement teams diligently protect the teeth and gums of their surrounding communities from the incessant invasion of ever present cavity creeps.

Ignoring our dentist is bad for our bank account, and bad for our overall health.

These are indisputable facts we will be happy to debate with any anti-dentite out there.

 
It’s simple; we go to the dentist and yes, it costs us money – sometimes above and beyond what our insurance or employers cover.

Alternatives to High Cost Dental Care?

Is there really no  room in our budget for oral health…maybe we need to think about that next time we’re lining up for a $5 cup of coffee, or paying $100 each month for an all-encompassing super terrific smartphone plan.

Here’s the choice…we as Americans love choices right?

1.       Go to the dentist and practice preventative maintenance.

2.       Ignore the dentist; brush, floss, and hope…a wish in one hand…

Door number one reveals optimal oral health and relatively manageable dental healthcare costs.

Choose number two your own peril, and then be prepared to pay out the nose when the plaque really hits the fan!

And don’t worry…your dentist will revel in the “I told you so” rhetoric as you endure that painless root canal from the comfort of their dental chaise.

Would This Help Us Keep More Dental Appointments?

Please don’t jump all over us for this one, we have nothing to do with the concept and we’re not trying to publicize Taiwanese Dentistry du jour or expound on Jennifer Aniston’s dental dominatrix display in recent Hollywood cinema.

It was a dental-centric story out of Taiwan, which reports how successful a few women dentists have been at playing up this ‘sexy dentist’ angle that prompted this dental discussion.

Seems hordes of Taiwanese men are lining up at their door for dental exams, with some actually looking to return to the dentist before the next appointment is even needed.

Is a sexy dentist the answer to our neglected dental health here in America?

Despite the angle of the Taiwanese story, this isn’t some chauvinistic piece directed only at the men. On the contrary, we’d be willing to wager that more than a few women out there wouldn’t be too shy about seeing a sexy soap opera character dentist when they need a cleaning, exam, and x-ray.

Shoot…we’re of the opinion the male dentists would do better than the female dentists here in the States!

Generally speaking, at least when it comes to dentistry, guys are lazy – no matter what the allure.

Now we have no data, research, or even a footnote to back that claim up, and maybe we’re just playing that angle to elicit some response, but would the majority of women out there agree (generally speaking, of course)?

Just remember ladies, we’re only talking about laziness with regards to dentistry!!

Women seem to care more about maintaining proper oral health in the first place, and it’s our bet they’d be more likely to popularize the sexy dentist trend more so than the men.

Maybe our dentists could take a tip from the Taiwanese and turn on the charm to tune in their patients more!

What do you think…would a sexy dentist possibly enhance our dental office visit, and in turn improve our collective oral health?

Here are 3 reasons why we feel a sexy dentist can improve the health of our teeth and gums:

1. Patients will be captivated, enabling seamless communication and further education.
2. Bad news – like a root canal – sounds way better.
3. Missed appointments will be a thing of the past.

Is all this sexy dentist talk just way too subjective to actually have any measurable impact on the health and wellness of our teeth and gums?

Don’t tell that to this dentist!

 

Disclaimer: We actually have zero idea about the content in the abovementioned video, as we do not speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or Taiwanese – or any derivative dialect therein. We just thought it would be a lighthearted topic to discuss on a slow dental news Tuesday.

Can Cutting the Fat Help Us Fight Gum Disease?

In our never-ending quest to singularly promote socially-centric neighborhood dentistry, combined with our shared battle in shrinking our collective expanding waistlines, we hope to bring some attention to this latest round of dental health information purged on the public.

You may only think dentists can be interested in this type of stuff, and you’re right.

Who really cares how quickly science advances, what enzymes help us understand this or that, how the quality of health care improves, or how we can save money?

Even if we do care about all those things, who has the time to have an actual conversation about it – or even just forward a link, right?

With the next viral puppy video burning a hole in our inbox, and a flurry of text messages to return, it’s no wonder optimal oral health really takes a backseat in our everyday lives.

If weight loss can be considered a popular topic of conversation these days, we can now add gum disease to the list of benefits involved with a reduction in body mass and associated waistline circumference.

Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers found the human body is better at fighting gum disease when fat cells, which trigger inflammation, disappear.

Now this doesn’t mean if we go out and dive into the next fad diet, that we no longer need to see the dentist as often.

This is only preliminary research and a mountain more needs to be done but at the very least it is another sign of the oral systemic connection.

A new paradigm between dentistry and medicine is now developing regarding patient care. As the oral systemic connection is more clearly understood, dentists who are trained in diagnosing oral and periodontal disease will play a greater role in the overall health of their patients.

Many times, the first signs of unnatural systemic health conditions reveal themselves in changes within the oral cavity.

The health of our teeth and gums directly correlates to our overall physical health, and vice-versa.

At least that’s how we read all that dental clinicalspeak.

What this means to us, as dental patients is this; the better our dentists understand the connection between oral health and physical health, the better they can communicate this information to the rest of us – but we do have to go see them on the regular…and make sure we befriend them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and bookmark their blog posts!

A down economy should never be a reason to forgo optimal oral health; it will actually cost us more money to delay even just regular dental cleanings and exams.

This neglect leads to the development of oral health, tooth, and gum problems which then require more attention (read: time and money) from our trusted dentists, when the spit finally does hit the sink.

We don’t need to wait for the government to debate our health care, or break the bank on regular dental care.

There other easy to pay dentistry options, and alternatives to dental insurance.

And don’t be afraid to get your primary care physician involved in the conversation.

 
Tell us you wouldn’t Like that doctor’s Facebook page AND share the link?