Outside of the relief of pain and infection, our oral hygiene program is the most important service that we can provide for our patients.
Economically speaking, regular dental visits and good home care is a very good investment. Good home care will prevent almost all dental proglems, and regular or routine visits to the dentist can save you quite a bit of money, by finding problems early on when they can be treated quite conservatively and economically.
Only when teeth are neglected is dental treatment expensive and extensive: "Neglect your teeth and they will go away" is a true saying. Quite often patients will spend a small fortune, and still lose their teeth, while others spend very little, and keep their teeth all their lives. The difference is whether routine oral hygiene and dental checkups are part of the person's healthcare.
We are certainly aware that patients don't neglect their teeth only because of economics. No one really likes to go to the dentist, and many people have a fear of dental visits. Patients with high anxiety should look for a dentist whoo is gentle, compassionate and understanding (ask around until you find one like this) They should tell their dentist about their fear, and learn about sedation.
Once a person has experienced a few pleasant trips to the dentist, they will overcome their fear. Putting off treatment will only make things more difficult, and expensive, in the long run.
Log on to our oral hygiene link to learn more about good oral hygiene.
Earl Love, DDS
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