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Dental Care During a Recession
Economic recessions are tough on our wallets, our families, and yes, even our teeth. When employers downsize, many not only lose their jobs, but also their insurance benefits.
With money tight, taking care of one's health is not often a front burner issue. When you have to pay cash for visits to physicians and dentists, those routine checkups can fall by the wayside.
Patients should remember, though, that health care can be modified at times to better meet your financial needs. A partial fix for your health care problem may be better than no fix at all. Such discussions should occur regularly between the health provider and patient. Communication should always be part of a healthy doctor-patient relationship. For example, a person who needs a crown on a tooth may be able to "get by" with a restoration (dental filling) as a temporary fix, it might not be the best treatment, but it may help the patient until they can afford to upgrade.
When money is tight, some dental care is better than no care at all. Keep in mind that spending $100 for a dental cleaning, xrays or a dental filling now may save you several thousands of dollars down the pike. Small decay areas can turn into big root canal and crown procedures if left unattended. The key is catching the decay early.
Of course, meticulous home care is the best way to keep dental costs at a minimum. Brushing and flossing, coupled with healthy eating habits are good skills for any economy.
Dr. Dale's Tips for Healthier Teeth
- Brush your teeth several times a day
- Daily flossing
- Curbing sugar intake
- Watch your soda consumption
- Put a hold on sugary snacks
- Keep an eye on processed foods-take time to read the nutrition labels
- Avoid unhealthy grazing-Always shoving food in to your mouth, snacking constantly, is unhealthy. Junk food can become addictive to adults as well as kids. Junk food junkies don't only have increased tooth decay, but they also have increased risk of diabetes and obesity.
Dr. Chomas recently read an article about a new 'healthy Coke' recipe going viral on TikTok. Read more about the potential harm below.
This article recently came across Dr. Chomas' desk and he feels this is worth passing on to our patients concerning Nontraditional Orthodontic Treatment.
What's New Archive
- COVID-19 Update
- Tooth Decay Prevention
- Tooth Eruption Chart for Primary and Permanent Teeth
- Self Medication Dangers
- In-Office Teeth Whitening
- It's all about sugar
- Childhood Tooth Development
- Thoughts and Concerns about Oral Cancer
- Dental Decay and Nutrition
- Dental Care During a Recession
- Increased Dental Decay among Patients with Asthma
- Do You Premedicate?
- The AcuCam® Concept® IV
- The World Would Benefit from Having a Lot More Watsontowns
