Your Nails? A latte?
Or…Your TEETH?
The choice is yours
My wife, Marci, recently shared a story with me and I felt compelled
to share it with all of you.
She was getting her hair cut and started to chat with
another client at the hair salon. The conversation went something like
this. How long have you been getting
your hair done here? What do you do? My wife answered that she manages our
Dental Office and then the client asked the big question. How often do you
think a person should get their teeth cleaned?
The client continued, I don’t have dental insurance and about 3 years
ago I had to give something up to stay on budget. She stated that she couldn’t give up getting
her hair cut or colored ($125 every 6-8 weeks), would not think of giving up
her weekly manicure ($12x4=$48 monthly), monthly pedicure ($20) and how could
she possibly give up her daily delicious latte ($4 a dayx5=$20 per week)? So,
she gave up going to her dentist. What
do you think, she asked my wife.
This was the answer…. Going to the dentist at least once a
year should be mandatory, especially if you are a coffee/tea drinker. Of course
2 times a year is best but if you can only afford one time a year that is
better than nothing. Going to your
dentist for your annual oral/cancer screening exam and cleaning or what we like
to call Continued Care is not as expensive and you may think. Your exam will cost approximately $65 (may be
more may be less) and your cleaning $108 (may be more may be less). If you need x-rays they can range from $44
-$180 depending on how many you need, but remember that is not every year.
So let’s just say you need an: exam
- $ 65
Cleaning-$108
2 x-rays- $ 71
TOTAL: $244
Now let’s look at your budget for Coffee, Mani/Pedi:
Coffee budget: 5 large latte’s a week at $4
each=$20 per week X 52 weeks = $1040 per year (WOW!)
Manicures: 4
manicures a month at $12 each=$48 x 12 months=$576
Pedicures: 1
month at $20 each x 12 months = $240
My wife does agree that it would be difficult to give up the
hair thing because that she couldn’t do by herselfJ.
So the bottom line is to help keep you and your mouth
healthy it may cost you approximately $250 annually ($23.80 a month). Please also
keep in mind it is recommended that you do get your teeth cleaned 2 times a
year if possible. That may cost approximately $350 annually ($29.16/month) Even
if it costs you $450 annually that is $37.50/month. It is still less than the
budget for manicures or just give up 2 of your 5 latte’s a week. Your teeth and body will love you!
I like to tell my patients that your mouth is the gateway to
your body. When you smile it has been
proven it not only puts you in a good mood but a smile is contagious and puts
everyone else around you in a good mood also.
If you are not being seen by your dentist regularly please
give your Dentist a call and I guarantee that your Dentist will help try and
make your dental care fit your budget.
As always…Please remember to always swish, floss, brush and swish
again and continue to see your dentist at least every six months or as often as
your dentist prescribes.
Please visit
my website, roberthwaldmandds.com for more topics of interest. Just hit
the Blog tab for many of my articles or the video tab to see many educational
dental procedure videos.
Keep Smiling-
JDr. Rob
