Some people feel that they can save money on dental costs by only visiting a dentist when they are experiencing some type of problem. After all, if you only pay dental bills for problems you experience, it would cost less, right? The answer to this might surprise you, as it is generally a lot more cost-effective to choose preventative dental care over dental care for problems only. Here are several things to understand about the differences in costs you may have if you choose preventative dental care instead of care only for issues you experience.

A lot of people have dental plans that cover preventative care

First of all, if you have dental insurance, there is no reason to not focus on preventative care, as most plans allow you to get cleanings and examinations twice a year for free. If you follow this schedule, you are likely to prevent problems from occurring, and you will not even have to pay for the services. If you do not have dental insurance, it is still much more affordable to get checkups than to not, as checkups help you prevent big problems.

Preventative care helps prevent problems

The whole goal of preventative care is to help you prevent problems with your mouth. Preventing problems is more affordable that treating problems, even if you have to pay for your six-month checkups.

Treating small problems is a lot more affordable than treating big problems

If you compare the costs of treating a small problem to the costs of treating a big problem, there is a huge difference. For example, if you go for checkups every six months and your dentist finds a small cavity, it may cost only $100 to $200 to fix the problem. If you do not go for checkups and the cavity spreads and deepens, you might need a root canal and crown, and this could cost thousands of dollars.

You will likely avoid big issues if you focus on preventative care

The other important thing to know is that preventative dental care helps people avoid big issues with their teeth. If you have a dentist looking inside your mouth every six months, you are much less likely to ignore a problem with your teeth. Instead, you would be prone to fix all small issues, which would result in avoiding big issues.

If you are interested in getting your teeth cleaned and examined, contact a dental clinic to set up an appointment for a routine cleaning and checkup.

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