These days, the cost of dental care is one of the top concerns people have. It keeps more people from taking care of their teeth than any other concern, including dental anxiety. When you haven’t been to the dentist in a while, it is understandable that you might worry about the cost of dental care. It’s a big unknown.
But you don’t have to worry as much about the cost of dental care–and we’re not talking about Googling “free dental care,” either. Instead, there are three things you can do to alleviate much of the worry about the cost of your dental care.
Review Your Insurance
The goal of having dental insurance is to reduce your costs, but it doesn’t always work that way. In fact, a recent study by the American Dental Association (ADA) showed that most people pay more for dental care with insurance than they do without insurance.
And dental care is supposed to give you comfort with predictable costs, but they don’t always. Reimbursement rates for dental procedures often vary almost inexplicably, making it hard for people to know what dental care is actually going to cost.
So it’s worth taking the time to review your insurance and decide whether you’re actually spending more money by paying for dental insurance, or if you might benefit by putting money aside every month and then paying for your dental care out of pocket. Consider the following factors:
- Copays
- Deductibles
- Waiting periods
- Maximum coverage limits
- Treatment limitations
When you look at all these factors, you might find that dental insurance helps, especially with routine preventive care. But you might also find that dental insurance is actually a drain on your resources.
And when you work directly with your dentist, they can usually tell you what to expect in terms of costs. This makes it easier to know what your eventual bill is going to be.
Invest in Quality
If you get low-quality dental care, you may feel that you’ve just installed a time bomb in your mouth. You know it’s going to fail, but you don’t know when, and that creates anxiety about the cost of upcoming dental care. You might not need more care, but, then again, you might, and that can weigh you down and make you avoid routine care as well as more serious optional procedures.
On the other hand, if you invest in quality dental care, you can get some peace of mind. You know that your restoration is going to last. You may pay more upfront, but you’ll see lower costs over the long-run, not to mention the benefit of having to make space for fewer appointments n your busy schedule. This reduces your anxiety and helps you feel more comfortable.
Plan Ahead
As we noted above, uncertainty leads to anxiety. In your mind, unknown dental expenses can seem a lot larger than they have any likelihood to actually be. So it’s good to plan ahead and deal with dental problems on your schedule.
You might think that dental problems are unpredictable, that they come up out of nowhere. This is rarely true, it just seems that way because most dentists practice reactive dentistry. They wait for something to go wrong with your teeth and then they fix it. But a proactive dentist has the tools to understand your risk factors and predict what’s likely to cause oral health problems. Then you can make a plan to deal with them before they become serious. That lets you schedule treatment when it’s convenient for your schedule–and for your budget.
But wait, you might say, how is this possible? It’s possible because we have a good understanding of the risk factors for cavities, gum disease, and chipped or cracked teeth. We can use preventive care to reduce your risk factors, and restorations to protect at-risk teeth before they get chipped or cracked.
There will always be the unexpected, but with proper care you can protect your teeth from the unexpected–almost nothing short of a car accident is likely to cause unanticipated damage to your teeth.
Are You Looking for a Proactive Rockland County Dentist?
If you’re tired of always feeling anxious about the cost of upcoming dental care, we can help.
Rockland County dentist Dr. Mark Dunayer understands how important it is to avoid anxiety about the cost of dental care.
We offer quality, proactive dental care and will work directly with you to manage worries about cost. We even offer financing if that can help you achieve your goals for oral health and appearance. Please call (845) 627-7645 today for an appointment at B & D Dental Excellence in West Nyack.
