More and more Americans are finding themselves in financial distress, thanks to expensive emergency dental treatments that could have been avoided. Learn why it’s so important to stay out in front of your dental health, so you won’t have to pay a premium for avoidable dental emergencies.
A Growing Problem
According to recent studies, a growing number of Americans are seeking help in emergency rooms for long-delayed dental care. While limited insurance coverage is a significant contributing factor, a large number of these cases involve patients who have put off necessary dental treatments, which ultimately worsen over time.
Unfortunately, emergency rooms are typically limited in the ways they can treat dental issues. More often than not, ERs provide little more than antibiotics and painkillers for dental patients, who end up paying an average of $749 per visit, which amounts to three times the cost of a routine dental visit.
What’s more, even after they pay for their visits to emergency rooms, patients must typically arrange a follow-up appointment with a dental professional to address the underlying cause of their symptoms.
Catching Problems Early
Most people would prefer to avoid uncomfortable dental treatments. That said, when people procrastinate on necessary dental care, pain usually mounts and teeth continue to deteriorate. In time, minor ailments can evolve into serious complications, requiring painful and expensive therapies that could have easily been avoided.
A typical filling will cost a person between $50 and $150 for one to two teeth. On the other hand, if a cavity is left untreated, a person can end up requiring root canal therapy and a crown, which can easily end up costing over $2,000 in total.
Delayed treatments can also lead to tooth loss, which can spark a series of unfortunate events, including bone loss, facials changes, misalignment and chewing difficulties. As the years pass, a simple untreated cavity could ultimately lead to widespread oral health issues, requiring comprehensive restorative treatments that cost thousands of dollars.
Pay Now or Pay Later
Whether you’re avoiding dental treatment because of costs or inconvenience, you should rethink your position. By getting timely treatment early on, you can save yourself thousands of dollars, while avoiding the discomfort that comes with lengthy emergency dental therapies. You should also maintain regular checkups with your dentist to help catch minor issues before they evolve into painful and expensive problems weeks, months or years down the line.