How Your Choice Of Dentist Affects Your Dental Health

Choosing the right dentist or doctor is always a difficult thing to do. Some of us rely on friends and family for a referral, while many turn to internet reviews. There are over 150,000 dentists nationally, with new graduates added every year. Many of these dentists are not trained beyond general dental school knowledge to perform more complex dental procedures.

A recent survey revealed that this year about 10% of Americans (and the number grows every year) received at least one cosmetic dental procedure to transform their smiles. Receiving cosmetic dentistry from an experienced, skilled cosmetic dentist can transform your appearance, but poorly executed dentistry can prove to be a disaster.

A sobering statistic, well over 25%, (that is 1 out 4 procedures done) of all the money spent by Americans on cosmetic dentistry is spent re-doing and correcting poor dental work from previous visits.

Things That Can Go Wrong During Cosmetic Dentistry

-Restoration Failure - When any dentistry is done, there can never be decay from cavities left behind. Fillings must be properly shaped and hardened so that they do not cause new problems to arise. Improper technique will not only mean your new fillings, porcelain veneers or dental crowns will eventually fail, it could also mean the possible need for root canal therapy or even potentially the loss of the tooth if left untreated.

-Pain and Discomfort - A skilled, experienced, dentist knows that dentistry is about more than just appearances. If you do not plan to address bite issues, periodontal issues, and sensitivity problems, restorations will fail and cause pain and discomfort for the patient. If the bite is off, even slightly, the dental work and tooth will be prone to cracking, wearing, and pain. Root canals can be incomplete and cause reinfection, extractions of teeth can be improperly performed causing severe bone infection, fractures, and pain.

-Lost Time - Cosmetic dentistry is usually lengthy, necessitating multiple visits to the dentist. A typical cosmetic treatment takes at least 2-3 appointments, and can take 1 hour to more than 5-10 hours in the dentist’s chair. The work is an investment of your time and money. If this work is performed poorly and needs to be redone, patients will need to take off more time from work to have it repaired or redone elsewhere.

-Increased Cost - In addition to losing time, the original cost budgeted could explode to fix poor dental work. There is an old saying “You Get What You Pay For”. The same is true in cosmetic and traditional dentistry. It is smart to be cost conscious but many dentists who call themselves cosmetic dentists will offer inferior materials in order to cut costs and lower the price to the consumer. Using a poor dental lab or lower quality materials will cut into the longevity as well as the final appearance of any dental work. When dentistry goes bad, it usually needs to be redone from the beginning. This means losing what you initially invested and paying again for the re-do work. It is not unusual to have a patient spend money initially only to have to spend a much higher amount to re-do all the work just a short time later.

Conclusion

Choosing a dentist is never an easy decision so do your best to get information from friends, family, and internet. Request a free consultation to tour the office and meet not only the doctor but the staff. Dentistry tends to be an intimate experience and you need to feel confident and comfortable in the dental chair. Choosing the right dentist will make all your dental work a breeze. Most importantly, good dentistry will keep you healthy and end up saving you money in the long run.