Controlling The Cost Of Dental Care

"I just don't have the resources now," is commonly heard during tough times.

The best way to control dental costs is to use aggressive preventive measures. Keep up on your regular cleaning appointments, and ask your hygienist and your dentist what they recommend to keep your teeth and mouth healthy.

Unfortunately, even with good planning and good preventive care, unexpected dental needs may arise. What is one to do? Delaying treatment may lead to more pain or more expense. Poor oral health has been linked to many systemic ailments including heart attacks, diabetes, low-weight births and other issues. But, it is never too late to improve your health.

This is a time to ask your dental office for a strategy for current and future health. Some offices have payment plans and arrangements with credit companies to help patients during this time of need.

More people lack dental insurance than medical insurance. The structure of dental insurance is a "defined benefit" of the specific services it will help you pay, from a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars per calendar year. However, it is not designed to insure you against major, unanticipated problems.

For those who pay out of the pocket, dental care is generally a good value, a bargain in maintaining your health.

John P. knows something about dental bills and costs; he is an accountant who is finally having dental implants to fill in the gaps of missing teeth at a cost of $7,000. His dental insurance will cover only $1,500.00, his maximum benefit for the year.

As a successful accountant who is informed on the tax laws, John is using two accounts to help cover his portion of his dental expenses. First, his employer has a flexible-spending account and he has set enough pre-tax dollars to help with this "planned expense.”

Second, John has a high deductible health insurance policy, so he has the ability to fund an HSA (Health Savings Account), which was set up a couple years ago and can be used for health-related expenses. He knows if he does not use the dollars in his HSA each year, the account can grow through investments (tax free) for years to come.

"I want my mouth to be whole again," John said.

You can have the smile you deserve if you make dental health a priority, and understand that a healthy mouth is a life-long gift. If you look good, feel good and you are healthy, then you are wealthy beyond means.