Dentist: Patients Are Returning to the Dental Office

A new movement that the typical dentist may be pleased with has to do with patients finally getting back into the dental chair after years of neglecting their teeth due to finances. Most dentists have mixed feelings about the result, but are trying to see the good in it.

One trend that both delights and disturbs many dentists is the return of patients to their office. During the worst years of the recession, many people decided that the dentist was the last thing on their mind. Perhaps they needed to spend their time looking for a new job, and they needed to spend their money on bills, not dental insurance or upfront payments. While many dentists are happy that people are now coming back, they claim it is not due to a recovering economy, but because some people's teeth hurt too bad to stay away anymore. Find out more about this newer trend. 

During both the beginning and rock bottom of the recession, many people lost jobs. or took a pay cut just to keep their position. Others simply could not afford to pay monthly for dental insurance anymore, so they got rid of it, possibly along with their regular health insurance. The result is that many stopped seeing the dentist altogether. Gone were the routine checkups, or the cleanings that should happen at least twice per year. Years later, many are paying for the mistake of ignoring their tooth problems, and they are actually paying more now than they would have for routine care all along. 

The result of this lack of dental care is that the issues patients are showing up with are more complex and more serious than ever. Dentists are noticing increased root canals and tooth extractions, when before they performed mostly regular checkups, cleanings, and maybe a few fillings here and there. Though many enjoy the sudden business boom, they tend to feel a little disappointed that so many people put their dental care on the back burner for so long. No dentist enjoys seeing decay in the mouth of a patient, even if he or she makes more money from the more complex procedures in the long run. 

Another habit in recent years is that more patients are paying without insurance. The result is that they have to pay upfront with cash or debit card, possibly also using coupons or special deals. Those who cannot afford to pay upfront, but can no longer stand the pain, may use credit cards as they consider their sudden tooth pain an emergency. In addition, dentists who offer payment plans are noticing that more people are taking advantage of them than usual, especially when they offer same as cash deals where there is no interest for several months. The upside is that people are now at least paying some attention to their dental problems, finally getting them fixed. Unfortunately, though, another side effect of the recession is that a desperate patient might get treatment and then simply not pay the bill, perhaps filing for bankruptcy or just ignoring bill collectors. 

In general, this trend is a good one since it means patients are finally taking care of their teeth. However, it is normal for the average dentist to be a little sad that it takes some patients extreme tooth pain to get back in the exam room, when payment plans and other money-saving options were available all along.

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