How Preventative Dental Care Can Help You Save Money in the Future?

Good oral health is a crucial building block for a healthy life. Taking the time to teach your child to brush and floss regularly is paramount and will help them maintain their basic dental health. Unfortunately, sometimes that isn’t enough. 

But what if we told you that you can help your kid keep painful dental conditions and tooth decay in check by opting for various preventative dental care treatments? Sounds like it might be expensive, right? Well, not really. And in addition to being budget-friendly, these treatments can help your child avoid potentially painful and traumatizing experiences in the future if their oral care needs are addressed  in advance. 

That said, let us look at some of the most common preventative dental treatments for your child and see how they can help you avoid costly procedures in the future. But let’s start by identifying two main ways preventative dental treatments work to your child’s advantage.

1. A Dentist Can Look for Potential Issues Before They Become Major Problems

If “not going to the dentist if a concrete problem doesn’t exist” is something you live by, you might want to reconsider it. This approach could cost you and your child dearly in the future, both in terms of dental health, money and increased anxiety. Have faith in taking a preventative approach and it will pay off in the long run. Regular dental exams are a great way to detect potential issues and get a valuable peace of mind, knowing you have a professional opinion to guide your decision making. 

For instance, if your child has a lot of plaque buildup, your dentist will give you personalized advice regarding brushing, flossing, and nutrition so that your child doesn’t get gingivitis or cavities in the future. Also, they may suggest you change your child’s toothpaste or adjust their oral hygiene routine if necessary.  

2. They Can Help You Fix Minor Problems Before They Escalate

The fact is that many dental problems start as minor issues. Even a very painful condition such as gum disease (which in some cases can even require surgery), usually starts as a minor inconvenience in the form of gingivitis. When a patient pays a visit to a dentist early on, they can get valuable feedback and advice on how to modify their oral health regimen which might include flossing and oral rinsing more frequently than what many would say is a standard approach to daily oral care.  

That said, let’s tackle some of the most common and most affordable preventative dental treatments you can benefit from today and see how they work in practice.

Regular Teeth Cleaning

This is one of the most affordable preventative dental treatments out there and can be performed either by a dentist or dental hygienist. The goal of this treatment is to detect and remove plaque buildup that usually form along the gum line and in between teeth. Plaque is a colorless, sticky film that causes gum disease, gingivitis, tooth decay, and tooth loss. Therefore, it’s essential to schedule regular, biannual teeth cleanings for your child. From a financial point of view, this preventative treatment is far cheaper than a dental filling or dental crown, not to mention other even more complex restorative dental work that could cost you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

Dental Sealants

These thin coatings made of various materials, dental sealants are usually painted on grooves and pits of our teeth and can last up to 10 years. They are a perfectly safe way to protect your child’s teeth, especially premolars and molars so that they don’t succumb to cavities. However, they do require regular maintenance and monitoring because they can start to wear off over time. With prices ranging from $30-$60 per tooth, this affordable preventative dental care treatment is worth considering. Dental sealants are usually covered by various dental insurance plans, and many schools also have dental sealant programs where you can enroll your child.

Fluoride Treatments

You’ve probably heard that fluoride helps us fight against cavities and tooth decay. Many of us get fluoride through tap water today and in our fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride treatments, however, are something else. 

This preventative dentistry treatment involves a concentrated amount of fluoride that is applied directly to your child’s tooth to reduce the harmful bacteria in their mouth and help fight off the cavities. There are a few ways this treatment can be administered, including applying thin fluoride coating on a tooth, oral rinse, or in a mouth tray that is put inside the mouth. One of the main upsides of this treatment is that it doesn’t last more than a few minutes (we all know how nervous kids can get in a dental chair!) After that, your child should not eat for the next 20 or 30 minutes to allow the fluoride treatment to do its work. Your dentist will tell you if your child needs one of these added fluoride treatments and how often it should be repeated to help your child maintain strong enamel. When it comes to price, insurance usually covers fluoride treatments for children. However, you should ask your dentist about the details before they start with treatment and it would be smart to ask your dental insurance carrier as well.

Do you take your child to preventative dental treatments? How’s your experience so far? Don’t hesitate to tell us all about it in the comments below!