With the cost of living rising and more and more of us on the lookout to find ways of saving pennies, addressing your oral health concerns or checkups can be one of the first things to go on the bottom of the to-do list. We at Nailsea don’t want to shy away from the fact that the dentist in Nailsea is an expense even when you’re an NHS patient. The cost of a checkup, though not always thought of as a lot, is quickly becoming a serious out going, especially when there’s more than one adult in the house. And you won’t be alone in thinking by putting off a dental appointment you could be saving further expenses. Hundreds of people have the narrative of…‘What if I go and then have to have work done and it’s expensive?’ And let’s be fair, this is perfectly understandable thinking, but we want to talk you through why this could be more of a hindrance than a help…

Why Do We Have Checkups?

Dental checkups are something everyone needs to do every six to twelve months, why? Because lots can be going on with our teeth even when we don’t realise it. The dentist in Nailsea has often heard the thinking of ‘well you don’t go to the doctor if something isn’t wrong…’ and we do understand why to some that could be a logical thought process. However, the early signs of gum disease and particularly decay don’t always show up to patients, and by the time you start experiencing symptoms, you could already be well on your way to needing complex procedures that could have been avoided if caught early.

Let’s look at a case study to explain further…

Patient A – Gum Disease

Patient A came to see us when they began to experience serious levels of bleeding from multiple areas of the gums and noticed that their gum had begun to recede by one of their teeth. This was investigated by the dentist in Nailsea who quickly sent them to be assessed further by the hygienist. The hygienist discovered the gum disease had spread past the point of a simple scale and polish being the cure and consequently, this person had to have antibiotics (first cost), a tooth removed (second cost) and a scale and polish (third cost). This could have been avoided if the patient had attended regular checkups where the gum disease could have been picked up on and dealt with in one clean, meaning it would have only equated to one expense.

We Understand…

It’s very easy for us to sit here and tell you that one cost is better than three. Forking out anything right now is scary and we don’t want to dismiss that, but investing today could seriously save you later on. We would also recommend looking into dental health plans which enable you to pay a monthly fee and are there to support you in times of dental crises. There’s lots of info on these on the internet but feel free to chat to a member of staff for more info.