To be honest, every tooth is worth money. If you don’t see a dentist early, the longer you delay, the more expensive it will be and the more painful it will be.

Most people in our lives suffer from oral diseases, but many people are afraid of suffering and are deterred by the price due to lack of knowledge about oral health care.

In recent years, more and more people have complained to me about the high cost of dental care. They say that if you go to a hospital or clinic to see a dentist, you might end up spending thousands of dollars, which is really heartbreaking.

Chen Yongchang, deputy chief physician at the Special Clinic Center of the Wuyi Road Branch of Changsha Stomatological Hospital, believes that seeing a dentist is not expensive. It’s just that if you choose to “delay! Endure! Bear!” to solve it, and finally seek medical treatment too late, you will miss many opportunities to save money.

First chance to save money

Fluoride coating is a doctor's application of fluoride-containing substances to the surface of teeth, which is like putting a layer of protective clothing on the teeth. It inhibits the dissolution of tooth hard tissue (demineralization), inhibits the growth of bacteria, and reduces the incidence of caries. It is a fast, painless and non-invasive way to prevent caries.

Since it is a preventive measure, fluoride should be applied in advance so that it can play its maximum effect. Therefore, when the permanent teeth have just grown out, fluoride should be applied to the tooth surface regularly to help improve the mineralization of the teeth and improve the anti-caries ability.

Although it costs money, it generally only costs a few dozen to a few hundred yuan (depending on the region and the level of the hospital) to prevent caries and better protect your teeth. This is your first chance to save money.

Second chance to save money

More than 90% of dental caries (tooth decay, cavities) among adolescents occur on the occlusal surface of the molars (back molars) where they chew food. This tooth surface has many uneven spots, gaps and cracks, which we call "pits and fissures". It is difficult to completely clean it with external force and is the area most prone to dental caries.

When teeth have just grown out and caries have not yet occurred, there is a technology called pit and fissure sealing. Pit and fissure sealing can prevent occlusal caries to a certain extent.

Literature shows that even if the pit and fissure sealant is worn, the caries rate and degree of teeth that have undergone pit and fissure sealant are still lower than those that have not undergone pit and fissure sealant. This only costs tens to hundreds of yuan.

Third chance to save money

Well! Suppose you didn't seize these two opportunities, and your tooth eventually decayed. Don't worry, tooth decay is the most common oral disease. In the early stage of tooth decay, the treatment is relatively simple. Just go to the dental department to grind and fill it, remove the decayed part, and fill it with solid materials. The cost is only tens to hundreds of yuan.

Hey! You asked why I said "but". Think about it, a meal in a restaurant these days costs more than this amount, and you have to eat every day. A tooth filling can last at least five or six years. On average, the cost per day is negligible. It can't be any cheaper!

Fourth chance to save money

If you miss this opportunity, and the decayed area of ​​some teeth is too large to establish sufficient retention structure, and the filling material cannot take root, then simply filling the tooth will not be enough and an inlay will be needed to repair the damaged part.

Inlay is actually a kind of restoration that is embedded in the tooth cavity to restore the shape and function of the defective tooth. Inlays cost from a few hundred to two or three thousand. Although it is a bit expensive, if you don't seize this opportunity, you will have to spend more money later.

Fifth chance to save money

Well! You are still stubborn and don't deal with it. The caries gets worse and finally invades the deep dental nerves, which causes severe toothache. At this time, root canal treatment is necessary. In fact, it is what you call "killing the nerve". "Killing the nerve" is not as rough as it sounds. It should be regarded as the most "delicate" of all dental clinic treatment operations, because the tooth structure that needs to be touched during the treatment is really "mini", and the various parts used can also be called "miniature". In many cases, a microscope is even needed.

Generally, modern root canal treatment technology for a back tooth usually costs about a thousand yuan, and that's not all. Most teeth need a crown to protect them after root canal treatment, which is often called porcelain teeth. The cheapest porcelain teeth cost a few hundred yuan, and the most expensive ones cost four to five thousand yuan. The whole set costs at least one thousand yuan, and at most five to six thousand yuan.

At this time, it is generally difficult for ordinary people to afford this price, and most people will be discouraged by the price. In fact, many people do not know that when the dentist recommends root canal treatment, it is actually the last effort to save your tooth, because if you let it develop, this tooth may face the fate of being extracted in the near future.

Sixth chance to save money

If you are one of those who is deterred by the price, the outcome will be as the doctor predicts. The tooth tissue will disintegrate severely as caries progresses, and you will have to have the tooth extracted.

Tooth extraction is not expensive, two or three hundred yuan is enough for a normal difficulty. But the next question is: after the tooth extraction, you need to get a denture! There are many ways to choose a denture. Currently, the better way to get a denture is dental implants, which generally cost tens of thousands of yuan. This is really expensive, but there is no way, who told you to delay it again and again!

Of course, there are other ways to replace teeth, such as removable dentures, which use metal clasps to fix the dentures on other healthy teeth. They need to be removed and cleaned frequently during use, and are generally not very beautiful and comfortable. However, they are cheap, ranging from a few hundred yuan to one or two thousand yuan, depending on the material and the number of missing teeth.

Another type is porcelain teeth, also called porcelain bridges. Usually, the two front and back teeth in the toothless area need to be ground down, and then these two teeth are used to make three connected porcelain teeth, which are repaired by bonding. The cost of each tooth generally ranges from several hundred to several thousand yuan depending on the material.

What? You said the doctor was trying to scare you... It's just one tooth anyway, it doesn't affect your eating, it doesn't matter... When you're older and all your teeth are gone, it won't be too late to get a replacement... But you know that if you don't get a replacement for a missing tooth, it will be even more harmful!

Don’t “delay, endure, or bear” the discomfort of missing teeth

If you leave it alone, you will end up with no teeth to use. Some people think that missing one or two teeth is not a big deal, so they leave it alone. Who would have thought that in just a few years, the surrounding teeth will become loose and fall out due to lack of support, and eventually you will be completely toothless and suffer.

If missing teeth are not treated, it will affect the health of the whole body. Many people have a history of missing teeth for many years, but they have been ignoring it. The result of delay is to induce a variety of diseases. If missing teeth are not treated for a long time, it will cause periodontal abscesses, which can cause a chain reaction of many diseases in the body, such as diabetes, arthritis, lung disease and heart disease.

If missing teeth are not replaced, the face will age faster. 30 years old: The dentition is complete, there are no missing teeth, and the teeth support the face well. 45 years old: The back teeth are missing, the facial shape changes, and the cheeks sink slightly. 60 years old: Long-term missing teeth, alveolar bone absorption, and the face looks older.