Little bit of a strange question, isn’t it?
Think about it for a moment…most of us rely on having a car as a means of transport and after living with a car for so long, it is difficult to adapt and inconvenient to be without one.
Teeth are very much the same and we sometimes take them for granted. Can you imagine if you woke up one day and didn’t have any teeth? I imagine eating, smiling and speaking would all of a sudden be very difficult and quite confronting.
Just like cars need servicing and maintenance, so do teeth. Without proper care at home, things can deteriorate very quickly. Our job as dentists is not only to fix, repair and replace teeth but we can also prevent problems from occurring or at least limit any damage through attending regular check up and clean appointments. Imagine if you hadn’t serviced your car for a few years. The wear and damage that can occur without professional maintenance could really add up.
Fixing major problems or restoring our teeth back to health can sometimes be costly but I refer back to the question…do you value your teeth as much as your car? Most of us as adults will at some point in time spend money, and often a large amount of money purchasing a new car. Some cars cost $20,000, $50,000, $100,000 or more. Whatever the sum, consider that most cars will lose 50% of their original value after 3 yrs. So irrespective of the original purchase price, you’ve effectively lost tens of thousands of dollars just by driving away from the dealership, only to do the same thing again 5 years later when you decide to purchase another car.
Putting this into perspective, I see very few patients having to spend this amount of money in the short term to restore their teeth. What I do see though are patients having to spend a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to help strengthen and maintain their teeth and gums. Fortunately, with adequate follow up care and good oral hygiene at home, any restorative or correcting dental treatment should outlast the lifespan of that car and then some.
Consider money spent on regular dental examinations and any treatment as an investment in your quality of life. Consider how many more years you need your teeth to last and don’t take for granted how important they are to you. They’re going to last a lot longer than your new car so make them a priority and keep them in great shape.
