A dentist visit isn’t a joyous occasion for anyone. Some people are paralyzed by fear when they enter the dentist’s office, and others find it to be an uncomfortable but bearable experience. Still, there is a common reason why people postpone making this appointment until the very last moment – the cost of services.
Dentist appointments are something that cannot be avoided. It doesn’t matter if your oral hygiene routine is perfect because sooner or later, a problem will occur, and you will have to contact a professional. When this happens, people choose a professional based on the price of their services. These can greatly differ between offices, and in the following article, we will explain why some of them are so expensive.
Contents
1. You get what you pay for
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Firstly, let’s begin by exploring the profession itself. In order to become a dentist, a person spends many years learning about all the ins and outs of this profession. They attend colleges to get a formal education, then they move to training programs and internships to master their skill and learn about the work firsthand.
The high cost isn’t that surprising when considering all the effort they have to put into developing their careers. If you want to get perfect teeth and want to collaborate with an expert in the field, you have to pay for their fee. It is as simple as that. It is understandable that people with years of experience charge higher fees than those that have just begun their practice. They value their expertise and the time they invested in mastering their skills.
Nevertheless, a lot of people don’t understand this, so they choose to save money and usually opt for a dentist with low prices. Then, they aren’t satisfied with their work and the final result, but you have to understand that the golden rule “you get what you pay for” applies in this field. Due to this reason, when looking for a new dentist, you should always put their education and experience before the price of their services. Make sure to go over other people’s comments on the websites such as www.mybridgewaterdentist.com and choose professionals that are praised for their work.
2. Overhead cost
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Another thing that not many people understand is that their expenses are enormous. Let’s go back to the previous reason. You want to get the best care possible, right? So, you go to a well-educated professional, right? Well, keep in mind that they are probably still paying off their student loan. What’s more, you may even still be trapped in this loop.
Then, let’s move to the office. Is it located in a nice part of the town? Is it well decorated to make all the patients comfortable? What do you think the overall expense is? Don’t forget that they have to pay the rent or mortgage depending on whether they own the space or not. In addition, there is also the cost of renovation and décor that was performed to make the entire place both enjoyable and functional.
Finally, this expense also includes all the employee-related fees, such as salaries, taxes, as well as supplies, technology, tools, equipment, utility, and so on. According to some estimation, between 60% and 80% of what a patient pays goes for covering these operating fees. You have to admit that it means that dentists don’t earn much when taking this fact into consideration.
3. Tools & equipment
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When you choose a dentist, you want to go with someone that runs a modern office with all the pieces of equipment at their disposal that enables them to offer you any kind of service. The last thing a patient wants is to have to go from one office to another, which is why this requirement is usually at the top of their list. Still, when they manage to find an office like this, they get surprised by the price.
Have you ever considered how much all of these tools cost? That’s right, a lot. The dental x-ray machine that has become a standard piece of equipment in every office costs around $20,000, and we are not even going to discuss the price of a top-notch machine.
Furthermore, there is also the cost of the sterilization process and maintenance of these tools. In addition, most of these are disposable due to sanitary requirements, which is why they have to use a new set after every patient, so they are required to have many of these in their office at all times.
4. Dental material
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The only way to ensure their customers’ satisfaction is to use dental material of the highest quality. Well, the cost of dental material also differs, and if you want to go to the dentist that uses the top-notch, you will have to pay a high fee for it.
Plus, professionals don’t want to be forced to redo their work. If they don’t use the state-of-the-art crown, it will probably break at a certain point, so they will have to do it again. Also, this makes them look bad, and it increases the chances that the patient won’t return to their office in the future, but instead, opt for someone else. All in all, it is a bad situation for everyone involved.
5. Insurance
Source: kiplinger
Finally, there is the question of dental insurance. What a lot of people don’t understand that it isn’t the same as health insurance in terms of what procedures it covers. A basic plan will probably cover the cost of x-ray, cleaning service, and maybe half the price of the crown, and that it is.
It covers only basic preventive care. So, if you need to have some more serious work done on your teeth, you will have to pay it for yourself. When you calculate the price of every procedure, it can prove to be quite an investment. To avoid it, you should step up your oral hygiene, make regular dentist appointments so that they could check if everything is fine, or on the other hand, notice and solve a problem before it becomes even worse.
