Is Dentistry Expensive?

As a Dentist we get to hear this a lot that ‘Dentistry is so expensive’ . So let's find out is it true or not ?

Something is expensive or not is determined by the price vs value comparison. Lets just take an example of a Car which costs 10 lakhs. Now based on the price alone you cannot tell if the car is expensive or not. It is expensive when compared with a car costing 8 lakhs and it can be economical when you compare it with a car costing 12 lakhs. So the best way to compare is not only the price but what are the specifications and features available for the same price and the build quality of a particular car.

Those specifications are the value that a car is creating for its customers. Price is what you pay and Value is what you get. So if the price is too high for the value it creates for its customer then you can say that the car is expensive.

Same product can have different value for its customers. An iPhone is expensive for a college student because the price is too high for the value it creates for a college student (here the value is “show off” in most cases) . The same iPhone creates more value for a business professional who wants to keep his important data safe from malwares.

Life is priceless, but can you say the same for your natural teeth ? If not the same, still natural teeth are so much valuable for any individual. Good teeth give you a good smile, ability to chew your favourite food, they preserve your facial height and good teeth make you look younger. Your general health is also associated with the health of your teeth and gums. We get our nutrients from our food so our mouth is the entry point of all of our nutritive foods. And many times our bad teeth limit our choices for healthier food.

Other than that the infections in our gums can go through minute blood vessels and colonise in our heart that's called bacterial endocarditis. Gum infection ( Periodontitis/ pyorrhea ) can also increase your risk of heart attack ( Myocardial infarction) and diabetes .

It is also seen that poor oral hygiene can lead to poor diabetic control. So one thing is clear that healthy teeth and gums are extremely important to overall health.

Our teeth are a unique tissue compared to any other tissue of our body. After the adult teeth are formed and erupted , the cells which form the hard structures of teeth are resorbed. Ameloblasts which form the Enamel ( outer and hardest layer of tooth) and Odontoblast which forms the dentine ( middle layer of tooth) , these both cells get resorbed. So the regenerative potential of a tooth is near to zero without those cells. Any cavity on a tooth surface must be restored with biocompatible material, no medicine can fill that hole.

Restoring a small cavity with permanent filling material can cost between ₹ 700 to ₹ 1200. Let's say you ignore this small cavity which is totally pain free and it gets bigger with time now the cost can go upto ₹2000, you still ignore and take medicines to relieve occasional pain and when the cavity reaches pulp then the cost goes up to ₹ 5000 to ₹ 8000 ( Root Canal + Cap) . If not treated at this point you can lose a tooth which cannot be repaired. Now the cost of replacing the tooth is 5 times higher, ₹ 25000 to ₹ 30000 (Implant).

Any replacement of a body part is called prosthesis, and that can be very challenging and expensive because we are trying to mimic God's creation. So here dentistry is not expensive but negligence is.

Let's take the same example of a car costing 10 lakhs. We will take insurance for that car which costs around 10000-15000 and yearly service of 6000-12000 approx. So we spend almost 15000 to 25000 a year just to maintain the health of a car.

How Much Do We Spend to Keep Our Teeth healthy? We only go to a dentist when we have toothache. It's like taking your car to a garage only when it breaks down and not bothering about regular service.

If we want to keep our teeth healthy then regular dental visits at least every six months is a must. And if required, a dentist can perform prophylactic scaling (cleaning) which is necessary to maintain your teeth and gums healthy (similar to the service of a car). Prophylaxis costs ₹ 700 to ₹ 1000 approx. Which is ₹ 1500 to ₹ 2000 per year, this is a great bargain to maintain our far valuable teeth and gums healthy. Other benefits of the dental visits are small cavities or pathology can be diagnosed in early stages and thus can be treated with less invasive procedures and costs less.

Now, you all know the right answer to the question ‘ Is Dentistry Expensive ?’