Dental Health is an integral aspect of our health, an aspect we tend to not keenly follow. Most of us are guilty of not taking our oral health with seriousness that it demands. This indifferent attitude of the common person is a major cause for dental problems that could have been intercepted at an initial stage. As many people later find out that oral health is cost effective to maintain but costly to ignore. Most of the people thinking brushing twice a day is the ultimate commandment of oral health and do not take any further action or initiative. Talk about dental health and it elicits an image of a mother forcing her kid to brush, to many of us.
Greater than 75% of the American population suffers from some degree of gum disease. This despite the country known well for the concern they show towards oral health. Here are 4 common reasons which are responsible for people tending to ignore their dental health.
1. No Pain
Pain is a leading cause for people to seek a doctor of any sort. Dental problems often do not elicit much pain (initially) leading to people to not scrutinize their oral health. Diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease are well known to progress with out any significant pain until the disease process has established itself. Pain in tooth decay often occurs after the carious process reaches the pulp which means there is nothing you can do except a root canal treatment.
2. Visibility
People take great care of their skin, face as they are aspects of the body which are obvious to people around us. Nothing wrong with that, it’s the human tendency to do so. But, this leaves the dental health out of a person’s priority list. Although, due importance is given for a person’s smile, no concern is shown towards the rest of the dental arch due to lack of visibility. It’s unlikely that a person is going to open his mouth, look in the mirror and go scouring for dental cavities and the like.
3. Fear
The dentist has been traditionally feared due to various reasons. A greater percentage of people have no subjective fear. They fear the dentist because others do so. This non-subjective fear is a harmful one and difficult for a person to overcome. Subjective fears are due to prior dental visits which did not go as the patient desired. Fear is a very compelling emotion and a common reason for many to avoid the dentist. This is often known as dental anxiety or dental phobia. This is evident by the e-presence of many dental anxiety forums, websites and groups on social networking websites.
4. Cost
It is hard to ignore the fact that dental procedures are quite costly to undergo. The fact that most health insurance agencies do not cover dental work is also a hindrance for many. It is has been recently said by President Obama that he would like dental health to be covered. This would be a boon to many people who are procrastinating on their dental health due to the cost involved. People often do not realize that it would cost them more if they do not address the dental problem as soon as possible. Like I said earlier oral health is cost effective to maintain but costly to ignore.
There are plenty of other reasons which are specific to individuals for ignoring their oral health. Few people realize the affect their dental health can have on general health. An initiative needs to be taken by the Government to bring about awareness to the public on dental health aspects. Till then, it is just the dentists who do this.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree 100% of with this article. This same thing happens also in my life. I think fear is the big issue. I found lots of people who feared to go to dentist. They assume that the doctor will put off his teeth..
Cost is a leading factor for most of us in the North, it is pretty expensive.
I think the cost of the dental procedures is a major issue for me. If you have 4 kids and even if you just have to pay the copay its a big deal.
Fear, followed closely by cost.
Great list. Here are a few others…
Low Value. Dental health is a low priority to many people. It’s not exactly a fun item to spend big bucks on.
Lack of Urgency. Even if someone understands the need, they may feel no urgency in proceeding with treatment.
Low Standard of Care. Dental Leadership is essential to move people to a higher standard of care.
Yes i also agree with this article, the main factor why people ignore dentist is the cost of it. Not knowing the implications of this in a latter time.
I totally agree. Many people do not think about dental care unless they were taught at a young age to care about it.
Take care of the dental health is very important. People should do this more often.
Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that neglecting minor dental treatment now will probably result in much more severe, painful and expensive treatment down the road. Do you run into that a lot in your practice?
Yes, rightly said. People mostly go to the dentist when there is pain beyond control which cant be relieved by over the counter meds. This holds esp true for developing and 3rd world countries.
I would have to say the pain is the only reason keeping me from going to the dentist. I’m lucky if I even go once a year.
I agree with this article and thanks for sharing.
Great article, cost is definitely the killer for our family.
Hi Dr!
Most of the time, prevention is better than cure and yes I hope many will realize that when they ignore their dental health due to whatever reason, it will just cost them more coz the more damage we get, the more money we will need to fix it.
I like your article, its simply and well written, brief and straight to the point.
I strongly agree that cost is one cause why people are ignoring dental health. When they heard about dental procedures, one word instantly registers to their minds-EXPENSIVE!
I think that if dental clinics invested a little more time in raising the awareness of customers as for the importance of dental hygiene maintenance and the importance of visiting the dental hygienist on a consistent basis – people would be more positive and would show inclination to invest more time and more money on dental care.
I think that the reasons that you outlined were all very significant reasons as to why people do not go to the dentist. Throughout life I have met many people who do not go to the dentist until they are in pain, when they could have been going to the dentist and would have caught the problem early on, preventing so much pain. The cost of a visit to the dentist is a big deal, especially in this economy, but like you had mentioned, the cost will go up if they end up with a serious dental problem that was not taken care of early on.
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