Dental care is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but many adults also believe that having a good smile is socially important as well. Some even worry that career success can be impacted by an unattractive smile. Other adults agree that a good smile is one of the few features that remains attractive through the aging process, so it’s something worth taking care of. But like many healthy habits, dental care has to start at a young age.
Unfortunately, many children don’t see the dentist for their first check up until after kindergarten. In fact, an estimated one out of four children start kindergarten without ever setting foot in a dentist office. This doesn’t do much in terms of instilling healthy dental habits, and actually sets the child up for a slew of dental problems down the road. Once healthy dental habits have been established, the average person can expect to visit the dentist twice a year. Those with healthy teeth and a low risk of developing cavities or gum disease can get away with one visit a year, while those with a high risk of getting cavities or gum disease may want to schedule visits every three or four months.
That’s why it’s great that so many people are opting for the dentistry career path. Society is always going to need dentists. They’re a valuable asset of society. However, starting up a new dental practice can be costly. Upfront, dentists typically have to shell out about $500,000 case to put towards equipment, supplies, and structural uplift. And dental equipment and supplies are expensive. Things like a portable dental chair, portable dental equipment, a panoramic dental x ray machine, dental nitrous oxide systems, and other things are costly. For example, top of the line dental chairs can cost anywhere between $7,000 and $9,000 while periapical x-ray units can cost anywhere between $4,000 and $5,000!
Dental care is in demand, and always will be. It’s an important addition to a healthy lifestyle, and can help prevent larger, more complicated dental problems down the road. While starting up a practice may be costly because simple things like a portable dental chair are so expensive, dentists really are invaluable members of society.
