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Retirement Strategy

Retirement can be an exciting new phase of your life. Free time with no job obligations presents myriad choices. When planning your retirement budget, do not forget to factor in your dental needs. Unlike medical insurance, dental insurance likely will not be available for you to purchase through your employer. Dentistry in later years can be very expensive, and doing without it can affect your overall health and the quality of your life. Smiling and eating are two of the most pleasurable things we do in life.

Like many other parts of our body, our teeth wear out as we age. Tooth enamel is a brittle, crystalline material, and over the years, craze lines (little cracks like you see in ice cubes) can become complete fractures. Even if you have been to the dentist regularly, by the beginning of your 40s and 50s, most of your molars have multiple craze lines. This is especially true if those teeth have large fillings. Most molars eventually need crowns (also called caps) placed on them to hold the teeth together and prevent a complete fracture leading to loss of the tooth.

Waiting until a tooth hurts is not a wise financial move. A tooth that hurts usually means a bigger dental bill. You could be buying a root canal in addition to your crown. If a tooth needs a root canal and a crown, the cost is usually double the cost of the crown alone. Waiting too long may also mean that the tooth cannot be restored and needs to be removed. If the tooth is removed, it can be replaced with an implant. The cost of an implant is three times the cost of a crown.

Let your dentist know when you are planning to retire ̶̶ ideally, four years in advance. Teeth that will require additional work can be identified and restored while you still have insurance. If the dentist sees several teeth needing work, the work probably can be spread over a few years to make the best use of your insurance and lessen your out-of-pocket costs. We would be more than happy to provide a consultation to help plan your dental retirement needs.

We invite you to browse our Web site to learn about our skilled, personal and genuine care.