Doing MORE with LESS
I'm not going to engage in a depressive tome on what faces the world and dentistry in 2022 – you already know your challenges – we all have them, and to some degree, we share similarities around these challenges. Instead, I'd like to address one of dentistry's critical issues in 2022.
Cost. Yes, good dentistry is not cheap. And cheap dentistry is not good. Much of the benefits of well-thought-out dental strategies are not about finding ways to afford dentistry (a sales tactic) – it's about doing more with less. Doing more with less has been a primary tenant of dental care at BelleDental for the last 20 years.
Doing more with less is not about cheap-skating on dental materials; it's not about discounting, and it is certainly not about following 'fashion.'
Doing more with less is about how we strategise treatment plans for our patients that are:
1. Minimally invasive – salvaging valuable tooth structure effectively can extend restorative life cycles and minimise the loss of tooth structure at each restorative cycle. This is how BelleDental intends to help you keep your teeth for life.
2. Simple. I know implants and 'digital dentistry' are the flavours of the month. Both these treatment modalities require lots of expensive equipment and technology, and the patient bears those costs. I'm not anti-implant, but unfortunately, implant treatments are often portrayed as the first resort rather than the last. Frequently, there are simpler, more cost-effective solutions to the problem – not to mention that the fees for one implant can often go a long way to stabilising the patient's whole mouth!
3. Prioritised and Phased: Not every tooth in your mouth has equal value. Every plan should determine the most in need. Not because we want to neglect and potentially lose teeth – instead, it's about the allocation of a vital resource - money.
At each stage of a phased treatment plan, effective allocation of even limited resources can avoid future problems – it's like compound interest – regular conservative allocations of funds can reap bigger long-term dental rewards.
DR ALEX HUSZTI BelleDental
Alex has had a career focused on low-biologic cost reconstructive cosmetic dental care – common sense teeth for life.
