Let's just get right into it!
You want to save money at the dentist. Why should you divy out all your hard earned cash to someone who pokes and prods you, drills holes in your head, and bills holes in your wallet?!
Last week we covered tip 1 and 2.
Now it's time to tackle the last two.
Are you ready? Okay. Let's do this thing.
TIP NUMBER 3!!!
Xylitol baby. Okay, I don't actually mean a baby made out of xylitol. Rather, I mean xylitol - comma - "baby"... like how Arnold Schwarzenegger says "Hasta la Vista, baby!"
I digress again. Xylitol is a natural sugar that bacteria can't metabolize. In fact, it actually makes bacteria starve to death! You see, it's kind of like this trap... bacteria think its food, but when they try to eat it, they can't... and then they die :) Kind of like raid for ants. Except this stuff is healthy for ya! It even makes you salivate more; your parotid gland is stimulated, which releases alkaline saliva to neutralize harmful acids in your mouth. Side effects are possible, and include an upset stomach if you have too much of it - but if you're like most human beings, having a piece after each meal will only cause enjoyment and a reduction in your cavity risk :)
NOTE! Xylitol stimulates a HUGE spike in insulin when consumed by dogs. In fact, because dogs react this way, xylitol is considered toxic to them! That doesn't make xylitol "toxic". I feel like "toxic" and "toxins" are buzzwords nowadays that can throw everyone and their dog into an unnecessary tizzy. Just because water is toxic to fire doesn't mean it's toxic to you :)
TIP NUMBER 4!!!
Cheaper doesn't always = better.
Seems logical, no? If you want a quality meal, you bare-minimum head to the olive garden (and not burger king). Yes, the olive garden will cost you a bit more, but the quality of ingredients is to a much higher standard... the food is better for you, and probably tastier, too! I don't have science to back this up. Call it a very-likely-to-be-true hunch.
The same goes for teeth! If you have a tooth with a big filling in it that's failing, you'll likely have two options
a) fill it again - CHEAP!
b) put a crown on it - EXPENSIVE...
but does that tell the whole story? Let's say you choose option A. You fill it again, and your wallet only took a little hit. Yay! -Don't get too excited there, Skippy. If it broke once with a filling, it'll probably break again.
~1 month later~
*Crack*
Now, you'll probably need a root canal, because the tooth broke even MORE than it had before.
"Nah, I'll just pull it! That's cheaper than a root canal! :)" Unfortunately, that smiley face is gonna have one less tooth in it, then. And to get a tooth back in, you're looking at thousands of dollars. And if you don't get a tooth back in, the other teeth are going to be dealing with more pressure (take out pillars in a house, and the other pillars will have the bear more of the load)... And what does that mean?
*Crack* ...(again)
Now another tooth has cracked due to the increased force on the teeth, and now that one needs a crown, too!
Now keep in mind, this is a hypothetical scenario. But the reality is... when a problem is fixed early and correctly, instead of being patched over and over again, the long term cost is likely going to be less, even if it seems like more up front.
Well that's all for this week! I hope you enjoyed these tips. If you check out my vid, there's a bonus tip at the end ;)