The what the constantly rising cost of health care. Many americans are making difficult decisions about their health, including sometimes for boeing, routine, Preventative Care. As a way to save money, this includes routine, dental care, which can oftentimes result in patients for crying even more expensive and complicated Emergency Care down the road to save their pearly whites and im 50 i and youre watching the cost of everything work today. Were going to be looking at the cost of maintaining your lifelong dental health and why the us dental care is so much more expensive compared to other countries. The. Now weve all heard of medical tourism where people go for a cosmetic facelift or maybe an infamous brazilian, but lift. But lately, dental tourism has also been on the rise. The top 10 destinations for dental tourism for us patients are mexico tylen, hungry spain, poland, costa rica, the philippines, malaysia and turkey. Us patients can expect to save between 40 to 65 percent in mexico and up to 50 to 75 percent in thailand. And this is because in countries like mexico, the cost of living is significantly less compared with the us, making it more feasible for dentists to own and operate a practice. And addition, dentist and mexico are not required to pay for malpractice insurance. Many patients now combined dental care with a vacation and the most common procedures for dental tourism include crowns, veneers, implants whitening root, canals, dentures and fillings. And just on the other side, the colorado river, the small mexican town of lost out of the dont, is bills itself as molar city. The city only has around 5000. 00 permanent residence, but thousands of tours flocked to the city every year to take advantage of the 350. 00 dentists in the downtown area. Some clinics even offer transportation to and from airports or other metropolitan areas, the most out of the dont as was built around dental tourism. This means dental work is fast, and cheap. Prices on average are of 3rd of the cost of their us equivalent. But unfortunately, not all the work is quality. None of the procedures are guaranteed. And sometimes patients get taken advantage of. Insurance companies are now even on board with dental tourism, with Companies Like geo blue which is affiliated with Blue Cross Blue Shield and aetna offering specific medical and dental coverage for people who are traveling outside of the us. Doing so say is Insurance Companies money because theyre paying out much less than they would for these procedures in the us. As some employers have even gone a step further and will even cover entire medical tourism trips for employees. So now joining us today is dr. Joseph kelly, ill, dentist from arlington, dentistry. Now joseph, can you provide an overview of the current landscape of dental care costs and how has they evolved over the years . Well, it really depends on the type of treatment patients are having. And it depends on the locations where are you located . If, if were talking into us, its gonna vary. If youre in a major city or if youre in the suburbs, and overall it is known that dental costs in the u. S. Is more expensive than, for example, places uh overseas. Um now the uh the what, some of the factors that play influence in the dental cost is uh the complexity of the treatment. And uh, when you are talking about treatment that involves more advanced procedures like surgeries or dental implants. Uh so you, youre going to find that that its going to be a little bit more costly and also using technology with capt cam or 3 d printing. Thats also gonna add the costs. So i guess the answer is it depends on locations. It depends of complexity of treatment. And what factors contribute to the overall expenses associated with dental care today . Well, uh i can tell you from my, my experience um were located in arlington, virginia, so uh, the real estate is expensive. Rent or the expense of a staff salaries are expensive. So one of the actors as location. So if youre in, in a small town where your rent might not be as, as expensive, your overhead is going to be less. So you have a fixed overhead into practice, meaning just the fixed overhead, the cost of operating. So use the moment you walk into your office and you turn the lights on, you have some expensive expenses, whether its a mortgage on the property or the rent, and youve got your staff salaries, these are all fixed electricity, etc. So cost of operating a dental office in us is not, its not cheap. Uh so if you move a little bit towards a smaller areas, it might be a little bit less expensive, but then youve got also malpractice insurance and other business overhead. Insurances, and the workmans comp insurance is, i mean theres a lot of a lot of hidden expenses. Patients typically think that theyre buying our next boat or our airplane, or our cause. And its, its far, far from reality. As a matter of fact, that a lot of dental offices and dentists that go go under go out of business. I just sort of one today that the close shot because the rent was so expensive. She, she couldnt keep up, keep the office. So she has to move it to a different location. So uh, so these are some of the, what drives the cost. The other thing is the technology. As you advanced in technology, labs need to buy sophisticated equipments, especially when it comes to 3 d printing machines, or using uh, uh, you know, digital like um, uh, digital scanners, etc. And so that is expensive. And so therefore, the light bill is going to be a little bit more expensive and so this adds to the, to the cost. So for these odd and unnatural, uh you have the fixed overhead and that, and then you have the, uh, other type of expenses where youve got your life bills and miscellaneous expenses that that sometimes happens when you, you cant control. Many individuals find dental care costs challenging to manage. Could you elaborate on the specific challenges people face and affording these treatments . It really depends on the treatment. And it depends on the level of the treatment and expectations the patients have. You know, ill give you a simple example. Lets say someone comes in and they dont have to. Okay, they want to have something, they can go with something thats removable. They can go with something thats doable to implants, and they can go with something thats removable. But little bit more fixed with for implants, and they can go with something that is fixed, like having their own teeth with, you know, 4 or more implants. And the more fixed you go, the more the cost. Now you do, you know, they might need a simple, simple restore those like fillings and thats not going to be as much expensive as a, if they need it. For example, a root canal and maybe some crowns on top. So the best way to save on dental treatment is prevention because that is so way with patients can go throughout that life with not leaving other than simple cleanings, you know, but it takes the effort to, uh, uh, you know, do the work at home. I always tell patients when they come in for the 6 months of the visits for the cleaning and oh, i tell them thats what youre seeing me 2 days out of 365. 00. What really matters . Whats more important is what you do in the 363 days at home. So prevention is the best of the best solution and how do Preventative Care measures such as regular checkups and cleanings contribute to the overall cost of dental maintenance . When it comes to dentistry, for the most part, um the prevention is just key. Okay. And i always felt based on my job is to help you uh, need less dentistry. I would be failing as a dentist if my patients keep coming to me and they keep needing work. Um, so we spend a lot of time on, on spending time and talking to them about prevention. The number one cause of problems, the major, you know, 60 percent plus of things that we, we do in the office are the result of cavities the k right carries. And the last prevention is limiting, sugar, sugar consumption and its sugar. It isnt everywhere and it doesnt impact only their Overall Health from, you know, diabetes, to Heart Disease, etc. But also it impacts the teeth and then the teeth when they, um they get cavities. So thats where expenses start rising up. Now, theres a way to fix something before it gets bigger, with simple filling. So thats where you can control the costs. And then of course, as it gets bigger, youre going to more expensive when you get into more advance whether its root canals. And if you let it go completely, then you lose a tooth, then youre talking about surgeries and extractions and implants if you want to replace them. So controlling sugar. Okay, brushing flossing, you know, but the main thing is, sugar. Lemme thing sugar occasions and of course fluoride plays a big role as well. And its controversial. Some people are against fluoride, some are with we have studies that show that it does prevent to speak a but in my opinion, the number one thing is sugar sugar boys then for the teeth and for the body. Thank you so much dr. But please stick around. Dr. Joseph kelly ill will stay with us right here after the breaks. So stay tuned as we delve into the world of cosmetic dentistry. Exploring is rising popularity, fueled by the influence of social media. Well have more after the break. The the, the types just for new post marketing for that semester class. And like i said, the last will probably, thats often ive been in the school just to read it in the polls and use them in my own way. This to the football shy. Right. Im like, im assuming the issue of the, the, the pretty much the, this is this, the, the, our world is full of different cultures with various beauty standards and traditions where one country values, bronze tan, skin, others prize, fair porcelain glass skin. But across the board, every country values healthy white teeth. So when it comes to the best overall dental health, denmark takes the 1st spot with the m f t index, which stands for decayed, missing, or filled teeth score of 0. 4. Dana citizens have pretty perfect teeth, followed by germany, finland, sweden, and the u. K. Now diet plays important factor in dental health cultures that consume large amounts of sugar are more prone to dental problems, which lowers are d, m, f, t score. The philippines have the worst d m. F t score with 90 percent of their citizens suffering from tooth decay, india and australia rank 2nd and 3rd to last on the list. Countries with universal health care often see Better Oral Health outcomes due to more accessible and affordable dental services. Now americans have some of the best dental care in the world, but more than 90 percent of American Adults has has some form of tooth decay. And again, diets fill with sugary carbonated acidic drinks are largely to blame. And while the case can be fixed with dental fillings, repetitive decay can wear down the tooth structure enough that extraction may be the only option. On average, Preventative DentalCare Services like x rays and cleanings costs between 275. 00 to 400. 00. But if you have a cavity and require filling, it can range from a 154. 00 tooth to 250. 00. Crowns are more expensive and depending on the material from a 1000. 00 for a metal filling to 2000. 00 for a ceramic filling. And for many people who labs and dental care, whether for cost reasons or for cobit reasons, they often return in worse shape. Dentists to report a declines and patient volume during the height of the pandemic. So nearly 40 percent increases in oral health problems, including more cavities and subsequent years. And this is referred to now as covert cavities. Dentists also reported seeing a sharp rise in ship and cracked peas as well as more americans stressed by coven or clenching their jaws and grinding their rollers. This can be attributed to children and teens consuming more sugary snacks and not falling strict dental hygiene practices. While spending an extended time amount of time at home during warranty, adults also develop snacking habits, having a refrigerator stashed 20 feet away from them at all times. So for this and more, lets bring in again, dr. Joseph camille dentist at arlington dentistry. Now joseph, we often hear about people in the ortho work and people routinely get braces or invisalign in their adult years. How have these new technologies contributed to the cost of dental care . I would still say that over all you can, you can still get a clear a liners for. Ready for a reasonable. Ready affordable cost. Uh maybe a little bit less than what was traditionally uh necessary to get like the conventional braces. But its gonna depend once again depends on the region. Depends on the area. Um, depending on the provider i for example, we do lot of invisalign because we just because we do a lot of ins as a line, we get into a different tier. Uh, meaning my costs from this line would be less than someone that doesnt do a lot of invisalign so i can afford to pass on those savings to my patients. Okay, so, and thats the decision that i make business decision that i make to say, you know what, i want to lower the cost for the patients. And i this way i get more patients interested. And i also believe that when you, its got patients wearing invisalign and theyre like, oh and bass. So theres through a practice because their friends and family last summer was doing year invisalign. And then it can be more of a marketing tool. Are there technologies that have significantly improved dental treatments and lower the cost such as these online or subscription services, and do they actually work . Im a believer. Okay. That straight thirtys are clean or teeth. So i dont look at straightening the teeth strictly as a cosmetic benefit to the patients. Okay. That a lot of benefits. As a matter of fact, i dont, i dont discuss my patients invisalign or straightening the teeth strictly on the basis of cost maddox, unless this is a concern to them and we can address it. But sometimes that bytes, the way that you talk fitting together the direction of the force, it can be detrimental. They can be cracking their teeth that can be tripping that these as simply because the teeth i was wrong place also, we have, we see a lot of patients that are well into the eightys and ninetys. And lot of patients physiologically. You know, as we all get older, lower teeth get more crowded, and then when manual dexterity diminishes, so people as they get older, some of them are in, in uh, assisted living. You know, they have other people brushing their teeth. Its always easier to clean straight or teeth than crowded teeth. I do sometimes lot of restorations and fixing cavities on patients with, with cricket tease or crowded teeth. So there is a lot of Health Benefits to having traits ortiz. And so we, we discuss that with patients when there are well and you know, into their, you know, before they get older and we say, hey, were living long. And if there are some advantages to that. So. Ready um yes, so that technology is, is helping patients have healthy your mouth. And by the way, that a lot of studies that were done that saw that the type of bacteria around crowd at teeth is different than the bacteria around straight to t. M. We all know that theres correlation between the Heart Disease and gum disease. So again, so, um i, i look at things where, you know what, this is definitely a health benefit. The other thing that is important is that when you have threats of teeth and studies have been done, you have better self confidence. You have better self esteem. So that is uh, your whole emotional psyche is better that its has been linked to having better jobs. Im talking in general, being able to, a, for you to feel better about yourself. So these are also a benefits. So again, its going to, its going to differ where you are in the world, in america, its a lot more. Theres a lot more emphasis on that versus some other parts of the world. Cosmetic dentistry has seen a rise in popularity. What has contributed to this is cultural. Uh, but uh if, if you want to talk about the western world and it has been on the rise and it went even more on the rise after coping when everybody was on zillow. And i had a lot of patients come in to me and say like a sense to me, the screenshots of the, like, look up my teeth. We, we go in life, people go in life, no one books from the outside. And right, unless youre looking in the mirror, right . And then when, when people are on the screen that on on zoo they notice a lot of a lot of that, notice that the penalty, the color then well just the arrangements. So yes it, it became more on the rise. The other thing is our ability to use better communication skills using Digital Media photography. Computers is 3 d scanners. You are able to show patients on the screen and then Patient Acceptance and patients awareness increase. So thats, thats a 2 or 3. So there is a lot of different treatment modalities that one can do that dont have to be very expensive, meaning in the past, if you need to do cosmetic procedure at that to be either crowns or porcelain veneer. Well right now you can do, you can straighten disease and well do little bit the whitening and maybe that does the trick. Or you can do some bonding which are tooth color filling, special tooth color, filling material that is highly polished bolt. And you can place on your front teeth and you dont do that conservative, you dont have to cut on your deep. And then, you know, thats typically less costly than ceramic than porcelain veneer. So i mean, so thats also contributed to people accepting more and wanting more. So again, its going to vary on the where you are, what country your n. But um, since i live in the u. S, this has been the experience over here. Are there a specific cosmetic treatments that have become more affordable or expensive over time, cosmetic procedures that became affordable . Well, one whitening the simplest one. So people that just want to white then and well be happy with that, the units of death deep. Its used to be going through the dentist now you can get them over the counter. You have the, the crest whitening strips and other brands that are available over the counter. Or even at the Dentist Office it became affordable to do the whitening. Thats one to you have the tooth colored composite present, you know, the bomb being referred to as laymans term as in bonding. And thats also more affordable than the porcelain. And sometimes in the past, the people wanted to have as traits or to use. Uh they have, theres nothing wrong with that either just a little bit crowded and they, you know, they, they would get veneers, which in my opinion i think would be way over treatment. Now you can simply do Something Like an invisalign, right . Use some clear liners and you can straightening your teeth and then wiping them, and youll have an amazing smile. Thats natural, thats yours and conservative. So thats also less cost. Now, good straight teeth are often the result of good genes. So what countries are known for requiring very little ortho work versus what countries have a higher proportion needing ortho work . I think do you, as i can tell you real quick probably around the late nineties or early 2000, there was a show called smile make over this and they realized that and that would show what its like to reality. Tv on, on television, also attends and you day people would do plastic surgery, people will do all kinds of stuff to speak for. But then the minute they changed it, did you see that . And its coming back. We do all and then thats when the rise in popularity of cosmetic dentistry became a, you know, evident into us. So i would say the u. S. Probably does the most, you can just look on tv. I think its also people. Unfortunately, i hate to say this, but people judge you in the u. S. Based on your seats, you know, but and, and places and other places like in some, some countries of europe or, you know, places in the middle east. I mean, im originally from loving on because its different when i go there, i dont know, but im looking to see that its not the same. So its cultural. I know some places uh where culturally its acceptable to have spaces. As a matter of fact, i have patients, ive seen patients when they were to say, i want to straighten, but i want to leave a space in between my front teeth. I want to keep that space and thats culturally acceptable to them. So the, the other thing is it depends on the regions, the social economic status of the person. These also play play a role. So, but i think the us do aspects the prize for a more specific rating. So maybe some other places like brazil, how or heavy on cosmetic dentistry . Uh, i know maybe a south korea, maybe japan. Thank you so much dr. Joseph kelly ill for all your time today. Cosmetic dentistry like veneers are growing in popularity. Things to social media veneers have revolutionized smile makeovers and have allowed people to bypass orthodontist altogether. But dentistry experts believe that people are being marketed crowns as veneers. In this instance, about 60 percent of the tooth is drilled away, leading to major risks and infections, and root canals down the road. A crown last for 12 to 15 years. And after that, you wont have much of a tooth left to work with after that. There is also the possibility of overbuilding. Veneers, making them appear bulky, and this can really result in gum disease, not to mention difficult eating or speaking. But the sad part is that perfectly good, healthy teeth are drilled away, making veneers, and irreversible decision. Unfortunately, many people are left with less than perfect smiles as a result of seeking an unqualified professional to save on cost. Im christy, i thanks for watching and well see you right back here next time on the cost of everything. The uh the the what is the part of it that the employee would post good isnt the deepest view of us and that in the word part is it something deeper, more complex might be present . Good. Lets stop without collision. Is that spelled out of the breaking news from gaza . Palace times Health Ministry accuses is role of killing at least 20 people after an attack helicopter, reportedly targeted thousands of people seeking aid in central gaza. Israel denies being involved the russian president ial election has officially kicked off in the country as far as that says Vladimir Putin calls on people across the nation to unite and cast their vote. I am sure that you recognize just help there. Look at this time is for our country and what difficult challenges lie ahead of us in almost every direction. Its core, meaning is that you and only you the citizens of russia and decide the future of your homeland and Ukrainian Forces attempt