Clark's Big Book of Bargains by Clark Howard Read Free Book Online Page B

teeth, according to J. Crystal Baxter, a Chicago prosthodontist (reconstructive dentist). Dr. Baxter loves a new laser bleaching system dentists are using. It does a remarkable job in a single one-hour treatment, although it costs $600 to $800 to whiten all your teeth. Bleaching your teeth at home with a professional kit from a dentist can cost $300 to $500. I say try the Crest product for $34, and see if it works for you.
    Dentists shift to cosmetic dentistry because the number of cavities people have been getting has been declining over the years. But the dental health of adolescents is declining again, in part because children and teenagers are drinking so-called sports drinks instead of water. Kids have been drinking soft drinks for quite a while. Sports drinks have made it worse, and that’s harming their teeth. So dentists may have a big business in repairing tooth decay again in the future.
    One thing parents can do to protect their children’s teeth is have them sealed. The procedure seals tiny cracks and fissures in the tooth’s surface, so they don’t get cavities. It costs about $50 to $70 per tooth and lasts about five or six years. It’s an excellent value, because preventing cavities now can save your children from expensive crowns and root canals later.
    Some people are electing to have their silver-mercury amalgam fillings replaced, fearing that they may suffer harm from the toxic mercury in the fillings. Dr. Baxter says the mercury in those fillings is inert, and she’s seen no definitive proof that it causes any harm. Having them removed should be considered only if you’ve had immune system problems, she says.
    People ask about the price of dentistry because so much of it is uninsured. Even people who have dental insurance find it far less thorough than regular health insurance. For example, a policy might have a $1,200 annual limit, and provide only a 50 percent reimbursement for a $600 or $700 crown. If you think you may have more significant dental expenses in a year and have access to a flexible spending plan at work, you could use that to trim your costs. As I point out in the section on prescription drugs, flexible spending plans allow you to pay medical costs out of gross, or before-tax, dollars, so you get a substantial discount, usually 30 percent or more. You ask your employer to take a specified amount of money out of each paycheck, and you use that money to pay for dental work that isn’t paid by the company health plan. So if you need a $700 crown and insurance will pay $350, you can pay the other $350 from the flexible spending plan. Since $350 of your gross pay might be equal to $250 or less of your net pay, you save $100 or more. But you have to ask to have the money taken out of your paycheck before the year begins, and if you don’t spend it by year-end, you lose it. For that reason, flexible spending works best when you can predict your expenses in advance. Ask your dentist for an estimate of the next year’s expenses, and ask your employer to place that amount into your flexible spending account.
    • Tips on Dentistry •
     
Get a second opinion before undergoing any major dental work.
If you want to whiten your teeth, try Crest Whitestrips before you consider professional bleaching. But get your teeth cleaned first. It doesn’t work well for smokers.
Consider getting your children’s teeth sealed to prevent cavities.
Don’t get silver-mercury amalgam fillings replaced. The mercury in the fillings hasn’t been shown to cause any harm.
If you have access to a flexible spending plan at work, you can use it to save on dental expenses.
    * PRIVATE SCHOOLS *
    You may be wondering why, in a “book of bargains,” I would have anything about private schools, one of the most expensive choices parents can make regarding their children. I think a private-school education is one of the biggest bargains, because of the benefit you get in developing your child’s skills and earning