A lot can happen in a year. When January 1st rolls around, we are all inclined to say, “Already?” If you are looking at it from a statistical point of view, massive changes happen in a year. For example: did you know that, on average, Americans make 500 million visits to the dentist each year? What dental treatments are they getting in this visits?
Here you’ll find a list of the most common dental treatments people undergo in a year and other dental information as a heads up for 2015.
The most common dental treatments:
- Cleanings
- Bonding
- Braces
- Bridges &Implants
- Crowns and Caps
- Dentures
- Extractions
- Fillings/repairs
- Gum Surgery
- Oral Cancer Exam
- Root Canal
- Sealants
- Teeth Whitening
- Veneers
- X-rays
According to a study by the Pew Center on the States, Americans spent $106 billion on dental care in 2010. Dealing with health procedures of any kind gets pretty expensive pretty quick. But it is not in vein! It’s better to go to the dentist often – and making sure your mouth is healthy – rather than waiting until it is too late, and having to add more zeroes to that check. Unfortunately, not everyone visits the dentist as often as they should.
Here are the states with the largest percent of people who visited a dentist in the past 12 months:
- Connecticut (74.9%)
- Massachusetts (74.5%)
- Rhode Island (73.8%)
- Alaska (72.6%)
- Wisconsin (72.4%)
- Minnesota (71.9%)
- North Dakota (71.4%)
- Utah (71.4%)
- Delaware (70.9%)
- South Dakota (70.7%)
And here are the states with the fewest percentage of people who visited a dentist:
- Mississippi (53.0%)
- Oklahoma (55.2%)
- Louisiana (55.2%)
- Arkansas (56.1%)
- Texas (56.3%)
- West Virginia (56.6%)
- Tennessee (56.9%)
- Kentucky (58.6%)
- Missouri (59.0%)
- Arizona (59.3%)
Source: //www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/05/03/state-where-people-go-to-dentist/8613939/
You may notice a correlation between these states with the fewest people visiting the dentist and the states with the worst dental health.
Keeping up good dental health is important for all ages – don’t take it for granted if you are young, and don’t ignore it if you are older! If you aren’t careful to take care of your dental health, it could lead to bigger, more serious and more costly problems.
Start planning for your dental health this year. Be looking ahead at potential issues that might arise and look for a good dentist and dental plan if you don’t have one already. After all, a lot can happen in a year.
What are some things you do every year concerning dental health?
