Every year, dental offices across the country see thousands of patients, especially during the holiday season. The number of scheduled patients can easily double in the last few months of the year.
Tooth Decay and Repairs
Tooth cavities don’t just suddenly appear. The sugary food and drinks we consume during the holiday season tend to increase and a tooth cavity can quickly worsen requiring immediate attention.
Every office, bank or store you go into during the holidays is serving lollipops, chocolates or sticky candy at the front desk. Candies that stick to dental crowns account for the majority of the repairs seen during the holiday season. So beware and try to avoid eating the sticky candy, especially if your teeth have crowns.
Cosmetic Dental Treatments
From all of the holiday parties thrown by work, friends and family, the sudden urge to have bright white teeth tends to also increase during the holiday season. More patients are reminded to get their teeth cosmetically whitened or repaired.
Year End Dental Insurance Maximum
Most insurance plans have a yearly maximum that must be used by December 31st. Patients that have dental treatments they’ve been putting off all year due to their busy schedules, tend to finally focus on getting them done prior to year end.
Dental insurance maximums do not roll over to the next year, “if you don’t use it, you lose it” said Dr. Saliba, a trusted Orange County dentist in the heart of Corona Del Mar.
“Every year, we send a reminder to our patients making them aware that this is it. On many occasions their yearly deductible is met and this is a way for them to save if they have a dental necessity they’ve been avoiding”.
Oral health is very important all year long, no matter when you chose to care for your teeth, Dr. Saliba says “just do it”. Our mouth is the entry way to the rest of our body, caring for our oral health directly relates to our overall health and wellbeing.
Selective Dentistry - George Saliba, DDS 