Are you getting the sense like me, that the expectations for family dental care are changing? It seems every week we learn from good scientific studies that good oral health is an independent factor in good overall health. Today, for example, a Korean study found that poor gums were associated with hypertension, irregardless of other risk factors.
This awareness is seeping into those who pay for dental services, either via a group dental plan or the individual on a pay-as-you-go plan. It is a major motivation to visit the dentist, as we found out in surveying Canadian and UK dental patients. And it is increasingly a concern for some insurers who know that the primary reason for a group dental benefit is not to subsidize the crown, but rather to get to better oral health.
So, the community is beginning to expect something more from its dentists. Not just to fix the ongoing decay and the inflamed gums. But also protect it from these nasty connections between the mouth and the body.
The dentists I speak with acknowledge these changing expectations. They say the patient is smarter, asks more questions, wants a different value proposition which he/she will share on social media.
In this context, providing affordable effective preventive care becomes paramount.
For more, please visit: http://partnersinprevention.ca/changing-expectations-for-dentistry/
By: Ross Perry
SOURCED: Partners In Prevention – http://partnersinprevention.ca/
