I was chatting with a patient the other day about maintenance…

We take care of our cars by carefully watching the mileage and changing oil, filters and such when the manufacturer suggests. Few of us do this for the pleasure of reading old magazines in a smelly car repair shop. Fewer still enjoy the delight of doing it ourselves as we burn fingers on hot oil plugs and leave fragrant stains on the driveway. We do it because we know it will help our car running better and longer.
We love our cars, but most of us will get rid of that prized car in not too many years, replacing it with a newer model.

I bet you can guess where I’m going here… if our cars fail us, we figure out a way to get a newer one. But we only get one body. If we mess it up, we can’t get a new one! So perhaps we should spend a lot more energy assuring exceptional maintenance of our bodies than we do our cars.
In Dentistry, this involves providing for:

• strong teeth – not just patched up teeth with multiple fillings
• gum health, the foundation for those strong teeth
• a balanced bite, so all teeth share the load and none wear out prematurely

It is true that dental care takes time and energy, and that means money too. But keeping a gorgeous healthy smile for a lifetime is perhaps a better investment than keeping our favorite car running!