“You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.”
~ Eminem
I am truly blessed that over the 4 years of being with my dental team, I have seen and treated a lot of wonderful patients. When a new patient comes in for their initial exam, we make every effort in achieving their ultimate want without compromising overall health or function. The journey, whether it be long or short can only begin however, with the patient agreeing to their next appointment.
Recently I had the opportunity to revisit a case where I had made my initial recommendations to a patient back in July of 2012. The patient had come in once for a cleaning. I did my exam after the initial x-rays and photos were taken. I went through the gamut of why this patient needed treatment, which included a series of fillings with the possibility of one root canal. Since July, no treatment had been rendered, it is now February 2013, and now the patient was sitting in my chair with the chief complaint of him thinking he had “lost a filling.”
The Cheapest Your Dentistry Will EVER Be is NOW!
Fast forward 7 months and things look way different then they had in 2012. From some fillings and one potential root canal, we now have graduated to the patient needing 3 root canals and 3 crowns. Obviously the patient asked me now if I could just fill the teeth but that option was gone. The decay was invasive to the nerve, and I tried to explain that putting a filling on top of an exposed nerve would be similar to shaking a soda can and waiting for someone to open it up for the explosion. The teeth without a doubt would need to be treated to a greater degree than before. This would also mean this would be a tremendous leap in increased expenses if he wanted to save his teeth. Waiting 7 months meant the difference between a filling for about $150 vs. a root canal, and crown for $2500.
The example serves as typical situation where perhaps patients felt no pain and made a decision to wait. Patients have the tendency to want to wait “until it bothers them.” The problem is that a tooth problem tends to come at 9pm on a Saturday and I am not open. In life it is always better to be proactive and just “get ‘er done,” than to be reactive and suffer.
Steve Jobs, the creator of Apple had an opportunity for a liver transplant 8 months before he passed away. He made a decision to wait. He wanted to treat things holistically and see how it would go. Yes, Steve Jobs waited. The billionaire- Steve Jobs waited, and played with his life.
No matter what education level, I think we all have a tendency to wait. When it comes to your health, however, it doesn’t pay to wait. You can be losing a tooth or more importantly your life. So remember like Eminem says, “You Only Get One Shot, Do Not Lose Your Chance to Blow…”
Dr. Max Zaslavsky
6451 North Federal Highway #129
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
Ph: (954) 491-3544
