Invest Your Tax Refund in Oral Health

Amidst the hassles of the 9-to-5 grind, it can be pretty satisfying when you receive a tax refund for the previous year. It often feels like a gift of wealth, as opposed to some of your taxed income coming back. In fact, because it feels like such a gift, you might be faced with the urge to spend the money on entertainment or novelties.

You’d be better off, though, if you resisted that impulse and used the funds on a wiser purchase. An excellent example of the latter would be using a refund for treatment from your local dental practitioner. To prove it, here’s a summary of dental treatments’ bright side — their health and cosmetic benefits, as well as their affordability given a tax refund. Read it over and consider if a new smile might be better than a new trinket.

What Could a Dentist Offer?

The money from a tax refund could go a long way towards dental health improvements. For instance, if you’ve been putting off your teeth cleaning appointment, now’s the chance to finally take care of it. The same goes for any lingering oral conditions you’ve been enduring, like cavities, gum infections, tooth pain, and more.  Plus, treating these kinds of issues now will keep worse problems from cropping up later, as poor dental health is associated with diseases like oral cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Of course, dentists’ offerings confer not only health benefits but cosmetic ones too. Professional whitening, veneers, and dental implants can give you a cleaner looking smile that’ll increase your confidence. Similarly, Invisalign aligners, braces, and dental crowns will make your teeth straighter, smoother, and more uniform in appearance. In just a few short treatments, a dentist could make your smile dazzle look like that of a Hollywood star!

Refunds Make Dental Treatments Affordable

The sad truth is that many families, including those with insurance, struggle to pay for dental treatments. Those facing poor job prospects, or constrained by debt and other harsh financial costs, may choose to sacrifice treatment to make ends meet. Doing so won’t help in the long run, though.  Forgoing treatment will only aggravate financial hardships and increase emotional distress, neither of which are good for well-being.

With the money from a tax return, however, the cost of dental care becomes much more manageable. You and your local dentist can arrange a treatment that makes the most of your existing insurance plan and then discuss the payment option that works best for you. Plus, just as it does with dental health, treating your dental issue now will limit your burden in the days ahead. Namely, it will prevent any pre-existing oral condition from degrading, which would only make treatment more expensive.

In other words, then, spending your tax return on oral health is financially cost-effective, granting you an affordable fix in the present rather than an unaffordable one for the future.

When we think of tax returns, we tend to think of free money. This year, at least, let’s think of them as something else — a free offer for better teeth and a better smile!

About the Author

Dr. Steven Kendrick is an expert dentist based in Midwest City, OK, having earned his Doctorate of Dental Surgery (DDS) from the Oklahoma University College of Dentistry. A visiting faculty member of Spear Education and adjunct faculty member of the University of Oklahoma’s College of Dentistry, Dr. Kendrick’s work earned him a spot in Oklahoma Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2001. He currently practices at Midwest Dental Center and can be reached at his website or by phone at (405)-732-0431.