Many people experience some level of dental prorastination at some point in their lives. But regular dental visits are not only important for your teeth; they can help you save money in the long run, too.

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Joe Bauer: Talk about procrastination okay? It comes with a cost. Fred Joyal is with us and he says if you want to save money as well as your mouth, you better see a dentist right away.

Fred Joyal: Absolutely.

Joe Bauer: You know, I had a friend, you talk about procrastination this, he never ever, he would not, now I'm not talking about me, this was a real friend. Okay.

Fred Joyal: Yeah, okay.

Joe Bauer: And he would, he just put it off, he hated pain and sure enough one Friday he had to go to ER. He had such pain, turned out they had to give him like pain medication until Monday he could get to the dentist, because it was a tooth.

Fred Joyal: It's a very common visit in the ER. Actually for children is the number one reason that they go to the emergency room is tooth pain. People are really terrible about avoiding the dentist, they wait till, they think pain is the indicator that they should go. Pain is the indicator that you've waited way too long.

Joe Bauer: Right, right and then it really isn't logical to wait, but I'd imagine money is also one of the considerations for that. But procrastinators are procrastinators, just don't want to go, sit in the chair, there's pain. And then there's the cost.

Fred Joyal: Yeah, well the real solution is to have a dentist that you love seeing so that you'll go regularly. So I can help you find that but really, the cost is, you know, it's like all deferred maintenance, you put it off on your car, on your house, or what ever, it's going to be a lot more expensive by waiting.

Joe Bauer: Yeah.

Fred Joyal: It's cheaper to see a dentist regularly than it is to let the problem build up.

Joe Bauer: Right, and then of course, at 1-800-DENTIST -

Fred Joyal: Sure.

Joe Bauer: You find the right dentist. There are so many to choose from, you can find the one that's close, find the one you like and then -

Fred Joyal: One that you want to create a relationship with that dentist. And that's the dentists that we've found treat people like I would send my friends and family to these people and that's how we select em and that's how you should feel you should think, oh they're calling me to go I better go in.  

Joe Bauer: Well that's, there's a key right there. I need to be called. I just forget and not that I'm a procrastinator in this because I know how important it is. I never was with the dentist, but I need to be reminded. I mean, all of a sudden it's Christmas again as we noticed this morning.

Fred Joyal: Yeah.

Joe Bauer: But and I forget, so when I get that call, and that little note and I also get a card that says it's time to come on in and get your teeth cleaned; take a look at em. And I'm fine, great and I have some great dentists.

Fred Joyal: Yeah and if you don't have a dentist you should really find one, see one regularly because don't wait for that pain. It, if the plaque is building up in your mouth it means that slowly you're hurting your teeth and your gums. A big thing is people don't realize teeth don't heal.  If a tooth is cracked, it's not like a bone; it's not going heal or your skin. Body is a little different when it comes to the mouth and they have to keep that in mind. The only person that can really keep your mouth healthy is a dentist. So find one you love.

Joe Bauer: The gums, the gums, I found out, well, it was about 10 years ago, and I'm doing some research on everything cause I just love to research stuff. You know, I go on the Internet and go everywhere.  How closely related the gums are to the heart.

Fred Joyal: Sure.

Joe Bauer: And how important it is to keep your gums really healthy. You know, and -

Fred Joyal: You gotta brush, you gotta floss you gotta have healthy gums to keep the teeth in. Eventually the gums are gonna recede and a tooth that maybe doesn't have any cavities in it, just will come right out. That's why half the population over 35 has some level of gum disease and it's just because they're not doing the maintenance, they're not seeing a dentist and their gonna, teeth their gonna start to come out.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, so find the right dentist.

Fred Joyal: Yes.

Joe Bauer: That's number one, find a dentist that you can relate to.

Fred Joyal: And go.

Joe Bauer: And number two go.

Fred Joyal: Don't just have the name in the book, go regularly.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, and find out, I mean that's what you're all about.  That's what 1-800-DENTIST is all about.

Fred Joyal: Now we have a website too, 1800dentist.com, where they can go and they can ask questions about how they should be taking care of their teeth or their kid's teeth or what various procedures are and all of the new things that are available in dentistry. Because there's a lot of new technology out there, much more comfort conscious, a lot of times their experience as a child was little bit traumatic, they need to kind of let that go and realize they want their the rest of their lives.

Joe Bauer: You mentioned the new technology; that is so true. They can, with the computerized technology now they can build a crown right there.  I mean, within minutes.

Fred Joyal: Yeah.

Joe Bauer: But again, you don't have to wait another week to get it taken care of.

Fred Joyal: There's great new stuff, there's lasers, there's all sorts of great diagnostic tools.  It's really different, it's really changed and the past 10 years there's been a lot of new technology to make dentistry much more comfortable.

Joe Bauer: Yeah, and fun.

Fred Joyal: Yeah.

Joe Bauer: I go, that's why I go, I said to my dentist. I said how we get I have fun today? They've got TV's on the ceiling and you know screens everywhere, you can watch movies while they're working on your teeth right now. All right there is, the number one source for finding a dentist, because they take every smile personally.  It's 1-800-DENTIST okay.  Thanks Fred once again.

Fred Joyal: My pleasure, Joe.

Joe Bauer: I can hardly wait for you to come back.  He's a fun guy with teeth.  San Diego Living is coming right back.