Staging dental treatments refers to a way of managing complex or expensive dentistry so that it is spread out over time. This can be necessary either 1) due to plans that involve multiple specialists and their treatments or 2) due to a number needed dental procedures that a patient can not afford to do in one calendar year.
The first instance is common when dealing with complex restorative treatment plans that may involve multiple specialty treatments such as orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics and/ or oral surgery in conjunction with restorative dentistry. In this case the restorative dentist after consultation with his specialist must often decide on an order of treatments and coordinate them so that the plans are delivered in a way that results in the best treatment outcome.
In the second instance, patients often present with simple treatment plans that involve multiple procedures that can not be afforded by the patient all at once. In this case the dentist can plan a series of treatments, including interim treatments, that prevent dental problems from worsening while waiting for a definitive restorative treatment to be delivered. For example in the case where a patient might present with a number of cavities some of which may result in teeth needing a root canals and a post and crowns, a dentist might take care of excavation of decay, and performing root canals one year and contemplate making posts and crowns at a later point when the patients finance allow. This would be preferable to just fixing one tooth at a time. If a patients finances are exhausted by definitively restoring one tooth than they often do not have the funds to take care of the other cavities that are present. This can result in untreated conditions worsening and in further dental expenses that might have been avoided by the proper staging of dental treatments. I have written an article on this subject on my website which can be viewed by clicking on http://www.lspindeldds.com/staging_dental_treatments2
Hey Lawrence, this is Robert. Just stumbled upon your blog and found quite informative stuffs out here ! Truly, cosmetic dental treatments tend to look better and last long. However,it is better to treat tooth decay, gum disease, etc.before doing any cosmetic dental treatment. I also read your article through the link. Dental insurance is a pretty good financial option for dental treatment.
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