Dental Work the Easy Way: Dentistry School
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A lot of people in the US put off dental work because they’re worried about the potential costs. Whether you have dental insurance or not, dental work often doesn’t come cheap. In fact, not a lot of employer-based health plans cover dental work, leaving many Americans with few options when it comes to getting their teeth fixed.
However, there’s a little life hack you might not know about when it comes to dental work. Did you know that you can get some procedures done at dentistry schools?
Dentists have to learn the procedures inherent to their field somehow, right? And, believe it or not, it’s very difficult to create realistic models of the human mouth. While students can perform simulations of procedures and can watch videos of different treatments, nothing beats the real thing.
Eventually, dentistry students have to get hands-on with real patients and just perform the procedures. Their professors supervise these procedures to make sure nothing terrible happens, but the student is able to actually see what the work is like.
Here’s the part that could be of serious interest to you, especially if you’re uninsured for dental work: having a student team perform your dental work is going to be way, way less expensive than going to a private practitioner.
In some cases, you can get your procedures done for a significant discount. In others, you might even be able to have the work done for free, especially if the school is in dire need of a case like yours for instructional purposes.
Of course, there are aspects of this scenario that aren’t all strictly better than going to a private dentist. For one thing, you might not live anywhere near a dental college. For another thing, they often have long waiting lists for care, due to the lower costs they offer. Finally, you’ll need to take a lot of time out of your schedule for work at a dental school.
Since every step in the process is closely scrutinized and monitored, simple procedures could take twice as long, as professors grade the students on their performance and check after their work.
We know what you’re thinking: “how can that be safe?” You might find this hard to believe, but you’re actually safer getting procedures done at dental schools than with a private dentist. This is because the process is so closely monitored and step-by-step that you can almost guarantee you’ll get a high quality of care.