It may seem like an obvious answer (call me MOTO: Master of the Obvious), but nothing lasts forever.

Dental work is no exception and when deciding how to invest in your health, longevity should be considered.  What lasts for decades with one person may not with another (usually not).  Mileage will vary based on many factors, including bite forces, habits, diet and trauma/accidents.

As a rule, more “expensive” dental work is actually cheaper, when looking at “the big picture”.  An example would be dental implants.  The fee for one tooth may be a few thousand dollars by the time the work is done.  The alternative MAY be root canal therapy, post, build up and crown that is a few hundred (several hundred?) dollars less.  While the cost TODAY is less, if looked at through a 25 year window it may be more.

Statistics will tell us that the cheaper method will likely need replacement in 10-15 years, while the implant is still going strong.  The cost for dental care in 15 years will be considerably more than today when figuring inflation and newer materials (remember how much you paid for your first car?  Your first house?).

While nothing lasts forever, when investing in dental care quite often the higher fee option has greater benefits.