Age 6 Yay! Brand new tooth. Gets a sealant to prevent a cavity. ($50)
Age 10 Lost the sealant, eats lots of candy, has a chewing surface cavity, filling placed ($170)
Age 16 Brushing better but doesn’t floss teeth, has flossing cavity, bigger filling placed ($280)
Age 24 Still doesn’t floss, has new flossing cavity; filling is even bigger ($340)
Age 36 Broke filling, waited to get fixed, too much tooth gone for another filling, needs a crown to restore tooth to function ($1200)
Age 48 Still not flossing, new cavity under crown into nerve, needs root canal therapy and new crown. ($2400)
Age 60 Still not flossing, new extensive cavity under crown, too much tooth gone to save tooth, extracted and a dental implant/abutment/crown placed ($5000)
Total estimated cost of tooth over lifetime = $9440 or more!!
Cost of floss for 50 years $750
Moral of the story – Floss, Floss, Floss