In one research study, people were asked how much money would they want to have a perfect upper front tooth extracted? Most decided that their tooth was worth, yep, $1,000,000! Yet, these same people may not be willing to spend any money to keep that million-dollar tooth in their mouth.
Dentistry can seem expensive in the moment but when you look at the big picture, it actually provides really good value for your buck. For example, you get a cavity filled for $200. The filling breaks 15 years later. You had 15 years of value out of that filling ($1.11/month).
You can buy a new iPhone 11 for around $1000 and it will last about four years ($20.83/month). A crown on your broken tooth can cost around $1200 and, if you take care of it, can last 20 years or more, ($5/month). A much better investment, overall. And the better you can chew your food, the more variety of food you can eat and the healthier you may be. So less money spent on doctors.
That said, preventive dentistry is really cheap and starts in the home. Yes, how you take care of your teeth DAILY is more important than a professional dental cleaning twice a year (I can’t believe I said that). For $23 at Costco, you can buy enough floss and toothbrushes for an entire year! How cheap is that! Plus five minutes of your time daily will save you thousands and thousands of dollars over your lifetime (two minutes brushing twice a day, 1-minute flossing). You are preventing cavities and gum disease. A twofer. Great deal!
Now, think of all the new tech you now have money for. Wow!