A British health minister once claimed that the demand forhealth care is infinite because everyone is in a losing battleagainst death. This is not so for American dentistry, however. Asaggregate U.S. income levels have risen during the last 25 years,overall spending on dental care services has declined.
It is not that fewer Americans are seeing dentists each year.They just do not require as many fillings or extractions. Asincomes rose, people purchased more expensive and effectivetoothpastes. More towns, cities, and counties began to fluoridatetheir water as the relative price of this anticavity agentdeclined,
so changing relative prices have played a role. The higherincomes of their residents have permitted more municipalities topurchase fluoridation systems. At every age, the average Americannow has two more teeth than 25 years ago.
Many fledgling dentists have begun specializing in “cosmeticdentistry” desired by clients with healthy but less than beautifulteeth.
QUESTION: Compared to traditional dental-care services,is cosmetic dentistry more or less likely to be a normalgood?
