s Dental Care Becoming an Inferior Good? A british health minister once claimed
ID: 1135899 • Letter: S
Question
s Dental Care Becoming an Inferior Good? A british health minister once claimed that the demand for health care is infinite because everyone is in a losing battle against death. This is not so for American dentistry, however. As aggregate US income levels have risen during the last 25 years, overall spending on dental care services has declined. It isn't that fewer Americans are seeing dentists each year. They just no not require as many fillings or extractions. As income rose, people purchased more expensive and effective toothpastes. More towns, cities, and counties began to fluoridate their water as the relative price of this anticavity agent declined, so changing relative prices have played a role. The higher incomes of their residents have permitted more municpalities to purchase flouridation systems. At every age, the average American now has two more teeth than 25 years ago. For Critical Analysis: Many fledgling dentists have begun specializing in "cosmetic dentistry" desired by clients with healthy but less than beautiful teeth. Compared to traditional dental care services, is cosmetic dentistry more or less likely to be a normal good?
Explanation / Answer
The problem discusses about the improvements in the dental technology overtime and how it has contributed in overcoming the traditional dental challenges. Dental healthcare is one of the most crucial elements of an individual and if not done properly, constitutes a major share of income of a person. Dental treatments prove to be heavy on one's pocket. There have been changes since time and people have become more aware about their dental health. Many improvements like toothpastes with different qualities, easy availability of flouride water etc have been there. This awareness has resulted in less number of people having toothaches, surgeries etc. On the other hand, more consumption of junk food has led to more damage of teeth at a much young age. There has also been a trend of 'cosmetic surgery', which is a whole expensive treatment for having healthy and beautiful teeth. This is affordable to the high-income groups. Thus, the better the treatment, the more it costs.
A normal good is the one whose demand increases as the income of a consumer increases. Therefore, cosmetic dentistry can be said as a normal good. The reports show that the average American household incomes have risen over the past few years and also, healthier teeth on an average. This implies that when the incomes have risen, people have been able to afford to take care of their teeth. The cosmetic surgery, which earlier was affordable only by afew, is now affordable by a lot of Americans. However, not necessarily every dental patient prefers to have a cosmetic surgery. Some are still inclined towards the traditional dental treatment methods. Some others, who can afford it, prefer to get cosmetic surgery done to get cleaner and healthier teeth.
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