Why can patients afford a $40,000 car, but not a life-changing new smile?

It's frustrating for dentists to watch patients who "can't afford" dental treatment to spend a lot on a new car or other luxury. Why does this happen? Ron Rice offers some theories that begin with dentists being perceived as too expensive.

Being from Dearborn, Michigan, I have a lifelong interest in the automobile industry. Both of my parents and most of my family build cars for a living.

Comparing modern dentistry and the car business reminds me of a decision Detroit made many years ago that now faces health care, and especially dentistry. Most of the cars built in the early 1900s were large and expensive. Only a small percentage of Americans could even dream of driving a Packard, Duesenberg, or Cadillac.

It took two breakthroughs to launch the auto industry from a small cottage industry for the rich to having three of the largest companies in the world that served 95% of America by 1960. What were the breakthroughs? Henry Ford’s Model T1 and auto financing.