It’s hard to believe but we seem to have forgotten about our teeth. We’ve been looking into the costs of America’s famously straight, white smiles. Instead of facts on cosmetic dentistry, we’ve come up with some troubling statistics on rapidly rising trend: emergency room dental visits. It turns out that dental care is suffering right along with general healthcare. This infographic explains the costs and causes of this overall decline in preventative care. Dental care is really an investment against future costs, but we can’t blame the uninsured for avoiding costly cleanings and checkups. It’s a costly gamble to forego dental insurance. Routine checkups at the ER will get astronomical fast, not to mention the terrifying costs behind contracting a serious dental disease or injury.