Use It or Lose It
By DR. JOHN F. MILLER DDS - SMILE MONTANA
Moms are the heroes of Christmas. I don't think I'm going to get any pushback on that opinion. In fact, that sentence might be the most agreed-upon stance in... America at least. When we can't find common ground, we can agree upon how clutch moms are at Christmas. And dads aren't even #2, because that undoubtedly belongs to the maternal grandmother, followed by the paternal grandmother. So, dad might be able to secure 4th position depending on the aunts on the mother's side.
I don't feel like I'm hurting anyone's feelings because I imagine the vast majority of you all reading this are moms, and you said to yourself after reading that first sentence, "Damn Straight!" While I do feel like I'm getting better every year, I still fall very short of equality, and on behalf of mostly all dads, I want to express both our gratitude and apology. Now I said "mostly all" because I'm sure there are those outlier dads who just crush Christmas, and again, the rest of us would just like to say to those dads, "maybe chill bro?!?" (I would put a winkie tongue out emoji right here to indicate I'm mostly joking.)
If moms are the Heroes of Christmas, kids are the Magic. I have three teens and a tween. A few days prior to Christmas, give or take, I was with my three youngest kids, and they were just so juiced up with anticipation. I asked if they were excited, and you could just feel it, like the excitement wanted to burst from their bodies, it was almost too large to contain. I relayed to them that that is exactly how I remembered Christmas when I was their age. I, too, had a heroic mother.
Trying to keep things as optimistic as possible, I told them to enjoy it because Christmas hits a little differently as a 44-year-old parent of four. I told them it's still my favorite time of year because of them, but I'm not buzzing with eagerness and anticipation. I'm feeling a deep sense of joy and peace that I'm in some way partially (that's redundant, but I'm leaving it) responsible for their happiness and excitement that will be bordering on delirium come Christmas Eve. It could also be the vacation from work, but I think it's mostly the kids.
Right now, you're thinking, "Where is he even going with this?" I'm thinking the same thing. Jinx. But honestly, I had the concept of gift cards in my head when I sat down to type this out. I would assume the holidays are the time of year that the most wealth (or debt...who knows?) gets transferred onto so many different gift cards. I myself received a few and gave a lot.
A favorite stand-up of mine, Mitch Hedberg (R.I.P.), shares his thoughts on gift cards when he said, "You took money that could be used everywhere, and ruined it. Just give me the twenty, the universal gift certificate." It's hard not to agree with him a little bit, but at the same time, the thoughtful gift card giver, in a way, forces the gift card recipient's hand in where the money is spent. In other words, facilitating a way for that individual to receive or experience something that they wouldn't have otherwise spent the money on...for their benefit, ideally.
At least they hope that they spend it, because if you are like me and my wife, you have a stack of unused gift cards just waiting to get used. Quite often to never get used. A quick Google query tells me that 6% of gift cards simply never get used, while 20% of the total value placed on gift cards goes unspent. In other words, a gift card is used but not to its full value...money remains. Companies know this and love to issue gift cards.
Alright, we made it. We have arrived. Where might you ask? To the point of these ramblings, where I relate it to the art, science, and practice of dentistry. Specifically, the "practice" of dentistry in this case. Dental Insurance is like a gift card. A gift card that expires.
88% of Americans have some level of dental insurance coverage. The majority have it through their employment as a benefit or perk. The second largest source of insurance is through government assistance programs such as Medicaid. And then there are individuals who simply pay for it themselves. Insurance companies are big business. They are in the business of making money for their shareholders. A lot of number crunching goes into determining monthly premium amounts that ensure that the money paid out is less than the money paid in. Medicaid might be a different story...who knows.
Of that 88%, 40% do not receive their routine preventative dental care, which is covered at 100% (no copay, in other words) for the vast majority of insurance plans. This is fresh on my mind because I'm sitting here just a few days into 2026, and I have just seen the usual and inevitable mad dash that patients perform at the end of the year to make the most of their benefits. This becomes problematic because it coincides with a time of year when dental offices are quite often observing Christmas and New Year's. They are not open, in other words.
This is why I have landed on this subject matter for the January issue of 406 Woman. It's the beginning of the new year. If you failed to make the most of your insurance dollars last year, get in front of it this year. Those unused insurance dollars didn't disappear; they went towards the insurance executive's yacht, jet, Ferrari, Rolex, some fancy dog that ends in "oodle," etc. It's your money, you earned it. So, use it. We look forward to your call.
Please everyone have an amazing 2026 in northwest Montana. I am truly blessed to be in my 15th year as a dental provider in the Flathead Valley and to be in the service of so many neighbors and friends. Y'all make me Smile so Thank You!! God Bless.
Read Use It or Lose It and other Smile Montana articles by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS, in 406 Woman magazines.