Joi Freemont, a dentist in suburban Atlanta, doesn’t have to look further than her appointment book to tell that people are worried about money.

Patients who used to get their teeth whitened all the time “now want to think about it a bit,” she said. Braces “People were getting them for the kids, for themselves, but now they’re waiting,” she added. And when people get cavities, they have their fillings done one a month, not five or six at a time, she said.