I don’t consider myself old, but I do have several years of practice in this career we call dentistry. So I hear the fears of my patients quite often. Whether it was a bad childhood experience of a dentist not using anesthetic or their dentist standing on the chair while they “yanked out my tooth”. I still can’t imagine a dentist doing either of those. However, the most common two things that patients fear the most are “the dreaded shot” and “the awful noise the drill makes”. Well many of you know that we have an anesthetic machine called the “Wand”. Instead of using the big silver syringe that you see in most dental offices, the Wand using a small plastic holder with a very fine needle. It controls the rate that the anesthetic goes in (pushing the fluid in too fast is what usually causes most of the discomfort). After we numb a patient, many say they didn’t feel anything. So many of our anxious patients are no longer fearful of getting numb. You can check out this youtube video that will show you what it looks like.

We just recently addressed the noisy drill issue. Older style handpieces or drills use air from a compressor to turn the bur. The loud pitched whirring noise that is heard is the air pushing again a turbine inside the handpiece. Well that noise is not only annoying for the patient, but for us as well. Not to mention that it’s hard on all of our ears. So we did some research and decided that it was time for something different. Electric handpieces have been out for several years and quite popular in Europe. But there were some drawbacks such as heat buildup which could damage soft tissue and lack of speed control in which it may take the operator longer to fine tune the tooth preparation. After researching the different electric handpieces systems, we decided to go with ones that not only address those issues, but provide minimal noise. The power and torque of these handpieces also allow us to remove decay and prepare a tooth in a faster, more efficient manner. There’s less vibration and fiberoptic lighting that allows me to see better. And did I mention that they are very quiet (I think I’ll be able to hear my grandchildren when I retire). You basically will hear the suction tip more than the drill. Check out this video which will show the difference between air and electric handpieces.

We’ve been using these for a while and patients have had very positive experiences. Obviously, we promote prevention and we only drill on your teeth in order to make you healthier. And when we do, our goal is for it to be as comfortable an experience as possible. So between the Wand and our new electric handpieces, we’re moving even closer to that goal.

As we draw toward the end of 2011, our practice makes it a priority to make sure patients realize what dental benefits they have remaining for the year. We’re always trying to explain dental insurance with patients throughout the year. The insurance companies try to make it as hard to understand as possible so patients are less likely to get the full benefit from their plans, in my honest opinion. And we fight with insurance companies to get every dollar the patient should get from their plans. Resubmitting x-rays and claim forms, writing narratives to justify reasons for sound, recommended treatment, and writing appeals for when insurance companies don’t pay what they said they would. Let’s face it, the insurance companies don’t make money by paying for claims so they do everything in their power to not pay. I could go on bashing the insurance companies, but after we jump through these hoops, they do subsidize some of the treatment costs and allow some patients to be healthier. But I still don’t like them…
The funny thing is that we (ie dentists) invented dental “insurance”. First, let me digress a little…it’s not really insurance. The definition of insurance is “to protect against catostrophic loss in which a third party payor guarantees coverage”. So if you wreck your car, the insurance company gives you a check for the totaled car. If your house burns down, your home insurance provides a check to build you a new home. Many of you know that most employers sign up most employees for dental “insurance” plans that give a maximum of $1000-$1500 per year. And if your in need of rehabilitative treatment (something beyond a couple fillings and a couple cleanings), your costs can be in the high four figures to 10’s of thousands. So the term insurance is not correct. Around here, we call them dental benefits because they subsidize the cost of most treatment.
So back to the story of dental “insurance”. We invented it back the late 1960’s and it was designed to provide coverage for the dental catostrophic event (accidents, trauma, extensive breakdown of the teeth, etc.). The coverage in the 1960’s was a yearly maximum of $1000-$1500, just as it is today. However, if we adjusted for inflation, today each patient would receive about $8700 each year in dental insurance. Notice I didn’t put that in quotes, because that could actually cover a castostrophic dental event.
Moral of the story is that an employee spends a certain amount out of their paycheck each pay period to have dental benefits. You might as well use them. We’re coming up on the end of the year so use ’em or lose ’em. Oh, by the way, that’s another way insurance companies make a bunch of money – people not using the benefits that they paid for throughout the year. I love dental “insurance”!