So we all know that the economy is struggling and most of the time the media has made it sound like the United States is going to implode because of it. Well dental practices are not immune to changes in the economy, both good and bad. So while we see smiles that could be improved dramatically with comprehensive, rehablitative care, we’ve had to get pretty creative with fitting that dentistry into their budgets. With financing, payment plans, and phasing treatment, we still are able to provide those beautiful smiles that we’ve become known for.
But restoring just individual teeth can be a struggle in today’s “new economy”. No matter what the economy does, there will always be broken and diseased teeth. And when preventative dental care is put off, we see more of those types of teeth. So generally, when a tooth hurts, especially from disease/infection, a root canal and crown is necessary to restore form and function. The other option is to take the tooth out. So I get the age old question, “Can’t I just take the tooth out.” Well extraction is always an option, but there are long term considerations. First, if you lose a molar, for example, you lose at least 25% of your function on that side and the remaining teeth have a heavier workload. Second, the teeth around the space both upper and lower will collapse on that opening. These factors can affect your bite leading to joint and muscle problems, not to mention the ability to enjoy your favorite meal. I only ask that you look long term on the situation. There’s nothing better than your natural teeth and my advice is to make every effort to save them.
Here at our office we always give you all of your options and risks/benefits to each including time, finances, and long term prognosis. So the next time you have a tooth your having trouble with, come see us and we’ll discuss those options. And don’t let the media coverage of the economy get you down…cherish your family and friends, focus on the important things, and take good care of yourself.
The Age Old Question
October 21, 2010
Dental Benefits-Use ’em or Lose ’em
September 21, 2010
Having dental insurance is different than other types of insurance. We call them dental benefits because if used as intended they will help benefit your dental and overall health. Dental benefits will not pay for everything like your medical insurance after you cover your deductible. Your employer decides what type and amount of dental benefits you will have available and dental benefit plans always have a maximum dollar amount that can be used each year. Dental plans have been around since the 1960s. The maximums back then were about the same as today and those maximums have not kept up with the rising cost of health care (they haven’t even kept up with inflation). Most insurance companies put these maximums around $1000, more or less. While this dollar amount doesn’t go as far as it used to, it will usually cover most of your preventative appointments (exams, x-rays, cleaning, fluoride, etc.) and can help subsidize some of the other costs to make your teeth and mouths healthy.
What many people don’t realize that while employers consider this to be an employee benefit, the average employee pays $600 of their hard-earned paycheck per year plus $50 out of pocket for a deductible to receive a $1000 dental benefit plan. Dental benefit plans typically give you one year to use those benefits. The point is that you spend money on your benefits and if you don’t use them within that year, you are just donating money to the insurance companies. Insurance companies make millions of dollars on people that don’t use their benefits. And they don’t give you any of your paycheck back either.
Our practice mission is twofold, one is to make our patients are healthy as possible. We never let insurance companies dictate what we recommend to make you healthy. The other is to be as informative as possible and to communicate openly and honestly with our patients. Trust us, you will not receive a newsletter or email from the insurance companies to let you know that you have unused benefits. Insurance companies make money by not paying out money. We feel that we have a responsibility to keep you informed and as an added service we keep track of your dental benefits. So if you have treatment that you’ve put on hold, now is a great time to maximize your dental benefits plus use any of those remaining flex account dollars as well. We understand that there is always some out of pocket costs for dental treatment, but there is no cheaper time to get a tooth fixed than the present. If a tooth is fractured, broken, or infected with decay, it only gets worse and will cost a lot more to fix.
Fall is upon us, the kids are in school, and the holidays will be consuming our thoughts and time before we know it. If you or someone in your family has treatment that needs done, give us a call today to schedule an appointment.
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
August 16, 2010
Do you ever wake up in the morning and it feels like you’ve just chewed a whole pack of gum? Your facial muscles feel sore and tired or you wake up with a headache, neck/shoulder pain, or ear pain. Or do you look in your mouth and you see where your teeth end and the root begins because the gums have receded? The roots may have notches in them (see below, the yellow is where the roots begin and are notched).
Feel your back teeth with your tongue. Do they feel and look flatter than they used to? Little divots where the points used to be is a sign of wear (see below, the yellow is where the wear is through the enamel)?
When you chew foods or move your jaw up and down, do you hear or feel a click or pop in your jaw joint? Whether your having pain/sensitivity or not, these signs and symptoms are results of we in the dental field call “occlusal disease”. Some call it TMJ, grinding/clenching disease, or just normal life. It basically means that the joint, muscles, and teeth are not in harmony with one another. Those notches, root exposure, and gum recession are signs that the bite is not in balance and there are small areas that are hitting heavier than others causing the teeth to rock in their sockets (think of it as if you were rocking a fence post in the ground, the dirt eventually gets pushed away just like the bone/gums of your teeth). When the parts of the chewing system are not working the way they should, something has to give and the other parts will try to accomodate for the part that isn’t working right.
So I’ve taken a lot of continuing education on this subject of the TMJ and occlusion or bite. And I know that a lot of people live with these symptoms for a long time and they don’t need to. We’ve helped many people get out of pain that has developed from this disease. Many times, if the teeth are to blame, simple procedures such as recontouring the shape of the teeth can eliminate symptoms. In more complex cases, rehabilitating the bite or orthodontics may be necessary. If the joint or muscles are causing the symptoms, a small bite appliance or night guard can help. Regardless, you don’t have to live with the discomfort of these symptoms. Or if I tell you during your exam that there are signs in the mouth of occlusal disease, we can stop the progression so you don’t develop symptoms. This is another reason your cleaning appointment is not just a cleaning, it’s also a examination/diagnosing appointment (but that’s the subject of another post someday).
So if you’re having any of these symptoms or see any of those signs, please give us a call so I can take a look. Trust me, I’ve seen my share of these situations that have gotten worse over short periods and then it becomes more difficult to treat and usually takes more time and financial committment.
Share the Care-A Referral Story
July 19, 2010
So some of our patients have been asking about our Share the Care program and want more information. Our staff and I value each and every one of our patients. We do not have a large type of practice that herds our patients through as fast as possible. We take our time to properly diagnose, treat, and provide the best care possible. In a time when customer care is lacking in our society, we try to do the little things to make your experience the best possible. Services such as reviewing insurance benefits for you, Tempur-Pedic chairs, wireless headphones, laughing gas, and just a friendly staff with a smile are all benefits that we can provide to make your experience a good one.
So back to the original question about the Share the Care program. Because we value and enjoy the times we have with our patients, we would like to see new patients just like our existing patients. So this is a referral program in which we provide incentive for our current patients to send us their friends, family, and collegues. So there is a monetary incentive; send a friend or family member and we give you each a $50 credit in our office. There is a food incentive (they say happiness is found through the stomach afterall); you get a complimentary pizza and cheesy bread at Papa Murphy’s for sending in a friend or family member. And lastly, you have our thanks for trusting us to take care of someone you care about. So the next time your new neighbor or work friend asks who your dentist is, send them our way and rest assured that we’ll take good care of them. Or if you’re just hungry for a good pizza, refer them our way.
Protect those chompers!
July 2, 2010
So as summer moves forward, kids are at playgrounds, riding bikes, and playing sports. From a dentist’s perspective, this is the time of year that we see the most fractured front teeth. Outside of caging our kids indoors, mouthguards are by far the best way to prevent those injuries. We all know that kids should wear mouthguards during football and hockey, but athletes need to also wear them in other sports as well such as baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. Mouthguards not only protect the teeth, but when an athlete is hit in the lower jaw, they absorb the forces. This protects the joint, ligaments, and muscles and can lessen the effects of a concussion.
The National Youth Sports Foundation for the Prevention of Athletic Injuries, Inc. found that 0.7% of injuries were in the orofacial area in football as opposed to basketball in which 34% of injuries were in the orofacial area. This is because football athletes are required to wear mouthguards. It was also estimated that the repair, reconstruction, and/or replacement of one broken front tooth of a teenager will cost between $10,000-$15,000 during a lifetime.
So there are basically two different types of biteguards. Over-the-counter boil and bite mouthguards and custom made mouthguards. Boil and bites are inexpensive and easy to use, but usually don’t fit very well and don’t last long either (see below).
This is a boil and bite mouthguard after only a few weekes of wear.
Custom mouthguards are specific to the athlete’s teeth and bite which allow them to last longer and do the job they were intended to… protect the teeth and absorb the forces. It’s a simple procedure of taking upper and lower impressions then a lab fabricates the mouthguard with any colors or logos that you want. They are more expensive, but if an athlete injures a tooth or the joint, the costs can me very high along with the possible long term treatments and discomfort that comes with such injuries.
So if you or someone in your family is interested in learning more about mouthguards or would like us to fabricate one, please give us a call. Regardless of what type of mouthguard, please wear them. I’d rather have a discussion about mouthguards versus how we’re going to repair a broken tooth.
Changing things up
June 15, 2010
Cars, homes, and vacations can get boring and stale if you don’t change things up a little every once in a while. Websites are no exception so we decided to renovate and improve our website. We feel the format is a little more contemporary and up to date. It also features new links to our blog (obviously!), services we offer, before and after photos, and links to our facebook and twitter pages. You can see what other people are saying about our practice through the testimonial page. We didn’t even pay for those nice comments. And there are some informative articles and FAQs under the patients tab for you to take a look at. I put our old blog entries into this one so you can take a look at those as well. So we feel that these updates will help current and new patients discover that this is a place to feel welcome and receive great care. And if you know a friend or family member that is looking for a new dental practice to call home, send them our way. Because like websites, a new smile can be improved and let people know the true you. Let us know if you have any suggestions for the website or if you wan to discuss your smile.
Moving into the World of Digital
by Dr. Buck 4. May 2010 22:28
It’s been a while since we’ve posted anything on our blog. The reason for this is because, once again, our practice has made some improvements to the way we diagnose and educate our patients. A while back, I talked about the introduction of intra-oral cameras to our rooms which allow us to show you what going on in your own mouth. Well now I’m proud to say we’re introducing digital x-rays to our practice. There are many advantages to digital x-rays and they all benefit the patient. First, digital x-rays emit 90% less radiation than traditional film-based x-rays. So with the digital x-rays, the radiation is almost non-existent. The second advantage is I can put the x-ray on a 32″ TV screen instead of showing you your two-inch x-ray film with the overhead light. Next is the speed of development. Traditional x-rays take about 7-8 minutes to run through the processor. Digital x-rays take about 3 seconds. We also have the ability to email these x-rays to labs, specialists, or even the patient. The last advantage benefits all of us. By using digital technology, we are being nicer to the earth by not having to use the harsh developing and processing chemicals nor do we use the plastic films.
Our philosophy has always to been to strive to be a better practice and we feel this upgrade in technology will allow us to just that. X-rays are so beneficial for me to make a proper diagnosis. I can’t diagnose what I can’t see. So without x-rays, your exam is really not complete. Cavities in between teeth are what we call “flossing cavities”. Now I’m sure all of you are excellent flossers and never miss a day of flossing (hint of sarcasm there). So if you’re not the best flosser, wouldn’t it make more sense to allow me to see those cavities that are developing between your teeth. Once you develop pain or sensitivity in a tooth, it’s usually about the time that I will have that discussion about the need for a root canal and crown. Let’s not have that discussion – let us take x-rays so we can find those little cavities in the early stages of disease. Take a look at my teeth below – no cavities! We’re looking forward to seeing you next time and we’ll show you your teeth as well.
Fluoride and the Adult Patient
by Christine 14. April 2010 01:59
At our office, we emphasize the optimal health of our patients and stay apprised of the latest research and development available in the world of dentistry. We’ve always known that fluoride is beneficial for children and their developing adult teeth. Adults can benefit from fluoride as well. You’ll notice that our practice is putting an emphasis on adult fluoride because of the many preventative benefits.
Fluoride is a naturally occuring mineral found in many foods and water. Our pediatric patients absorb fluoride systemically, either in food, water and /or fluoride supplements. After the age of 12 we no longer absorb fluoride systemically. The only way to get the benefits of fluoride is with a topical application directly to the teeth. Fluoride rinses and toothpaste with fluoride contain lower levels of fluoride and are used daily to help prevent cavities. Stronger forms of fluoride such as varnishes , gels, or foams can be applied by Lynn or myself in our office. Fluoride has many benefits, including protecting the teeth from decay, decreasing tooth sensitivity, strengthening root surfaces that have been exposed due to recession, reducing the effects of plaque and bacteria, and hindering/reversing the growth of developing cavities. Patients suffering from conditions such as dry mouth, radiation treatments to the head and neck, or periodontal disease can also benefit from fluoride treatments.
We are recommending a fluoride varnish once a year as part of a preventative maintenance program for a healthy mouth. This application takes only minutes, has no flavor, and can be completed at your next recare appointment. Lynn or myself can discuss whether fluoride would be a good addition to your dental treatment.
Life changes once again…
by Dr. Buck 12. March 2010 00:36
So life here in the practice has been going well. Since purchasing this practice, I’ve focused on continuing to provide high quality dental care and keeping our patients healthy. And with the help of the staff, I feel we’ve done a good job. So we like to keep things exciting, so my wife, Heather, and I decided to try for an addition to our family. Well, last week, we welcomed Riley Elizabeth into our lives. At 7lbs 5oz and 19.5 in, she’s a healthy little baby girl and what a blessing she has been to our family. Her big brother Logan seems to be doing well with our new addition as well. And outside a little loss of sleep, everyone is doing well.
Your heart and your teeth: An unexpected relationship
by Dr. Buck 25. February 2010 19:32
February is National Dental Awareness month, and is also American Heart Awareness Month. So before the month has passed us by and we’ve turned a corner to better weather, I’d like to talk about the relationship between the mouth and your heart. As some of you know (and some of you may not), there is a distinct relationship between periodontal or gum/bone disease and the health of your heart. Periodontal or gum/bone disease is a disease in which bacteria, which are always in our mouth, wiggle their way down between the teeth and gums. The sugars we eat provide food for these bacteria and then the bacteria secrete acid. Sound gross, well it kind of is, because these acids will then cause cavities and eat away at the bone. We can fix cavities, but when bone is gone, it’s gone. So you loose the structure that is holding onto your teeth and then it’s time for me to start taking impressions for dentures. This is slow process and believe it or not, is usually painless. Do you know how we prevent this? I have mentioned this before, schedule your preventative appointment. Floss and brush those teeth like we recommend and let us clean those teeth at least twice a year and let us take x-rays so we can monitor any bone loss.
So how does this relate to your heart? Researchers have found that people with gum disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease. Several theories are floating around to explain this. One theory suggests the bacteria associated with periodontal disease enters into the blood stream and attach to the walls of blood vessels around the body which stimulates an inflammatory response similar to what is occurring in the gums (it’s not healthy is the gums are bleeding). This inflammation leads to thickening of the arterial walls which can impede blood flow and cause heart attacks. Another indicates that inflammatory proteins associated with periodontal disease causes a thickening of the arterial walls. This then impedes the blood flow to the heart and again, leads to problems with heart function. While no one theory has been proven as the principle mechanism, numerous processes are most likely at work. This is why routine preventative appointments are essential to optimize your oral and overall health. If you’d like more information about this or have questions, please give us a call. This is an important issue that I would be happy to discuss with you.