Question: My daughter is nine but her teeth are really crooked and her dentist as stated she may need braces.  Right now she has a space maintainer in hopes to avoid braces.  If she does need to have braces would that be when all her baby teeth are out?  I see no point in putting braces on baby teeth.   Yet is almost seems that is what her dentist is hinting at.

Answer: It would be hard to say, sometimes children do get braces while they still their baby teeth. The braces help keep the teeth in place as the adult teeth come out.   You should talk to an orthodontic as a consult. Some orthodontic dentist will offer free consults and it will be very helpful information for you to have. You may also want to consult your dental insurance carrier to confirm you coverages for braces.

Although tooth loss has decreased over the last four decades, US adults with diabetes lose twice as many teeth as adults without diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at Duke University. Moreover, the researchers found that black Americans with diabetes are at greater risk of experiencing tooth loss as they age than white or Mexican Americans with diabetes.

Question: Looking for an affordable dental insurance plan for my family of four in the state of  New Jersey.  Where can I get dental insurance that does not bust my bank account.  I am finding out that there seems not to be any affordable dental insurance that a family can buy.

Answer: I would suggest reviewing our Dental HMO options that are available in the State of New Jersey.  Dental HMO plans are the more affordable insurance option.  We also provide dental discount plans as an option to help reduce your dental care cost at an affordable cost.

A University of Sydney study has revealed that tooth decay (dental caries) can be stopped, reversed, and prevented without the need for the traditional ‘fill and drill’ approach that has dominated dental care for decades.

The results of the seven year study, published today in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, found that the need for fillings was reduced by 30 to 50 per cent through preventative oral care.

Question: I have a family of six and we do not have dental insurance.  We use to but the plan we had cancelled when my husband changed jobs.  We can not afford much so we would like to know where we can get low cost dental insurance or low cost dental services.  Either right now would be fine.

Answer: For a lower cost dental insurance option, I would suggest reviewing our Dental HMO plans as they are the more affordable insurance option. You may also wish to review our dental discount plans, as help to reduce your dental care cost

A study in the current issue of the journal Anesthesia Progress looked at whether a patient’s level of pain before a root canal changed the effectiveness of local anesthesia. The research showed that the more active pain a patient felt before the procedure, the lower the pain threshold was for that patient during surgery.

Question: I was reviewing your dental insurance plans.  I am a signal dad and my son lives with me for most of the year.  We are in TX and I would like to get a dental insurance plan for him.  I really do not care about the monthly cost as long as it is a good dental insurance plan that will be able to take care of any future dental needs my son may have.  It it helps to know he had really good teeth at this point in time.  Can you tell me your best plan is.

Answer: What would be the best insurance plan would be based on your own dental care needs. Such as if you do not want any waiting periods you may wish to review our HMO or dental discount plan options. However with these options you do have to choose a dentist in the plan network of providers.     If you are wanting to stay with or choose your own dentist then you may prefer a dental PPO plan that provides that option.  Call our member service line at 310-534-3444 go over your needs and they will be able to help pick the “best” plan for you and your son.

Throughout the last several years more and more studies show links to poor oral health and overall health care issues like, heart disease, low birth weights for babies and even breast cancer, this just to name a few. Therefore taking care of your oral health property will also help to reduce the risk of having other health issues.

Question: My five year old daughter has dental caries.  She currently need four filling an a possible baby root canal.  I have dental insurance but it does not cover much and I have already maxed out it 1000.00 yearly limit.  I found this is easy to do when your child’s teeth keep getting cavities.

Answer: You could look into buying and HMO dental insurance plan that dose not have any waiting periods for the services you daughter needs.  Or buy a another PPO plan with a high yearly maximum limitation then just $1000.00. However, that would mean you may have to deal with waiting periods that will not help you with your daughter current dental care needs.  I would also suggest calling your current dental insurance plan and seeing if you can increase the maximum limitation without restarting the plan.

Coronary heart disease patients with no teeth have nearly double the risk of death as those with all of their teeth, according to research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.1 The study in more than 15 000 patients from 39 countries found that levels of tooth loss were linearly associated with increasing death rates.

My son is not yet two but I want to take him to see a pediatric dentist.  I currently do not have dental insurance for him.  I would like to get some insurance in place before I take him to see Pediatric dentist.

Answer: Yes there are some HMO plans to do provide for specialist. However generally you have to be refer to one by the general dentist you would have picked within the plan.

Journal of Oral Implantology – Your jaw bones affect how you look, breath, eat, and speak, making reconstruction important for any jaw defects. Surgeons have more tools than ever to tackle such cases, but these may not be enough to ensure the jaw is fully restored. In the end, it’s all about form and function.

The authors of an article published in the current issue of the Journal of Oral Implantology described a step-by-step process to completely reconstruct the jaw using a bone graft and an implant-supported denture. Their case report is one of only a few studies that focus on the final, prosthetic phase of the process and a technique known as a free-flap fibula graft.

Question: I am 28 years old and been wanting to get braces to fix an overbite issue.  I try enrolling in a dental insurance plan to save money on adult braces only to find out after the fact they do not cover for orthodontic treatment for adults.   I need recommendations for a dental insurance plan that can help me today.

Answer: Any of our dental discount plans options will provide you with at least a 20% saving off any type of braces for at any age.  We also have HMO options that do provide for adult braces.  In order to review all our dental insurance and plan options just enter your zip code in the quote box provided. Then call our member services at 310-534-3444 if you should have any questions about the available plans

A team of scientists in Japan that is working on growing multiple, fully-functional teeth and implanting them in mice. Tooth development in humans is a complex process that depends on what’s called the “tooth germ.” This is a mass of cells formed early in life from the ectoderm and ectomesenchyme in the jaw. In the early stages, these germs are relatively simple in structure and the team from the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology and Tokyo Medical and Dental University led by Takashi Tsuji hit on the idea of taking one germ, dividing it, and then growing new, multiple teeth in the laboratory.

Treatment Question: I have a teen currently in braces but we moved from FL and need to find a new orthodontic dentist.   Also I just found out since I moved to a different state my dental insurance is not valid in CA so I need dental insurance that will help me cover the orthodontic treatment my son.

Answer: You may find it hard to find dental insurance for your son orthodontic services since now he would fall under a work in progress exclusion many dental insurance plans have. Such exclusion would read something like this: Expenses incurred in connection with any dental procedure started prior to the effective date of Coverage or after the termination date of Coverage.

Even many dental discount plans have this type of exclusion yet since it is not insurance that can be a judgment call for the dental office to make. Therefore your best option may be a dental discount plan but make sure you call the plan providers first to confirm if they are will to still provide the discount saving for this continue orthodontic care needs before buying the plan.

Although periodontal disease has many large oral and over all risk factors, prevention of periodontal disease is quite easy. Just by having good at home dental care habits like regular brushing and flossing, using a mouthwash that fights plaque and by making and keeping your regular dental check ups with your dentist goes a long way in preventing periodontal disease.

Your child’s first teeth usually begin to cut through the gums at about six months of age, although the timing can vary among children. All of your child 20 primary teeth should come in between the ages of six months and three years. Your child will lose his or her primary teeth between the ages of six and 11.

Periodontal disease is a common condition that ranges from simple gum inflammation to a serious disease causing major damage to the soft tissue and bone that support the teeth, and loss of teeth.

Periodontal disease has also been linked with heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, as well as oral, esophageal, head and neck, pancreatic and lung cancers. Previous studies have suggested that chronic inflammation could provide the link.

Some of the risk factors for periodontal disease include:

• Genetic predisposition
•  Smoking
• Hormonal changes in girls and women, which can make gums more sensitive so that it is easier for gingivitis to develop.
• People with reduced ability to fight infection due to diseases such as diabetes or treatment for cancer are also prone.
• Medications that limit the flow of saliva can also leave the mouth vulnerable to infections.

A baby’s dental care really starts with his or her mother’s healthy pregnancy, because baby teeth begin to form before birth.  That is just another reason why if you are pregnant, to make sure and eat a balanced, nutritious diet and get an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals. It is important for pregnant women to have a complete dental exam and have any cavities or gum disease treated.

Postmenopausal women with periodontal disease are more likely to develop breast cancer, according to research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Those with a history of smoking are particularly affected.

After a mean follow-up time of 6.7 years, 2,124 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. The researchers found that among all women, the risk of breast cancer was 14% higher in those who had periodontal disease.