HMO dental plans are not always the best fit for young children.  When buying a dental HMO plan for a child six and under you want to make sure that there is a dentist in the plan network that provide services for children at a younger age.  Many general dentist will not provide services to young child, or they will but only if your child is able to be well behaved.  Many general dentist may not be able to provide the best care for a young children who may kick or bite or not sit still while having a dental check up.   Normally when this happens more then once the dentist may advise that your child see a pediatric dentist ( a child specialist).

With a dental HMO your saving under a specialist is normally around 20-30 percent and is not longer the cost listed for a general dentist.  Also since you have to go to dentist that are network providers you want to make sure the plan you are buying has pediatric specialist in case a general dentist is not the best fit for your child.

There is a reason why the dentist nags about flossing daily.  Proper flossing habits will help to removes plaque and debris that sticks to teeth and gums in between teeth, as well as help to controls bad breath.  Plaque is a sticky layer of material containing bacteria, which builds up on your teeth, including places where toothbrushes can’t reach. This can lead to dental decay and gum disease.  By flossing your teeth daily, you reduce your risk of having dental decay and gum disease.  By teaching your children to floss daily you not only help to reduce plaque buildup, tooth decay and gum disease but you avoid having larger dental cost.

A dentist will prescribes medications for several reasons. You may get a prescription to help prevent infections after surgical procedures like tooth extractions and gum surgery. A dentist may also prescribes medications for pain after having major dental work such as tooth extractions and gum surgery. Though normally a prescription for pain pills are only for a few days.

In order to make dental care more accessible to the underserved majority, the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation has created an annual grant program for “programs that have a significant impact on improving oral health with sustainable solutions through improved access to oral care, oral health education or oral health research.”

In the first year, $2.5 million in dental care access grants will be available. Delta plans to renew the program each year moving forward.

The Florida Public Health Institute has released a report according to which about 20% of the citizens of Florida cannot access even routine dental care, because of the increased costs.

This is a fact that has caused a huge problem, because there is a lot of money spent on expensive dental treatments (emergency treatments) from money of the state and of the taxpayers, for issues which could have been prevented if the patient would have had access to routine dental care.

The effectiveness over traditional braces and Invisaligns treatment is divided.   Medical studies and findings about Invisalign are still lacking and the biggest concern by others about this treatment is that Invisalign may not necessarily correct the dental problem.

A main problem with Invisaligns aligners is that they are removable, so much of how  effective they are actually depends on the person getting the treatment. If you are the type who can not stay committed to wearing the braces as often and as advised by your dentist, then the treatment will not bring good results.

If you need dental braces to correct molars, then Invisalign may not be the best braces treatment option. The device has difficulty in grasping molars and letting this rotate or set in its place for better alignment.

There have been people who reported to having their Invisalign broken. While in many cases this is partly due to their own carelessness, the technology is not as durable as metal braces. If you have a more active lifestyle, or you tend to grind your teeth while you sleep at night, then this option may not be the right kind of braces treatment for you to go with.

Make sure you talk to your orthodontic dentist and go over the pros and cons before making the final decision on what you feel will be the best for your dental needs.

With more and more adults choosing to have their teeth straightened options for picking out better looking braces are available.  One such option is Invisalings.

Beyond the cosmetic advantage that invisaling have for many adults looking to straighten their teeth, they are lighter and more comfortable to wear.  Invisaligns wearers have less pain since the force and pressure on the teeth is minimal.  Invisaligns are removable, thus it provides less restrictions and patients can eat well.

Another benefit to Invisaligns would be there is a lower risk of plague build-up. Since patients with Invisaligns can take the devise off to clean their teeth in the usual manner.  Generally treatment period for Invisalign is shorter. The average span takes about a year and half to complete, while traditional braces take three to four years.

There can be number of reasons why one may have orofacial pain. some of the clinical problems include temporomandibular joint discomfort (TJD), muscle spasms in the head, neck and jaw,  migraines or pain with teeth, face and jaw.

Other reasons for Orofacial pain to a cure can be due to missing or poorly aligned teeth. People who grind or clench their teeth can experience orofacial pain as well, any trauma to the head and neck. A dentist can help determine why you may be experiencing orofacial pain.

Today’s super sized burgers and sandwiches that are being sold regularly, may just be too big to eat.  Many burgers and sandwiches are often made larger then the human mouth (Especially for kids who have smaller mouths then adults). This over sizing of food,  is forcing many people to take bites that are too big to chew.

According to the Academy of General Dentistry, taking large bites into burgers and sandwishes can be harmful to your jaw and teeth.  People at a particular risk are those that have temporomandibular joint disorder. (know as TMJ) TMJ can restrict the range of acceptable bite size. People who have TMJ should avoid opening their mouths too wide, since taking large bites of food can aggravate the condition.

After the discovery that severe gum disease can be associated with a higher risk of head and neck cancer cases caused by the Human Pailloma Virus (HPV), The British Dental Health Foundation aims to educate the public on good oral health.

Pennsylvania Legislature and Governor Tom Corbett signed and passed a bill that requires insurance companies to cover the cost of general anesthesia for young children and patients with disabilities.

Dr Bernie Dishler, president of the Pennsylvania Dental Association, stated for people who can not be handled in a normal dental setting, their situation just gets worse and worse, and then you have to deal with infection and all sorts of things that have occurred because a small cavity wasn’t taken care of.

Part of the problem is that many private insurance plans have yearly maximum limitations that caps out at $1500 – $2000 for dental service. The use of general anesthesia can eat up most if not all of that cost, leaving people having to pay out-of-pocket for either the anesthesia or the dental work. That out-of-pocket cost can cause people to put off dental treatment, which often leads to more serious and costly problems.

Dr Dishler stated that “Anesthesia is a medical procedure and it should be covered by medical insurance. In fact, in the Medicaid situation where kids or adults are covered by Medicaid, they take care of general anesthesia.”

There was a fear that requiring insurance companies to cover it on top of other dental procedures would be too costly. Yet that has not been the case elsewhere. Thirty-one other states have already passed this legislation and they’ve shown that it has not affected premium rates appreciably.

According to a joint investigation done by FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity, in the last 15 years, 31 children have died during or following dental treatment.

Eight Year old Raven died in the dentist’s chair during a routine procedure done by Dr Michael Hechtkopf, She received three times the average range of sedatives for a child of her weight and health. She had a lethal blood concentration of 24 mg/l of chloral hydrate, as revealed by an autopsy, according to the Daily Mail.

Five year old Diamond died from nitrous oxide and an intravenous sedation. 13-year-old Marissa Kingery died from four different types of oral sedatives.

When Dr. Patrick Bamgboye administered the sedatives that killed 3-year-old Juan Quiej, he was still on probation for doing the same to 6-year-old Kyneicha Pagan.

Dr Michael Hechtkopf, only had his license restricted for three months and needed to retrain in risk management and record keeping for a mere seven hours. Dr. Hechtkopf’s lawyer said that his client “regretted” what happened.

Raven’s parents established the Raven Maria Blanco Foundation to warn others about ill-equipped dentists unnecessarily performing such dangerous procedures. They started a campaign to establish a registry of dental treatment deaths, in hopes to save other families from the same heartbreak.

In the US dental disease is still among the most common reasons that children miss school, it is also the most common medical reason why some soldiers can not be deploy. Add to the fact that dental health issues are a leading cause of emergency-room visits in several states, continues to show just how much dental care is lacking.

Proper preventive dental care can help to address these issues and it is important that people know how to properly take care of their dental health.  Many larger dental issues such as tooth decay and gum disease could be prevent just by having proper dental habits at home and by seeing a dentist for routine dental check ups.

Margot Sanger-Katz in the National Journal states according to the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign, dental disease is the largest unmet health need in the US among both children and adults. The poor, the young, the old, and those in rural America are the worst off.

In a world of medical priorities and health care, dentistry takes can normally take a back seat, and in rural America sometimes appears to not even be on the bus. Writer Margot Sanger-Katz states that the US faces a shortage of dentists that is particularly acute in poor, rural regions. “Huge pockets of the country have few (or no) providers. The federal government counts 4,503 mostly rural regions where more than 3,000 people share one dentist,” she notes, “making it tough for many residents to find someone to fix their teeth.”

It is safe to say that most parents do not want their kids to have dental cavities, and that preventive dental care is still the number one way to avoid cavities and dental filling from being needed.

Yet more than half of US children, have cavities by the age of seven, and more than 80 percent have them by adolescence. It is important to keep in mind that in recent decades, composite materials have greatly improved in durability, lasting on average five to 10 years in a cavity space.

However the best way to avoid this filling debate is to not get cavities in the first places.  Make sure your kids brush and floss their teeth regularly and see a dentist as often as needed in order to assure good dental and oral health.

Many parents may be interested to know that one of ingredients in composite filling’s is, bisphenol A. Bisphenol A (known as BPA) has drawn scrutiny in recent years because of its ability to act as an estrogen in animal lab studies.

Thanks to BPA presence in canned foods, sodas, and common plastics, the chemical courses through the bloodstreams of 93 percent of Americans tested. In 2010, the FDA declared the substance safe at low levels, though even the agency noted “some concern” due to possible effects of BPA on the brain and behavior of fetuses, infants, and children.

BPA remains a common additive in both dental fillings and dental sealants, according to the ADA (American Dental Association). ADA through a statement on their website, maintains that BPA used in dentistry is safe, and that a child is exposed to it on a limited basis during the filling procedure itself. “The estimated one time exposure (upon sealant placement) for a male child of median body weight (51 to 112 pounds) is approximately 5.5 micrograms, which is two to five times lower than the estimated daily exposure from food and environmental sources,” said the statement. Few studies have examined how much BPA may be breaking down from the filling material over time.

Today there are more than 10 million American children receive fillings every year. However, according to the new study in the journal Pediatrics, a common composite formula may be placing kids at slightly higher risk for anxiety and depression.

Composite fillings are typically made of glass or quartz mixed with resins and adhesives. But these materials, while approved by the FDA, have not been studied for long-term health effects.

The study which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, stated children with a popular composite filling known as bisphenol-A-glycidyl-methacrylate (Bis-GMA) displayed worse scores on scales of “psychosocial” well-being up to five years after treatment, compared to kids who received silver amalgam fillings or a composite made with different materials. Children exposed to the most Bis-GMA fillings for the longest periods of time were two to four times more likely to report “at risk” psychological problems requiring medical help. The association was strongest for kids with cavities filled in the back molars, where the composite can break down and possibly enter the bloodstream.

The British Dental Health Foundation is looking to educate the public on good oral health after scientists discovered severe gum disease could be linked to an increased risk of head and neck cancer cases caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).    The study 1 found patients with HPV-positive tumours had significantly higher bone loss, a key factor in the development of severe gum disease, compared with patients with HPV-negative tumours.

Latest figures suggest more than 6,000 people in the UK suffer from oral cancer2, while almost 2,000 lives are lost to the disease. HPV is a growing cause of the disease, with experts suggesting it may rival tobacco use as the main cause of oral cancer within 10 years. Other risk factors for developing the disease include tobacco use, drinking to excess and poor diet.   The significance of the research is compounded by the fact more teeth are lost through periodontal (gum) disease than through tooth decay.

Here are some useful tips to brushing children teeth and oral health care.

1) Use children toothpaste that has fluoride in it.  The use of fluoride in toothpaste as been proven to prevent dental tooth decay.  Use only a small pea size amount of toothpaste.

2) Make sure to teach your child in the proper use of toothpaste. Monitor them carefully while they are bushing their teeth. DO NOT assume that your child can use toothpaste without supervision.

3) A child can start brushing their teeth between 3 – 6 years old but make sure that you thoroughly brush their teeth afterward to make sure the teeth get brush correctly.  At 3 – 6 years of age is a good age to start getting use to brushing but they are normally not old enough to have the proper coordination to brush their teeth on their own yet.

4) Generally speaking a child should be able to brush responsibly by the age of seven and should be able to do so without supervision.  However all children are different so if the child as not shown that they can brush and use toothpaste properly, then they should be supervised until they are older.

5) Keep toothpaste out of the reach of children until they have shown that they are responsible and know how to use is property.  Many children toothpaste are made to taste good can child can treat it like candy. NO toothpaste should be eaten contact poison control if your see your child has consumed toothpaste.

The American Dental Association put out a new survey which shows that Americans seriously need to clean up their act when it comes to oral health.    The ADA’s newly launched website, MouthHealth.org  which aims to improve oral health reveals that Americans’ average score was a ‘D’ in the survey’s range of ‘true or false’ questions, which included questions like how often should teeth be cleaned, what causes cavities and the age of a child’s first dentist visit.