Did you know that it is starting to become common practice to charge for missed or broken appointments?  Many dental office will charge you a fee if you miss or brake a dental appointment without giving advance notice. Normally around 48 – 24 hour notice is required for changing or missing your dental appointment. The fee for this will very depending on the dental office.  Therefore make sure to ask the dental office what they charge for missed appointments. It is  also important to note that most insurance companies will not coverage this type of charge.

In a prior post we talked about questions to ask a dentist when choosing a new potential dental office. Here are some more questions you may wish to ask and keep in mind.

* How long does it take to get a dental appointment? You may want to say away from dental offices that are so far booked up that making a dental appointment for yourself becomes difficult

* Do they charge for missed or broken dental appointments.  If so how much advance notice is required in order not to be charged.

* Does the dentist take continuing education courses and stay up to date with the latest techniques?

* Does the office offer any kind of payment plans? Many dental offices are starting to offer financing plans.

* Will the dentist office file the claims for you or will you have to do it yourself?

* Will the dentist accept your co pay or will you be required to pay the full amount up front and be reimbursed by your dental insurance company later?

When searching for a new dentist make sure to know what their business hours are and how they deal with dental emergencies.  The reason you want to confirm their business hours is that you are more likely to make and maintain regular dental visits when the practice has hours that works around your time frame.

Someone that has to take time off from work will tend to put off their dental care needs. Check if the dental office is open on a Saturday or if they provide latter hours during the week.  In cases of emergencies know what their practice is.  Will they take a walk-ins or get you in that same day or the next in case of an emergency. Knowing this ahead of time will help make choosing a dental provider that is best for you and your needs.

When searching for a new family dentist make sure the dentist/dental office is quipped to provide services to children as well as adults.  One common mistake made is not choosing a provider that is able to provide services to young children. Or you choose a dental provider that may provide services to children but does not have an office that is kid friendly.

This becomes a very important matter especially when dealing with dental insurance, since there are some dental insurance plans which will only let you go to one provider for the whole family.  Therefore it becomes important to see a dentist that able to provider dental care services regardless of age and offers an environment that benefits both children and adults.

If you are searching for a new dentist, and you have special conditions that you need to address (such as physical handicaps, diabetes HIV/AIDS, Autism etc) that may effect your dental services and or care make sure you go to a dentist that can handle you special needs requirements. All dentist are not the same so make sure to ask prior to booking a dental appointment.

If you have a current dental insurance but you are no longer happy with your current dentist or your current dentist is no longer accepting your dental insurance, it may be time to search for a new dental provider.

With current insurance you want to make sure that the new dental office either accepts your dental insurance plan or that you have a dental insurance plan that lets you choose your own provider. Such as if you have a dental HMO plan you have to choose dentist within the plans network of dental providers. That does not mean you can not change dental office only that you must still make sure you going to a dentist that is a provider of said plan.

When shopping for a new dentist it is important to know some back round information. One key question to ask and find out about is how long the dentist in question as been in practice. How many years has the dental practice been in the same location? Ask for references or use web sites such as Yelp, Google, Annie’s List.  The more you know about the dentist and the dental practice the better off you will be.

Find a dentist that is right for you and or your family does not have to be difficult if you know what you what to look for in advance.  Before calling any dentist make a list of items that are important to you. Doing this will help you to be clear in asking questions and finding the answer you want.

* If you have current dental insurance is a dentist a provider of that plan.  If so are they accepting new patients under the dental insurance plan you currently have.

* How long has the dentist been in practice.

* Do they have referrals that can be provided you.

* How long has he/she been at their current location?

* If you or a family member has any special conditions such as physical handicaps, diabetes HIV/AIDS, Autism etc. is the dentist able to treat patients with special conditions.

* Does the dentist treat children as well as adults.

* What are their hours and how do they deal with dental emergencies.

Bitewing radiographs (dental X-rays) Are generally consider preventive dental care and under many dental insurance plans bitewing radiographs are free to little cost.  When reviewing different types of dental insurance plans see what is consider preventive services and compare cost. You want preventive care to be either free to little cost so that you are more likely to maintain your dental care needs and see a dentist as advised

Bitewing X-rays are often used by dentist during your dental check up. Without dental insurance these types of X-rays can run between $50.00 – $100.00. However, most dental insurance plans provide this dental service for little to no cost. In addition to also provide little to no cost check ups and basic cleaning. Make sure you are not spending more money then you need to by having current dental insurance.

Many dental insurance plan have a lifetime maximum limitation. Which is the cumulative dollar amount that an insurance plan will pay for dental care incurred by an individual enrollee or if on a family plan per member,  for the life of the enrollee or the plan. Lifetime maximums generally apply to specific dental services such as orthodontic treatment.

Bitewing radiographs are X-rays that are used to reveal the crowns of several upper and lower teeth as they bite down. Dentists use radiographs for many reasons such as to find hidden dental structures, malignant or benign masses, bone loss, and cavities.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the most widely used drugs for the treatment of depression, have been reported to reduce bone formation and increase the risk of bone fracture. Since osseointegration is influenced by bone metabolism, this study investigates the association between SSRIs and the risk of failures in osseointegrated implants

The primary outcome was that compared with non-users of SSRIs, SSRIs usage was associated with an increased risk of dental implants failure (HR= 2∙31; P< 0∙01). The failure rates were 4.6% for SSRI non-users and 10.6% SSRI users, respectively. The secondary outcomes were that small implant diameters (≤4mm) (P=0∙01), bone augmentation (P=0∙04) and smoking habits (P<0∙01) also seemed to be associated with higher risk of implant failure. The main limitation of this retrospective study was that drug compliance dose and treatment period could not be acquired from the files of the patients.

Within the limits of this study, these findings indicate that treatment with SSRIs is associated with an increased failure risk of osseointegrated implants.

Bicuspid or Premolar tooth is a tooth with two cusps. The term bicuspid refers to eight of the 32 permanent teeth. There are no bicuspids in primary teeth, the bicuspids grow in to replace primary molars. Two bicuspids are on each side of the upper and lower jaw, behind the canine teeth and in front of the molars.

In the US, around 92% of adults aged 20-64 have experienced dental cavities/tooth decay, in at least one of their permanent teeth. To tackle the growing problem of tooth decay, researchers from University College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, both in the UK, say the World Health Organization’s recommendation of a maximum of 10% total daily calories from free sugar should be reduced to 5%, with 3% as a target.

Some people can be more likely to get dry socket after having a tooth pulled due to a few factors. That includes people who:

* Smoke

* Have poor oral and dental hygiene

* Have wisdom teeth pulled

* Have greater then normal trauma during the tooth extraction surgery

* Use birth control pills

* Have a history of dry socket after having teeth pulled

* Rinsing and spitting a lot or drinking through a straw after having a tooth extracted also can increase your risk of getting dry socket.

Children on Medicaid and their parents may have a reason to smile more. A study by University of Florida researchers shows that a change in the state of Florida’s Medicaid policy to reimburse pediatricians and other medical primary care providers for basic oral health screenings and cavity prevention has increased the likelihood of children receiving these essential services by 20 percent.

Question: I had my wisdom teeth pulled two days ago and now the extraction sites really hurting me more then before. Is this a sign of dry socket?

Answer: You will want to look at the site where the tooth was extracted. If you have dry socket you will probably notice a dry looking opening. Instead of a dark blood clot you will notice there will just be whitish bone. The pain typically starts about two days after the tooth was pulled. Over time it becomes more severe and can radiate to your ear. Additional symptoms of dry socket include bad breath and an unpleasant smell and taste in your mouth.  If you are noticing these symptoms you should consult with your dentist right away.

Oral diseases can be prevented or improved with regular dental visits. The objective of this study was to assess and compare national estimates on self-reported oral health conditions and dental visits among pregnant women and non-pregnant women of childbearing age by using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).