SMILES FOR LIFE

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Our annual campaign for Smiles for Life is currently underway. Now through the end of June we are whitening smiles while helping the local foster kids. Arizona foster will benefit locally from the money we raise this year. Half of our proceeds will be distributed locally and the other half will support the national and international endeavors of Smiles for Life. This year they will be sponsoring humanitarian missions in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Through these missions people who would have no access to dental treatment will be able to receive dental care. Last months mission went into the remote areas of Santo Domingo. You can help these and others who are in need by supporting the campaign. 100% of the proceeds we raise whitening teeth will go directly to helping those in need. Call the office to schedule whitening and get a whiter smile while you are helping both locally and internationally. This year we also are offering two smile makeovers in our Smile Auction. Clear Correct invisible braces has generously given us a complete orthodontic case to offer for bid and bidding is open. If you are interested in invisible braces call our office or bid on our facebook page. Opening bid is $1000 for this $5600 prize. We also have a 6 veneer smile makeover available that is currently at $3500. The value of the prize is $7800. Call and bid on these spectacular items. A special thanks goes out to Clear Correct and Cruz Dental Studios for donating these items. Please help us reach our goal this year of $15,000. Spread the word to friends and co workers about the whitening campaign. In office whitening is $149 and custom take home whitening is only $99. Call today to schedule or bid 480-507-1807.

TOOTH PAIN- WHAT ARE THE TYPES AND CAUSES?

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Tooth pain can occur in many forms, it can be isolated to one tooth, or many, it can be instigated by temperature (hot or cold) or when chewing. Let’s take a look at the most common instances of tooth pain.
There are two basic types of tooth pain.
– Sharp and Dull
Sharp tooth pain is caused by many factors.
– A broken cusp of a tooth
– Decay at the gumline
– A space between a crown/ filling at the gumline
– A filling or crown that is too high when chewing
– Grinding or clenching
– Cold temperatures
Sharp tooth pain rarely lingers, it is short duration and often instigated by the factors listed above. Sharp tooth pain relief is usually accomplished by repairing fractured cusp with a crown or onlay, adjusting the crown/ filling that is too high when biting, checking for and removing any decay or faulty crowns/ fillings at the gum line. Sharp tooth pain should always be evaluated because sharp tooth pain can lead to dull pain, which is discussed below.
Dull tooth pain is often more serious, and usually means the nerve inside the tooth has been irreversibly damaged.
Dull tooth pain is usually initiated with hot temperatures, hot coffee or soup.
It will tend to ache for a significant period of time.
It can wake you up in the middle of the night or just start to ache spontaneously. It can also be initiated by tapping on the tooth.
Dull tooth pain originates from the nerve/pulp of the tooth.
Tooth pain is often an indicator of a potentially serious problem that should be addressed by a dentist.

CLEAR CORRECT…A NEW EASY WAY TO STRAIGHTEN YOUR TEETH

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You deserve a smile you can be proud of, and ClearCorrect can make it happen. The clear aligners are comfortable, removable, and, best of all, nearly invisible. People won’t even notice you are wearing them. They are easy to remove for eating or a special engagement.
Some severe cases can require traditional metal braces but most patients can be treated with ClearCorrect. The cost and length of treatment are comparable. ClearCorrect makes it fast and easy to straighten your smile.

With ClearCorrect we need a records visit to take impressions, xrays and photos of your teeth. From these records a 3D model is constructed to fabricate a series of aligners that will straighten the teeth. Each aligner will apply a targeted pressure to the teeth to move them into alignment. Treatment will vary between 6 and 18 months. Results can be seen right away as they smile changes.
ClearCorrect addresses problems like crowding, spacing, misalignment, and overbite.

Call today to discuss your options. The ClearCorrect system is comfortable, effective, convenient affordable and hassle-free. Cost of treatment is customized by patient needs so it is more affordable.
Visit www.clearcorrect.com for more information.

10 SECRETS FOR RAISING CAVITY FREE KIDS!

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If you have kids introducing them to new things can be fun, challenging, exciting, and frustrating at the same time. I have three children and with today’s technology I expect them to grow up without cavities. When I was a kid it was almost expected to have a cavity when we went to the dentist. Getting a filling was normal-hey we were happy if it was only one. Times have really changed. Today children can have the benefit of regular dental care and advancements like sealants, and electric toothbrushes.

To help your child grow up cavity free teach them that going to the dentist is fun. Regular dental care prevents problems and catches things early before the problems are major. I think it is best to bring the kids in early for a fun ride on the chair and toothbrush instruction. They come in at 2 or so and have an easy visit, get a new toothbrush and pick a prize out of the toy box. The first visit should be problem free so that it is a positive experience. It is great when the kids look forward to going to the dentist!

10 secrets for cavity free kids!

1. Clean baby’s mouth with a 2X2 gauze so that the gums and new teeth are clean and debris free. This will get baby used to the process and help in the future.

2. Start toothbrush at 18 months. They can play with the toothbrush and then you can actually brush their teeth for them. Toothpaste is not necessary to start. Introduce that when you know they can spit it out and not swallow it.

3. Regular Dental Checkup every 6 months.

4. Stop thumbsucking before permenant teeth come in. This is usually around 6 years old.

5. Have dental sealants placed on permenant molars and premolars.

6. Never put kids to bed with a bottle of juice or milk. If they need a bottle only fill with water.

7. Never dip a pacifier in anything sweet.

8. Help your child brush. Let them brush first then go over their teeth again.

9. Brush twice a day for 2 minutes.

10. Be a good role model. Let your kids see you brush and floss. Be a consistent dental patient, having your check up as well twice yearly.

DENTAL IMPLANTS

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Dental implants are a great solution for a missing tooth. Many patients we see are missing a single tooth. Over the years we have recommended a dental bridge to replace it but some patients were hesitant to touch their adjacent teeth. These teeth were in great shape and they did not want to harm them. We can now replace the missing tooth without doing anything to the teeth that are next to it. Pateints feared that the bridge would cause the teeth to also have issues down the road and they were correct. With the dental implant no stress is placed on any of the other teeth in the mouth and in fact replacing the missing tooth the stress on other teeth becomes less.
If you have a missing tooth and are interested in replacement let us know. We are happy to discuss the dental implant option with you. Call Katie today to schedule a complimentary consultation at 480-507-1807. I look forward to giving you a great solution to all your smile concerns.

DENTAL IMPLANTS NOW PLACED IN OUR GILBERT DENTAL OFFICE

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I am pleased to introduce Dr Brent Call to our family dental practice here in the east valley. Dr Call will be joining the practice to assist in all aspects of implant dentistry and oral surgery. We no longer need to refer you out of the practice for these services. Since our patients are comfortable here we can perform these additional services in the setting you are already familiar with. Dr Call will be performing wisdom teeth extractions as well as implant placement. All aspects of oral surgery can now be addressed at Contemporary Dentistry.

Dr Call is a graduate of Oregon Health Science University in 2004. He completed his general practice residency at the University of Texas Health Science University in San Antonio. He is trained in implant surgery as well as IV sedation.
We are pleased to be able to offer these services in our office. Working with Dr Call on our dental implant cases will improve patient comfort and treatment outcome for our patients.

If you are interested in replacing a missing tooth with an implant or you need to have an extraction call Katie to get scheduled at 480-507-1807. If you have any questions regarding what is involved with dental implants let me know. I can be emailed at drkathyj@azdentistry.com or on my cell at 602-332-6202. Feel free to schedule a complimentary consult as well if you are interested.

NATIONAL CHILDREN’S DENTAL HEALTH MONTH

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February is Dental Health month! Dental cavities are on the rise and we want to help our patients remain cavity free. We would like to spotlight easy ways to keep kids smiles cavity free.

1. Effective brushing twice a day.
Children need to remove the plaque that sits on the teeth every morning and every night. A timer can help them brush for the recommended 2 minutes. There are also rinses that color the plaque so parents can check to see if they did a thorough job.
2. Regular dental check ups.
We recommend every 6 months because kids are prone to cavities and we like to catch these early. Dental disease is the most common disease in children.

3. Healthy Diet!
I am amazed at what kids eat. Fresh fruits and veggies are essential to a healthy body and smile. Remember they will usually eat what they are given so put out carrots, grapes and apple slices. I usually have grapes next to chips at a party and the grapes always go first. Try it and see.

4. Dental Sealants.
Sealants can reduce the risk of a cavity up to 80% and can last 10years. The dental sealant protects the chewing surface from getting a cavity. We place BPA free sealants in our office and they are generally covered by dental insurance.

During the month of February sealants will be buy one get one free. Call today to schedule so we can protect the teeth from decay!

— Kathy

SMILE!

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What Does Your Smile Say About You?

Want to succeed in business, fill up your social calendar, and get more romance into your life? One secret may be in your smile.

A Confiddent Smile exudes success.
“A smile conveys confidence and professionalism,” says Lily T. Garcia, DDS, DDS, MS, FACP, president of the American College of Prosthodontists. People who project a positive outlook are generally more open and flexible. They tend to cope better with challenges than people who are withdrawn and unsmiling.

A study that followed a group of women for 30 years shows the lifetime benefits of smiling. The women who displayed genuinely happy smiles in their college yearbook photos went on to have happier marriages and greater wellbeing.

In the same study, a group of strangers looked at the college photos and reported their assumptions about the women’s personalities. The women who smiled were judged to be more positive and competent than those who didn’t.

Turn that Frown Upside Down
Want to be happy? Just smile. Believe it or not, forcing yourself to smile can actually make you happier.

Paul Ekman, PhD, a psychologist who is an expert in facial expressions, taught himself to arrange the muscles in his face to make certain expressions. To his surprise, he found himself feeling the emotions that he was mimicking. When he raised his cheeks, parted his lips, and turned the corners of his mouth up, he felt happier.

Ekman and his research partner went on to do a study of college students to see if they, too, would feel happier by making themselves smile. The researchers measured the students’ brain activity while the students followed instructions to smile using the muscles in their cheeks and around their mouths.

Whether the students smiled spontaneously or on purpose, the activity in their brains was virtually the same. They felt happy.

Smiles make people feel that you are friendly and approachable. Over the long term, smiling can benefit your health, perception at work, social life, and romantic status. With that much at stake, it’s worthwhile to discover what your smile is saying about you — and how to interpret the smiles flashed your way.

Many Americans look at the mouth to judge a person’s mood, but people smile for all sorts of reasons: anger, fear, embarrassment, confusion, to deceive. It’s really your eyes that give you away.

The muscles around the eyes can’t be forced to look happy. When people smile for real, their cheeks rise and the skin around their eyes bunches up. In fact, in certain countries where suppressing emotion is a cultural norm, people look more at each other’s eyes to gauge emotion.

Your smile — simple, straightforward, and most important, sincere — can attract more than admiring looks. A smiling face tells people that you’re an outgoing and intelligent person worth getting to know.

Smiling can benefit your health, perception at work, social life, and romantic status. With that much at stake, it’s worthwhile to discover what your smile is saying about you — and how to interpret the smiles flashed your way.

Keep Smiling and remember if your smile isn’t projecting what you want it to I can help. Call the office at 480-507-1807 if you would like to evaluate your smile. It is never to late to get the smile you deserve.

Dr. Kathy

UNDERSTANDING DENTAL INSURANCE

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Dental Insurance benefits are not very easy to understand. Most insurance companies like Delta offer a huge variety of plans with very different benefits. The employer sponsors the plan and purchases the benefit level that they want to provide and that is affordable for them. Employers who offer dental also tend to offer more than one plan at different premiums. Many companies are no longer offering any dental benefits. It gets so confusing that people may purchase simply by price. I have patients that buy the more expensive plan thinking it will cover more and patients who buy the least expensive ones because they think all plans are the same. The information that the employer provides when you are selecting is generally confusing and can even be misleading. We encourage our patients to bring in any information they get regarding selecting their plan so that we can assist them in choosing the best plan for them.

I also encourage researching dual coverage as it does not generally benefit the patient to carry two plans. There are times when dual coverage is great especially when you are having extensive dental treatment. If you only need to have routine maintenance you will be spending more and getting the same benefit as one plan. Consider your dental needs when purchasing an additional plan. Benefits for dependents also vary widely. Many dental plans have a “non-duplication of benefits” provision meaning the second insurance will not pay any benefits if the primary plan has paid the same amount that they would have paid. You will only get a benefit if you use the primary plans maximum. Patient portions will still be 20-50 % of the cost of the service. This is a great example of cost containment that is widely used to keep profits high and reimbursement to dentist for the patient low. Interestingly when dental benefits were introduced in 1974 the annual maximums were $1000. Today most plans offer the same yearly benefit as they offered almost 40 years ago. Obviously things have gotten more expensive but the dental benefits have remained the same. To raise the maximum benefit the employer would need to pay more for the plan. I am surprised at how many different levels of reimbursement even Delta Dental has for each different employer. Coverage for a simple filling or prophy cleaning varies by over $100 dollars with some plans only covering a few dollars on a cleaning or filling.

Dental insurance can help people to pay for their routine dental visits but it has many limitations. I think of many plans as a rebate. It is better to get some benefit than to get nothing but very limited to what is covered. I am surprised by some plans as the premiums are very near what maximum benefit would be and many people never reach the max if the are on preventive maintenance. Sadly many people wait several years to get dental coverage and they neglect their teeth. They are not familiar with the benefit maximum and they think they will get their teeth taken care of now and everything will be covered. Some even think coverage is 100%. With some premiums equal to benefit max it would be better to save the money and use it for dental services, that way you can carry it over from year to year if you did not use it. We even offer an in house membership plan that can provide discounts for services if you do not have any dental insurance.

Most dental plans have many limitations. Understand where you are headed with and without dental benefits. Feel free to call or email me with questions or concerns regarding benefits or lack there of.

Kathy Jacobsen DMD
drkathyj@azdentistry.com

DENTAL INSURANCE UPS AND DOWNS

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Dental coverage is funny. You don’t really buy it-someone else decides what you want. Your employer purchases a plan for you or gives you an option to buy one of a few plans. The insurance person sells a plan to the HR person at your company. It is never about your needs or dental health. They come in and want your HR person to buy their plan for the employees. The insist that it is really a great plan and covers so much for their faithful employees. They offer a cheaper price to the company than what they had last year. To get the discounted price they include some limitations to coverage that were never in previous plans. They sell a small amount of coverage for a price that the company can afford. The company feels good about offering some dental coverage as many companies no longer do so. The employee is happy to have dental. They are usually happy until they go to use it. Then they don’t understand why they have to pay. Some people think dental insurance covers everything. It never does. Some think it covers 100% it rarely does. The handbook that you get goes over some guidelines but can be very confusing. It is even confusing to us sometimes. Changes with insurance are coming very quickly as a way to save companies money. The changes are usually ways to limit care or get you to pay out of pocket for your needed services. Dental insurance uses language on their EOB that makes it look like the charges were excessive or unnecessary. Most dental offices have fees that are very similar. One office does not charge considerable more or less for a service-fees are pretty set by what insurance companies will reimburse. The fees for our office fall into the acceptable range but insurance companies have been reimbursing less and less each year. Dentists all across the country are seeing reduced payments from all insurance companies.

Most dental insurances limit the number of exams you can have each year to 2. That means if you get more than 2 toothaches a year those emergency exams are not covered. It also means if you have your teeth cleaned regularly and get just one toothache that emergency visit is not covered by your plan. X-rays that were generally covered as recently as last year are sometime only being covered at 50 or 80% and they have now been subject to a deductible. To the patient who has had their teeth cleaned twice this year and they now have a toothache-that exam will not be covered-they will need to pay out of pocket to be seen. The services may be covered if the patient has not reached their yearly maximum yet though. Patients also need to be aware of their maximum benefit for the year as anything over that amount would be out of pocket. Some people do not know that their “2 cleanings a year” go toward their annual maximum. If you have a maximum of $1000 any insurance payment made for you will go toward that allotment. Any dental services received at a specialists office will go toward that maximum as well.

Recent graduates and new hires are hoping to get some dental insurance since they have neglected their teeth. They get excited to be “covered” or have dental insurance. They do not understand that they are usually getting minimal yearly maximum of $1000. They have had issues over the last few years but no dental coverage. They let these small problems grow while waiting to get a better job or a job with dental insurance. They do not look into the plan they just get “covered”. When they finally arrive in the office they are surprised that the plan will only cover taking care of 1 tooth. They waited and now their small fillings need costlier care. I wish I could get to them earlier when they had small issues so that we could take care of them when they were small, less painful and cheaper. Tooth problems do not care if you are covered by dental insurance. The problems grow over time getting bigger and less manageable. Do not hesitate to see the dentist if you are having a problem. Find a dentist you can work with to achieve your goal of a healthy mouth.

If you are looking for a new dentist we are located in Gilbert, AZ. Feel free to call us to set up a tour of the office or a new patient visit. Katie and Mindy are also available to answer your dental insurance questions at 480-507-1807.