BRACES

There’s more than one way to straighten teeth

Today, there are several different ways to straighten your teeth.

Standard metal braces are the easiest to work with and the least costly. The newer brackets are very small which makes appearance generally acceptable and more comfortable. The average treatment length is 20-28 months.

Ceramic braces work like metal braces. Even though the brackets are a little larger than the metal brackets, they are less visible. These are generally recommended for older teens and adults since breakage and discoloration can occur. The fee and treatment length is the same as the standard metal braces.

Gold braces are also very easy to work with. The newer brackets are very small which makes appearance generally acceptable and more comfortable. The average treatment length is 20-28 months. However, the fee is a little more than the metal braces.

Invisalign are thin, clear removable appliances. Since they are clear, appearance is terrific. They are very comfortable to wear and easy to remove to eat and clean. The treatment length is dependent upon patient cooperation. If you don’t wear them, you teeth won’t straighten. This is the most expensive approach.

Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages. Schedule your free consultation with Dr. Khan and he will help you decide which choice is best for you.

Amber Morrett-Secretary/Orthodontic Co ordinator

Sealants...

During the months of June, July, and August we will be running a special on sealants. Sealants are usually recommended to patients that have deep grooves and pits on their molars. Sealants are not fillings, they are a material that is applied to the grooves and pits to prevent decay. For the summer months there will be a discount of $15 off 4 or more sealants.

Tara Bensman, RDH--Dental Hygienist

We now carry professional strength whitening strips!!

These strips are very similar to over-the-counter whitening strips, however, these strips have two to three times the strength, making them only available from a dental professional. The strip kit comes with a ten day supply of upper and lower strips to be worn for one hour a day over ten consecutive days. The cost is $63 dollars which is a low price and yields great results. Try a free sample after your next regular cleaning and exam appointment.

Nikea Bowar RDH--Hygiene Team Leader

Want a straighter smile?

What do braces do?
Your teeth should fit together without crowding, spacing or a poor bite. Braces can correct these problems that can be embarrassing and lead to muscle, joint and teeth problems.

When do we start braces?
Although the American Association of Orthodontics recommends that children be examined for braces beginning at 7 years of age, this does not mean that children will begin braces at that age. Only some bites require early intervention.

After an initial no fee exam with Dr. Khan, children that are not ready for braces will be placed on a recall system at 6-12 month intervals. Timing is everything to take advantage of growth spurts. One of the best indicators for the start of treatment is the loss of baby teeth. Each child enters this growth spurt at different times. Although many are ready at age 12, some lose their baby teeth early and are ready for braces by age 10.

Adults, too!
Braces may be started at any age. Today 25% of Dr. Khan’s orthodontic patients are adults. He often hears: “I never had a chance for braces when I was younger” or “I have never liked my teeth and I didn’t know that adults could wear braces”. Teeth are teeth and will move no matter what your age. Most people plan to have their natural teeth all their life. Why not have a great smile? An attractive smile is one of the rare bargains that you’ll use the rest of your life.

Amber Morrett, Orthodontic Coordinator

Dental Insurance Can Change Without Warning

What if your dental insurance company left you with a $215 bill you never expected? This happened to a family that lives in Troy and we wanted to share their experience to help other families avoid the same problem. Mom brought in her 8 year old daughter for a regular checkup and we recommended that she return for 4 sealants, 1 filling and a growth & development xray. Total fee of $392. We estimated the insurance (Delta Dental) to cover most of this amount. Mom felt good about this estimate because her daughter had a sealant before and the same size filling as well (both 3 years before).

When the insurance paid, they paid on everything – but at such low amounts that Mom ended up with about $215 that she did not expect. For example, our fee for a sealant is $42. The Delta dental insurance policy reads that they will pay 85% for sealants. Mom expected that insurance would cover $36 ($42 x 85%). However, their top fee for a sealant is $15 – so they ended up paying only $13!

This is a very sneaky way of reducing benefits. Nothing in the policy let this family know that the dental benefits had changed. Nobody in HR told them of any changes. The percentages of coverage did not change. The only thing that changed was the Delta top fee they would pay for each procedure.

My normal response is to encourage the family to talk with their HR person. In this case, the company is a supplier to the auto industry and has reduced their employee size from 350 to only 50 people left. The Mom I was working with said that she didn’t even know if the HR person still worked there!

So, it sounded like a situation where the company was having financial troubles and one of their decisions was to reduce the dental insurance plan benefits. However they did this in a way that none of the employees knew about – and so this family ended up with a large bill they never expected.

The Mom and I came to an agreement – she is appealing the Delta Dental insurance payment and to help out, we adjusted off half her bill ($107 value). Part of the letter she has submitted to Delta reads that Delta “does not make adequate information available to the service provider to obtain an accurate estimate. This is a serious disservice to the subscriber and patient.”

So – if you have dental insurance and your company is having financial trouble, please ask for a pre-treatment estimate for ANY visit. We are happy to send these requests to your dental insurance company on your behalf, free of charge – and if we can help you avoid a nasty surprise, like owing an extra $215, we will do everything we can to help. In fact, if you are in management for a company that is struggling to maintain a dental benefit, please call me – I can help a company to maintain dental benefits, while saving the company money and avoiding nasty surprises to employees.

Hope this was helpful.

Jill Nesbitt, Office Manager 937-667-2417

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

To all our friends, old and new – Our staff take great pride in each of you giving us the opportunity to serve you. This has been a great growing year for us. With your help, we plan next year to be even more exciting.
May God bless you and yours, now and in the years to come. Our best to you for a healthy, happy, prosperous holiday season and New Year!

Potpourri of holiday gifts picked out at several meetings and journals over the last several months just for you:
** A mother recently asked me my opinion of her son using smokeless tobacco. Smoking is an obnoxious health hazard. Snuff and chewing tobacco are being marketed as the “lesser of two evils.” NOT SO! Smokeless tobacco users are four times more likely to get cancer and also are more likely to develop increased blood pressure, gum disease and discolored teeth.
** Are you planning to start a daily exercise program as one of your New Year’s resolutions? The golden rule is never push yourself so hard that you can’t talk with someone throughout your exercise; and 15 minutes 4-5 times a week is enough to improve your fitness!
** Watch out for children’s chewable vitamins! Don’t leave them on the table where a child could reach them! An overdose could lead to shock and severe damage to the liver and digestive system.

Here’s a variety of ideas that I picked up at the American Dental Association’s annual national meeting in November of this year:

Ø Five years after you stop smoking you’re only half as likely to die of lung cancer as a current smoker.
Ø Gum disease can be transmitted by kissing. Before you step under the mistletoe make sure we’ve checked out your smoocher.
Ø Stained, chipped teeth? Bleaching, plastic bonding, and porcelain veneers can give you the smile you deserve! The annual meeting had lots of new ideas to help you improve your appearance.
Ø Northwestern Medical School found that four hugs a day can reduce your blood pressure and increase the oxygen content of your blood.

Be sure to use your insurance benefits effectively this year! After all, you earned them. If your policy is on a calendar year, benefits not used by December 31 will be lost forever!

It’s not the GIVING
It’s not the RECEIVING
IT’S THE LOVING!

Live, love, laugh! Good friends good times, good health, good cheer, and happy days throughout the year!
FOR ALL PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS AND UNCLES

If you reward my “goods” with candy, somehow I’ll equate
My times of happy confidence, with something sweet I ate.
The sweets will become more important, than they really are.
For I’ll mix your approval with a chewy candy bar.
If you reward “good” with attention, make loving words a treat.
Then I’ll not start confusing love with something sweet to eat!

Going GREEN!!

We’re going green! Just thought you might be interested to know that HealthPark Dentistry is joining in the green movement. First, we have been replacing light bulbs from the old style to the new compact fluorescent – as you probably know, these take less energy to work and they last longer. Second, we added a recycling dumpster to our property and are now recycling shredded paper and delivery boxes. Third, we started to turn off our computers every night – again, hopefully reducing our energy usage. We are feeling good about our efforts and welcome suggestions and ideas from other small businesses about how they are successfully going green!

American Dental Association National Meeting

Six of us went to San Antonio for this four day meeting. I thought you’d be interested in some highlights we found while touring the three football fields’ worth of space for the vendors in the convention center.
Tom Brokaw, the television journalist, was the opening speaker. He told us to be ready for a long economic recovery where common sense, thrift, and investing in the future will be very important. He also said that no matter how you feel about the war in Iraq, be sure to honor our American volunteer soldiers who serve there.
Novamin (calcium sodium phosphosilicate) was introduced to remineralize teeth with decay. It also raises the pH of saliva to increase protection from decay. Within one year Novamin plus fluoride may take the place of prescription fluoride and save you $10-$12 per tube.
We purchased a laser for soft tissue surgery. This will make much of our minor surgery bloodless and painless. We’ve been watching these develop for 3-4 years, but finally the technology is ready.
We found a new company that will sell xylitol to you. This is the non-sugar sweetener that is almost as effective as fluoride to reduce decay. We’ll add it to the handout at our front desk.
There’s a new bone fill to pack the socket after an extraction. When the socket heals, the bone won’t wash away. This leaves more ridge to support an implant or denture.
Diabetes, the fastest growing U.S. disease, has twice the death rate of those who don’t have the disease. They are also twice as likely to have gum disease and bone loss. People with diabetes and gum disease and gum disease have an eight times higher risk of premature death. Controlling the gum disease helps control blood sugar level and reduces these odds.
J and J has a new ultra thin Reach type floss for those with very tight contacts.
Nikea, our team leader hygienist, scoured the exhibitors looking for the ideal tooth brush to hand out to you at recall cleaning visits. She found it!
I looked for non-latex gloves. More people are allergic to latex, so its time for us to remove as much latex from HealthPark as possible.
I looked at less expensive appliance to control sleep apnea and snoring, but I didn’t like them as much as the brand we’ve currently been using.
We’ll be switching to a new fluoride varnish that is clear and four times stronger that we’ve been using. These old fluoride trays you held in your mouth for four minutes are outmoded now.
P & G introduced the Pulsonic, a less expensive electric toothbrush. I like the Sonicare better (ease of use, ability to clean), although a hand toothbrush works for most people.
A new prescription fluoride toothpaste from Arm & Hammer that is four times as effective as the Prevident 5000 we currently recommend. The new paste contains Novamin that I discussed earlier.