Question: I know I need to have at least two teeth pulled due to them being broken/decayed. I do not have dental insurance currently, and from what I can tell, there are waiting periods for extractions, and I do not want to continue waiting. So how much do extractions cost? 

Reply: Well, the cost will vary from dentist to dentist. There is no one set price for dental care that all dentist charges. Not knowing your state makes it hard to give some cost range. Depending on the placement of and where the tooth is extracted will also affect the cost of extractions. To try and give you some idea: An average tooth removal (nonsurgical) done by a family/general dentist can range from $75.00 to $300.00 a tooth. A surgical extraction utilizing anesthesia can run around $185.00 to $700.00 a tooth. You can see how the price can vary. I would suggest looking for an HMO insurance plan in your area as they typically do not have waiting periods like many PPO plans, and they will help you save money on the cost of having your needed dental care done by a plan provider.

Other cost-saving options would be a dental discount plan as they typically do not have waiting periods and will help you save money on any needed dental care service provided by a plan dentist. This website sells both HMO and Dental Discount plans in most states. Enter your zip code in the quote box to review all the available dental insurance and plan options. If you have any questions, please call our office at 310-534-3444 M-F 8 am-4 pm

Study Shows Tooth Loss Linked to an Increased Risk of Dementia

According to a study of 1566 community-dwelling Japanese elderly, who were followed for five years, the risk of developing dementia was elevated in individuals with fewer remaining teeth. Their findings emphasize the importance of dental care and treatment, especially in terms of maintenance of teeth from an early age to reduce the future risk of dementia.

Question: I have a dental HMO insurance plan where I have to choose a dentist from the plan’s network of providers.  I live in an area where I had about a dozen dentists to choose from, so I picked the dentist that was closest to me.  The issue I have is that the dental office was not as clean as I would have wanted.  Also, the staffing was rude to me and I had to wait over 45 minutes after my appointed time.   I did not mind the dentist. He did good work.  It is kind of hard to mess up a cleaning since that is all I needed.  I am upset that even though my plan let me change my dental office, I was out another month before the change would come though.  I wanted them to credit me for the month since I was not able to use the plan, but they would not.   I think they should, since it is the plan’s fault for having bad dental offices on their list.   Mad about waiting and would like to complain about this dental office so that other people do not choose them.   Should I tell the insurance company about my problems?

Reply: It is not unheard of that dental appointments run late. A suggestion to help avoid that in the future is to call about an hour before your dental appointment to confirm if they are running on time.  I am not sure what the real issue is. Is it with the dental office or the insurance company?  You stated you did not like the staffing of the dental office and the place was not as clean as you would have wanted it to be. Yet the dentist was nice enough and did a good job. Therefore, you had some work done at the time of the visit.  However, due to the issues you had, it sounded like to me that you had the insurance company change your provider. Typically, a change like that will be effective the following month.  Unless there is a dental issue that needs to be addressed ASAP, it really should not be an issue due to you already having your preventive care done. How do you find any benefits? I really do not see the issue with the insurance company. As far as the dental office, I guess you can complain to the dentist about the staffing and how the place was not clean, but since you changed to a different provider, I do not see the point of complaining.  I say chalk it up to a bad thing and hope the new provider is a better fit for you. 

Question: I am 23 and my job does not offer any dental insurance. I need an affordable dental insurance plan for an individual. I am willing to spend  $30 or so a month but find only plans that are $50 or more.  

Reply: Depending on the state you are in, the cost for insurance will vary. Yet it seems like you may be reviewing dental PPO’s vs HMO’s insurance plans.  You may want to search for HMO’s  plans as they do tend to be less costly per month, well within your $30.00 budget for an individual.  Check out your insurance plan options on this website just by entering your zip code and clicking on the start quote.  If you have any questions about the plans that are provided for you for your review, please call our office at 310-534-3444 M-F 8am-4pm.

Question: I am shopping for dental insurance but I am past the point of confusion.  I looked at dental discount plans and they do not seem to cover major things like root canals, crowns and extractions. However, full coverage plans like PPO are just to costly for me and I can not afford them.  Is there anything in between some type of insurance that is cheap like a discount plan but offers you better coverage?

Reply:  Not knowing what dental discount plan you may have been looking at, I would say maybe you did not fully understand it.  Dental discount plans, for the most part, will provide reduced or discounted costs for all dental services rendered by a plan provider.  Therefore, things like root canals, crowns and extractions do receive a discount under the plan as well. With regards to PPO plans. Though we do not use the term “full Coverage”, they do provide preventive, basic and major dental care services, but typically with waiting periods on basic and major dental services, and yes, these plans do tend to be more costly, especially when compared to a non-insurance product like a discount dental plan. I would suggest that you may want to review or see if there are any dental HMO insurance plans.  Dental HMO plans are a more affordable cost insurance plan generally without waiting periods. However, you do need to choose a plan provider.

Most dental insurance plans have some type of dental provider data base. So a good start when looking for a new dentist is to use the provider data base your dental insurance plan provides. Also, in some plans, by using the network of dental providers, you receive better benefits under the plan. However, you may still want to call the dental office to do further research on the potential dental office you have found. 

Here are a few tips on what to ask when searching for a new dentist.Ask about the dentist’s educational background and credentials.

1) Ask what you should expect during the first exam. 

2) Ask to make sure if the office staff goes over the treatment options and cost before work starts. It is important to make sure you have the right information, including what is covered by your dental insurance plan and your cost, before making treatment decisions.

3) How does the dental office file out claims and what is expected from you at the time of service? Some dental office may file the claim and bill you later for any unpaid balance. Whereas other dental offices may make you pay in full at the time dental services are rendered, and have you file out your own claim, so premium benefits are paid back to you.

4) Know the office hours and how patient emergencies are handled outside of regular hours.s6) Ask any additional questions that are important to you in choosing a dentist.

Dental Office Hours 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 work around your work. 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 later hours during the week. In cases of emergencies, they know what their practice is. Will they take walk-ins or get you in that same day or the next, in case of an emergency? Knowing this ahead of time will help choose a dental provider that is best for you and your needs.

Dental Erosion is When: The enamel (the hard, protective coating of the tooth) is worn away by exposure to acid, when that happens it leaves the sensitive dentine area of the tooth exposed. Dental erosion of the enamel can result in pain, particularly when consuming hot or cold food.

The enamel on the tooth becomes softer and loses mineral content when we eat or drink anything acidic. However, this acidity is canceled out by saliva, which slowly restores the natural balance within the mouth. But if the mouth is not given enough time to repair itself (because these acid attacks are happening too often) the surface of the teeth is worn away.

Soft drinks are the most significant factor in severity of dental erosion, according to a new study published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry. Anything with a pH value (the measure of acidity) lower than 5.5 can damage the teeth. Diet and regular sodas, carbonated drinks, flavored fizzy waters, sports drinks, fruit and fruit juices are all known to be harmful to teeth if they are consumed too often.

If you are going to drink these types of drinks limit the contact they have on your teeth by drinking though a straw. Also think about substituting that type of drink out with water when ever possible. Water is not only good in the fact it causes no damage to your teeth but it also great for your body

Once you find a dentist and or dental office you like and trust it can be very difficult to change providers just because you also want to have dental insurance to help control your dental care cost. However you do not have to do this. There are many good dental insurance plan that let you choose and or stay with your current dentist. These plans are called Indemnity plans.

You will see these types of dental insurance plans on our website as Free Choice – Use Your Own Dentist plans. That because Indemnity dental insurance plans do not have providers they let you choose whatever dentist you want to go to. One thing to keep in mind though with Indemnity dental insurance plans is like PPO’s dental plan they to normally come with waiting periods. So it is best to buy these types of dental insurance plan before you have a toothache to take care of.

Your child dental and oral health is important to maintain not only for healthy teeth and gums but for overall wellness. According to past studies done: In California alone, 504,000 children missed at least one school day in 2007 to a toothache or other oral problems.

Appearing in the September 2012 issue of the American Journal of Public Health: Ostrow researchers had previously documented that 73 percent of disadvantaged kids in Los Angeles have dental caries, the disease responsible for cavities in teeth. The new study shines light on the specific connection between oral health and performance in school for this population, said Roseann Mulligan, chair of the school’s Division of Dental Public Health and Pediatric Dentistry and corresponding author of the study.

Dental insurance coverage for children is an essential health benefit. According to studies dental health is linked to your overall wellness. Also studies have shown that people with dental insurance tend to visit their dentist regularly, maintaining their dental health care needs. Dental care cost is stated as a main factor as to why parents and their kids do not see a dentist as much as maybe they should. Since that is the case having dental insurance help control their family dental care cost, there by making it possible for them see their dentist regularly.

We can provide you with more the just one company one type of dental insurance plan. In most states we provide dental insurance plans though several companies offering PPO’s, Indemnity and HMO’s insurance plans in addition to dental discount plans as a low cost alternative. You are able to get free dental plan quotes from our website in order to compare many different plans and choice the plan and plan type you feel is best for you and your family. We also provide a member service line 310-534-3444 for you to call if you have any questions about the plans we have to offer.

There is a children’s dental crisis currently going on in this country. Many children are not going to the dentist because their parents can not find affordable dental care. That is a unfortunate because basic dental checkups, cleanings, fluoride applications, and sealants can help to prevent early tooth decay and gum disease in children.

However one of the main ways to make dental care more affordable is by having dental insurance in place. As a family dental insurance is important part of keeping your dental care cost low. If you do not receive dental benefits for you and your family though work, there still many good low cost dental insurance and dental plan options to choose from. Review what our website has to offer and if you have any questions about our dental insurance and dental plans options call our member service line at 310-534-3444 as we be happy to help you pick the right plan for you and your family.

Question: Are there any dental plans for a child only? Need dental insurance for my fourteen year old.

Answer: Few dental insurance companies will let you buy their plans for only a minor. So it really depends on the plan you are reviewing. Such as our PPO plan though Standard Life dental insurance and our HMO plan though California dental will write a child only on the plan where as our other dental insurance plan required at least one adult which means buying a couple plan. You may also wish to review our dental discount plans though Aetna as they too will let you have the plan for only a minor child. If after reviewing our dental plan options you have any questions please call our member services at 310-534-3444 as they would be happy to help.

After our last post you may be wondering how do you safely store your toothbrush. Here are some tips you may want to practice.

1) Make sure to rinse your toothbrush well after brushing your teeth. Before putting your toothbrush away give it a good rinse with tap water, making sure not to leave any toothpaste or debris in the brush

2) Put your toothbrush upright, in a cup or a holder, this will allow the water to drain away from the head of the brush. You want the toothbrush to air dry thoroughly. So make sure it has access to good air circulation, and is not suffocating in a small drawer or cabinet when not in use

3) Keep your toothbrush away from other people’s toothbrushes. Even if you are all family members do not let your toothbrush touch another toothbrush. Bacteria on one brush can cross-contaminate another.

4) Avoid keeping your toothbrush too close to the toilet and sink. In tip two we tell you to keep your toothbrush out in the open for it to air dry thoroughly. However you want to make sure it is not too close to the sink. You do not want it to get splashed with dirty or soapy water when family members are washing their hands. Likewise, keep the brush at least four feet away from the toilet. (Remember our prior post about this on 6/29/15) If you have a small bathroom that dose not let you keep this distance store your toothbrush in a different room away from your bathroom

5) Sanitize or Not. Although you can buy toothbrush sanitizers (usually a small counter top device), there is no evidence that these make a difference to your health. They can, however, provide you with a safe zone for storing your brush. Also, there has been no study that shows soaking your brush in an antibacterial mouth rinse makes a difference.

As a parent you know that your child/children need to maintain good dental and oral health. Yet increasing dental care services make it harder and harder to afford their needed dental care check ups and cleaning’s let alone any other larger dental care needs. That is why having dental insurance for your family is an important part in keeping your dental family dental care cost low.

Your budget and dental care needs for your family will help you choose which type of dental insurance plan would work best. Our website offer a broad range of dental insurance plans from PPO’s, Indemnity and HMO dental insurance plans.

We also offer dental discount plans for a lower cost alternative. Review our plan options for your state and if you have any questions please call our member service line at 310-534-3444 as they will be happy to help you with any of our dental plan options.

Question: My daughter could really use braces. And even though both my husband and I work we just can not afford the extra cost for her to have braces. We have dental insurance with my husband job but it does not pay out anything for the cost of braces, since my daughter has TMJ. TMJ being the problem and why they will not pay for braces. I do not want my daughter to have to deal with it. I also hear the problem will only get harder to correct as she gets older.

Answer: TMJ is a hard issue to address, because many dental insurance plans will not cover for braces, if they are needed for TMJ. Dental discount plan do not have an issue with TMJ so you could get the savings offer on them.

Question: Looking for an Affordable dental plan: I have some really old denture over ten years. They are ill fitting and my dentist I take them too told me I really should get new dentures. As much as I would like to get fitted for new dentures I really can not afford them.  Are there any dental insurance plans that can help me with the cost of dentures?

Answer: Yes many dental insurance plans will cover for dentures. Since you had your current dentures for such a long time you should have less problems finding a plan that will accept you and provide coverage’s for new dentures. However two things to keep in mind. One read the plan terms and conditions for dentures to make sure you will receive the benefits you are looking for. Second is to be mindful of dental insurance plans with waiting periods. Some plan may cover you for dentures, but within the plan it self have waiting periods that are a year or more before they offer benefits for dentures.

Question: I have a really bad toothache and I can not take it for much longer. Most dental insurance have waiting periods for dental procedures and I can not continue to wait things out. I need something now not six or twelve months from now.

Answer: This web site offers some dental discount plans that make work for you. With our dental discount plans they start the next business day from signing up for it on line though our website. They do not have any waiting periods so you start saving on your dental care cost immediately. You may also want to review any of our HMO dental insurance options as well. With our HMO dental insurance plan they to do not have any waiting periods but depending on when you buy them will be the plan effective date. Such as buy it on or before the 20th of the month the plan starts the first of the next month. But the plan effective date very so read each plan.

Question: I have a dental PPO plan though Anthem Blue Cross from my employer. Even though I have had it for a few years this was the first time I really used it for anything more then my free cleaning. About a month ago I had some dental work that was rather costly. Now I get an additional billing from my dentist stated that the insurance did not pay out much for the full porcelain crown that I got. However my dental plan says they will pay out half the cost for crowns. Calling up the dental insurance company right away I was told that they do not cover out that ADA code but will cover up to the UCR rate for covered crowns on non covered crowns. It really seemed like double talk to me. A crown is a crown!  What do they mean ADA code? lease help me understand.

Answer: ADA codes are the service code for each individual dental service. This code number does not change and it let everyone from the dental office, insurance company and claims department know what dental service you had done. Although wording can very the code dose not. There are many ADA codes for crowns here is a sample

2740 Crown porcelain ceramic substrate
2783 Crown ¾ porcelain ceramic
2750 Crown-porcelain fused to high noble metal
2751 Crown-porcelain fused to predominantly base metal
2791 Crown-full cast predominantly base and
2810 Crown-3/4 cast metallic

There are more but I listed a few to show you that a crown is not just a crown. Under many PPO plans they may only provide benefits for a lower cost crown so when you get a higher cost crown they paid out only up to the UCR for the crown that they cover. This offers you some saving but now as much as if you would have chosen a covered crown. One way to avoid having billing surprises such as these is to have your dental office submit claims as a quote only, to your insurance company prior to dental services being render. That way you will know your cost ahead of time and then can decide if that is something you wish to continue with based on your budget.

Question: I have four sliver filling that where put in when I was a kid. Now that I am older and working I like to change them out for new white filling can that be done?

Answer: If you are asking can a dentist change out old silver filling to Resin-Based Composite (tooth color filling), in most cases yes. However if you are wanting to know if dental insurance will provide benefits for this type of dental service, often times they will not. Many dental insurance plans will not cover this type of dental service, since it is viewed as a cosmetic service.

Yet most dental insurance plans will provide benefits, when there is a new cavity in the tooth that has the old silver filling requiring the filling to be removed in order to fix the cavity. In this case, you do not have to replace the filling with a silver filling but can at that point replace it with a resin base composite filling.

Question: So I have a dental PPO plan I get though my job. What I do not understand is how my dental insurance states my coverage’s are one thing but when a claim is filed the numbers do not add up. For an example, not that long ago I had a large filling and a crown put on. The filling coverage’s where to be at 80% paid. Which it was so that was fine However the crown I got cost $1000.00 and my plan said that it paid out 50% for the cost of a crown. Straight forward math right I should only have to pay $500.00 which was my co-payment of 50%. I then get the billing from the dental office stating the insurance company only paid out only $450.00 so my cost is $550.00 now it is only $50.00 more but this happens quite a lot. What should I do about this?

Answer: In general PPO plans pay out by percentage in your case 80% for basic services such as fillings and 50% for major services such as crowns. But it dose not just stop there. Normally they will state that the percentage paid out is up to UCR (Usual, Customary, and Reasonable) There for if the dentist you are going to is above the UCR rate for the company you will have an additional charge. Also some PPO plans will have two sets of coverage one for network dentist and another for out side network dentist. Out side network dentist normally will have less benefits then inside network providers.

As to why you are paying more, I could not say which is the case for you. That will be something I would advise you call your plan’s member services for. They can go over your benefits and directly answer what is effecting your cost on claims. However here is a tip you may want to keep in mind. Prior to having any dental services started, have your dental office submit to your insurance company as a quote only. That way you will know your true cost for any needed dental care without having to worry about additional cost.

Question: I am 52 years old and been fighting for years to keep my teeth. After years of having major dental services dealing with dental pain all the time and not to count the expense I am tired of it all. I am thinking of pulling the teeth I have left and getting complete dentures. The dentist I going to now does not want to pull my teeth saying they do not need to be pulled and I should continue having dental care for them. Sure once there pulled and I get dentures there will be no more dental bills. I looking for a dental insurance plan that will let me have dentures if that is what I want and not say it is elective and not cover them. Please advise.

Answer: I suggest reviewing our dental discount plans. It sounds like you would want the flexibility that a dental discount plans gives you. With a dental discount plan what you have done is up to your and the dentist within the plan. The company does not state what you can or can not have done. You get discounted savings for all your dental needs at the time the services are render. If you want dentures you pay only the discounted cost for them as listed on the fee schedule. The thing is that you would need to find a dentist in the plan that is willing to pull out teeth that may not have to be pulled. So make phone calls and make sure you have a dentist in the plan will to work with you and your needs.

Your family oral health care is very important to maintain as your oral health has direct links to your overall health wellness. Therefore a few ways to maintain you and your family oral health is by having good at home oral health care habits and seeing your dentist regularly. Studies also show that families that have dental insurance in place are more likely to see their family dentist regularly. In addition dental insurance helps keep your family dental care cost lower and more affordable.