Impressive Dental News For Dental Dudes & Dolls

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EDITORS NOTE: I finally got around this week to changing the name of my blog from "My Dental Complaint" to the much more appropriate, "My Dental Health Companion". Also, I encourage everyone to download my new special report titled Tips For Lower Dental Bills

ADA Hosts Summit On Access To Dental Care
This past week, the American Dental Association (ADA) convened a summit of almost 150 non-profit groups, government agencies and private industry leaders to discuss creating improving the oral health of under served populations in the US.

"We are very pleased with the success of the summit, which will serve as a milestone toward our common goal of improving access todental care," said ADA president John S. Findley, D.D.S. "We are committed to finding common ground and shared solutions to address the oral health needs of the most vulnerable among us."

The only aspect to this "Dental Summit" that I found interesting was that summit was underwritten primarily through sponsorship from the William Wrigley Jr. Co. was main product -chewing gum- does more to ruin healthy teeth than any other product. I remember years ago an old college buddy of mine -who was in dental school at the time- telling me that they could not create a better tool to destroy teeth than chewing gum.

Mexican Town Popular Due To Dental Tourism
From the files of "What's Wrong With You America?", there is a report out this past week that the Mexican border town of Los Algodones has become the latest boomtown for dental tourism thanks to all the Americans who go there to get cheaper dental work done.

According to the Chicago Tribune, there are almost 350 dentists in Los Algodones providing dental care for prices that are as much as 70% lower than what U.S. residents typically pay.

Is also been reported that dental offices have replaced many bars in Los Algodones. Talk about finding a small silver lining is a huge storm cloud!

Some critics of this "make a run to the border" dental care solution caution patients about the quality of care being offered in addition to the fact that Mexican dentistry operates in an unregulated environment where substandard dental practitioners can hang their shingle without anywhere without anywhere near the oversight that exists in the States.

If you're thinking of using dental tourism to save money on dental care, don't go out of the country. Get some type of dental coverage like dental discount cards or even traditional dental insurance but stay in America!

Question to "Dental Tourists": Does your health really mean so little to you that you would risk it just to save a few dollars?

Healthcare Savings Tip-Of-The-Week
Business Blogging Guide: Although this blog is not about health care, I found it an invaluable resource for bloggers like me. Is written by Internet expert Wendy Limauge and her blog is setup to help the "newbie" blogger who use Blogger blogs and not WordPress blogs.

How Periodontal Disease Raises Insurance Costs

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EDITORS NOTE: This week marks the first time I've allowed outside dental experts to post to my blog. While acceptance of their posts does not necessarily mean that I agree with their opinions, it does mean that I'm always on the lookout for interesting postings dealing with dental health.

Your Periodontal Health and Controlling Insurance Costs
By David Snape

Many people are puzzled by the escalating costs of health care.Dental care prices are also on the rise. Insurance companies are feeling the squeeze and raising rates as well. The cost of a single gum graft at the dentist's or periodontist's office can cost you as much as $800 or more.

In light of this information, you will probably agree that it would be an advantage to save time, pain and money. Fortunately, when it comes to periodontal health, this is very possible.

Gum disease can lead to bleeding gums, receding gum tissue and is the number one cause of tooth loss. That's right! Gum disease and NOT cavities is the number one cause of tooth loss.

If you wish, you can verify the following statistic with any dentist, periodontist, oral surgeon or dental hygienist: Up to 80% of the people walking around on this planet have some form of gum disease right now! Estimates vary a bit, some will say 3/4 or 75% of the people. In either case, the number is quite high.

The next logical and perhaps unfortunate realization is derived from common sense. If eight out of ten people have gum disease, what are the chances that you or someone you love does?

Your reaction might be that it is impossible that "I" have gum disease. But you see, most of those eight out of ten would say exactly the same thing. The nature of gum disease is such that it doesn't really become noticeable to you until the damage starts to accumulate.

When you learn that you have gum disease, there are many expensive, painful and time consuming treatments available to you. But, why let things get to that point? Now is the time to educate yourself about gum disease. Find out what your dentists may not have told you. Find out what you can do at home by clicking on the link at the bottom of this article.

With understanding and a little bit of work, it is entirely possible that you could save yourself heaps of money, time and pain at the dentist's office. You can also save the same for the people you love most!

David Snape is the author of numerous health, fitness and wellness articles. He is also the author of the book: What You Should Know about Gum Disease

Healthcare Savings Tip-Of-The-Week
TAKE THE WRITE-OFF. The IRS allows you to deduct medical bills that exceed 7.5% of your gross income. That's a high bar, but the list of eligible expenses is extensive, including insurance premiums, dental X-rays, fertility treatments, prescribed weight-loss and stop-smoking programs and even LASIK eye surgery. Click Here for the details.

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Good News For Junk-Food Junkies

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New research out of England (everyone knows that the English have great the teeth) has found that modern lifestyle habits may play a bigger role than food alone, when it comes to tooth decay.

The online review of the Journal Obesity Reviews reports that scientific evidence over the past 150 years found that the effects of fluoride toothpaste, good oral hygiene and health education, may override the effects of food alone on tooth decay.

Professor Monty Duggal, a consultant and head of pediatric dentistry at Leeds dental institute, authored the review explained "Nowadays, it's not enough to just look at what we eat when talking about tooth decay, as other factors seem to be as important.Fluoride toothpaste changes the effect that some foods have on the teeth, as do other good oral hygiene practices. Future research should investigate a number of lifestyle factors together with different foods that might affect tooth decay. Times have changed and with that, the foods we eat, and how we care for our teeth".

The overall aim of the review was to look at the evidence for the claim that sugar was the main cause of dental caries (a.k.a. tooth decay). The authors concluded that out of 31 studies carefully reviewed, the majority did not find a relationship between the amount of sugar consumed and dental caries, but the frequency of consumption may be important.

Although I am no dentist, I still think it's safe to say that the less chewy, sticky candy and soda pop we dumped down our throats, the fewer dental fillings we'll have to put in our teeth.

Healthcare Savings Tip-Of-The-Week
To pay lower health-insurance premiums, get married. Of course, getting married just to save a little money or health insurance is not recommended, but spouses can pool together their savings and find two-for-one deals that are cheaper than paying for two separate accounts. However, if you're Gay and cannot marry then, well, I guess you're SOL.

Chewing On Ice Is More Than Just Bad For Your Teeth

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Yes, I'll admit it; I've chewed on ice many times over the years, especially in the summer when I want to cool off without ingesting thousands of calories via Baskin-Robbins ice cream. So what?

Well, in my dental-related business I recently came across two facts I never knew; one is that chewing on ice is very harmful to your teeth and can actually lead to having to get a root canal and second, excessively chewing ice is frequently a sign that you're anemic (i.e. lack of iron in your blood).

First, chewing ice can injure your teeth. Teeth are not flat, and when we crunch away on ice or anything hard for that matter, the inclined planes on the tops of the teeth facilitate the chewing motion. If a piece of ice is between your teeth and you bite down at an unusual angle, you could potentially chip off part of the enamel on a tooth. You might also crack or split the tooth itself resulting in an abscess and a trip to the dentist for a root canal. Keep in mind that root canals can cost as much as $1000 or more (although the price is usually closer to $500-$600 if you use a discount dental plan like the kind I discuss on my web site).

Second, obsessively chewing on ice is known as Pagophagia which is actually a type of eating disorder (No Sh*@! Really?) and is defined as an appetite for "substances not fit for food" (similar to the roast turkeys my brother makes every Thanksgiving but, I digress). In all seriousness, Pagophagia has been shown in study after study to be a specific indicator for iron-deficiency anemia. There are even places on the Internet for people who suffer with this condition to talk about ice chewing but quite frankly, I'm not interested enough in this subject to list them here. If you want to find said web sites, Google them yourself.

Healthcare Savings Tip-Of-The-Week
EQUIP YOURSELF - Hospitals, doctor offices and similar types of medical centers usually charge a significant markup on equipment like crutches, bandages and even Tylenol so whenever possible, try purchasing these types of medical equipment on your own, especially using the Internet to save even more money.

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