Upcoming Free/Low-Cost Dental Care Fairs For Kids

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Friday, Feb 6, Boulder County Healthy Kids Initiative and Dental Aid
Enrollment fair targeted at the nearly 70 percent of Boulder County children who qualify for free or low-cost health care yet aren’t insured. A free event to help income-eligible children and pregnant women enroll in Medicaid and/or CHP+. Entertainer “Rosy Rosebud” will be at each Dental Aid location bringing fun, face painting and balloon animals. If you are interested in signing your child up for a free dental exam contact Dental Aid prior to the enrollment event to schedule an appointment.
More: http://denver.yourhub.com

Free Dental Care For Uninsured Children Offered By County. Anderson County, Tennessee
Shasta Community Health Center, along with other local dentists and community supporters, will offer free dental care to uninsured low-income children ages 1 to 18 on Friday, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Locations for the dental care include Shasta Community Health Center, 2801 Silver St. in Anderson, and Shasta Community Dental Center, 1400 Market St., Room 8103 in Redding. No appointment necessary; first come, first serve.
More: http://www.andersonvalleypost.com

Free Dental Clinic Set For Feb 6. Adrian, Michigan
A one-day free dental clinic will be provided next month for children of low-income families. As part of the American Dental Association’s seventh annual “Give Kids a Smile Day,” dentists and dental staff will volunteer their time from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Feb. 6 at Adrian Family Dentistry, 4490 W. Maumee St. They will offer free dental care to children ages 3-12 who are not covered under a dental insurance plan, according to a news release.
More: http://www.lenconnect.com

Free Dental Work Offered For Kids. Alamance-Caswell, North Carolina
On Feb. 7, the Alamance-Caswell Dental Society will organize dozens of volunteers, dentists and dental assistants for Give Kids a Smile, offering free dental work for 100 children between kindergarten and eighth grade who have no dental insurance, N.C. Health Choice or Medicaid coverage. The event will be at Alamance County Children’s Dental Health Center from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children can receive checkups, evaluations and sealants. The operation is first-come, first-served, and once 100 children are signed up, the clinicians are booked. Last year’s event filled up.
More: http://www.thetimesnews.com

Dental Health Event Planned For Children. Pinellas County, Florida
PINELLAS COUNTY– Dental screenings and X-rays for Pinellas County’s annual Give Kids a Smile children’s dental health event will take place on Friday, Feb. 6.This year, the Pinellas County Dental Association hopes to screen and treat more than 500 children in Pinellas County who otherwise would not receive dental care. In 2008, 470 Pinellas County children received more than $134,000 in free dental services.Offered for children aged 3 to 18, Give Kids a Smile is sponsored by the American Dental Association and at the state level by the Florida Dental Association. The Pinellas County Dental Association joined the crusade to highlight the need for improved dental care for children of low-income families.
More: http://www.tbnweekly.com

Children’s Dental Services To Provide Clinics. South Washington County, Minnesota
Children’s Dental Services of Minneapolis will hold its first monthly dental clinic at the Washington County Service Center-Cottage Grove Feb. 6, according to a Washington County press release.The nonprofit agency serves children up to 21 years old and pregnant women. They accept all forms of medical assistance or insurance and also offer a sliding scale under which families can qualify for free or reduced-cost care.
More: http://www.swcbulletin.com

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. See www.irs.gov/publications/p502

Sweden Bans All Mercury Fillings

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Sites Environmental Reasons For Eliminating Dental Amalgam Use
The Swedish government said it has decided for environmental reasons to ban use of all mercury fillings in the country effective June 1, 2009. The ban includes dental amalgam. The Swedish government statement says that alternative techniques will have to be used in dental care as well as chemical analysis and the chloralkali industry. The statement from Sweden does not list what those alternatives are.

Such a ban is not necessary in the United States, said the American Dental Association in a statement issued January 16, 2009. The ADA statement notes that U.S. dentists already capture nearly 80 percent of waste amalgam with standard equipment in their practices, and an increasing number of dentists have added the use of amalgam separators, which can increase the capture rate up to 99 percent.

The ADA notes that a recent economic impact study published in the journal Public Health Reports indicates dental care costs in the U.S. would increase up to $8.2 billion in the first year alone if amalgam use was discontinued. Among other effects, this could cripple dental public health programs that serve as a safety net to millions of low-income people, the report says.

Currently, amalgam accounts for about 30 percent of dental fillings placed in the U.S. More information about amalgam, amalgam separators and restorative dental materials can be found on ADA.org in the 'Professional A-Z Topics' content area.

Healthcare Savings Tip-Of-The-Week
High-dose pills are generally priced the same as their low-dose counterparts, so ask your doctor if you can safely split a higher-dosage pill in half. You'll save about $179 to $610 a year per prescription if you don't have drug coverage or 50% on your co-pays if you do.

Laughing Gas & Hypnosis; Perfect Together

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The pain-relieving effects of nitrous oxide - laughing gas - may be enhanced by suggestion or hypnosis, according to a new study by UCL (University College London). The study's findings - that people are more suggestible under the gas - mean that dental patients may benefit from being coached to relax while undergoing sedation.

Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is commonly used by dentists to sedate their patients before treatment, but some dentists believe their patients also become more suggestible while under the influence of the gas. A number of dentists have been trained in hypnosis and find that their patients respond well to being spoken to in a quiet, hypnotic manner - the new findings suggest that these effects could be further enhanced with laughing gas.

The UCL study set out to establish whether laughing gas does indeed boost imaginative suggestibility - a trait closely related to hypnotic suggestibility - and imagery vividness. Thirty participants took part in two sessions where they were given a mask from which they breathed in air or 25 per cent nitrous oxide. The volunteers were not told which type of gas they were being given, and the mask was scented to disguise the sweet smell of the laughing gas.

The study, published online in the journal Psychopharmacology, found that the nitrous oxide boosted imaginative suggestibility by approximately 10 per cent. This effect was unrelated to participants' expectations regarding the effects of the drug.

Dr Matthew Whalley, Honorary Research Fellow at UCL, says: "Many dentists use laughing gas to relieve discomfort in their patients, but our study suggests that combining the gas with instructions and suggestions to help them to relax and become absorbed in imagery, for example, might enhance the pain-relieving effect. Our findings are preliminary, however, so it would be helpful to do a larger scale study to confirm our results and explore the best ways in which to use and combine nitrous oxide and suggestion.

"Our study fixed the concentration of nitrous oxide at a relatively low 25 per cent, so it would be good to explore whether there is a dose-response relationship between drug administration and suggestibility. We already know that hypnosis enhances the effects of suggestion, so it would be helpful for clinicians to know whether combining laughing gas with hypnosis would increase suggestibility and enhance the analgesic (pain-killing) effects.

"A growing number of health professionals are trained in hypnosis but it is nothing to be alarmed about - people often think that hypnosis is about the hypnotist 'taking control' of the hypnotised person, but in reality the person undergoing hypnosis is an active participant and has to want to participate in order to experience a benefit. There is good evidence that although people can respond to suggestions under hypnosis, they can also choose to refuse any suggestion, and cannot be made to do things that they do not want to do."

How To Deal With Dental Exclusions

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Now that January is here, those of you lucky enough to have dental insurance through work know that you usually have a maximum cap of $1000-$2000 to spend on dental work throughout the calendar year 2009. However, this money allotment is usually for preventative (exams, x-rays, cleanings, etc.) or restorative (fillings, caps, root canals, etc.) dental care.

But what are you going to do if the work you need done in your teeth is not covered by your insurance company? Dental insurance policies often contain large exclusions that could leave you on your own to pay for extremely expensive treatments, such as orthodontic braces, veneers, implants or bridges?

In such cases have your best bet would be to purchase a discount dental plan because this type of coverage does not contain any health, age or pre-existing condition exclusions and provide discounts for almost every type of dental procedure. These types of plans can say you anywhere from 20% to 50% off the regular retail price of "excluded procedures", even blatantly cosmetic ones such as teeth whitening.

Before choosing an insurance policy or discount dental plan for yourself and your family, be careful to make sure that the plan you choose covers all the procedures that you are likely to need. Thankfully my web site, Discount Dental 4 U provides you with the information you need on discount dental plans to make a smart, informed purchasing decision.

Healthcare Savings Tip of The Week
According to Fox News, if you have bad breath consider chewing cinnamon-flavored gum instead of mint. A recent study indicated that an ingredient in the flavoring may help fight bacteria in your mouth thereby reducing bad breath.

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Milk: It Does A Tooth Good

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Your mother may have told you some white lies, including that breaking a mirror is seven years bad luck or that if you keep picking your nose it would get stuck that way, but one thing that she did get right is that drinking milk will probably help your teeth out.

Studies have found that drinking milk and eating cheeses, especially cheddars, with or after a meal can help increase the pH level of your mouth (for us non-scientists out there, this means that it will lower the acidity level) thereby limiting the damage that certain foods can do to your enamel.

To avoid having to purchase the best dental coverage available just so you can afford to fix your kid's teeth later in life, make sure to include a little milk and cheese with their meals, particularly with acidic meals such as pastas with red sauce, to help protect them from cavities.