The Secret to Saving $$ on Your Dental Bills

The secret is simple—regular preventive maintenance visits. In general, people who want to keep their teeth all of their life will spend less money if they follow their dentist’s recommended maintenance interval than if they only make appointments when they have symptoms.

This may seem counter intuitive, but I can support this from my own observations over the years. Often I will see a patient who has not been in for many years because they lost their dental insurance and did not want to pay for maintenance out of pocket. They present with problems that will cost much more to repair than what they would have spent on preventive visits and early treatment. In addition the outcome and the longevity of the repair will not be as good.

The statistics are pretty consistent over the years. About half of the population understands the value and has a dental visit at least once a year. The other half does not. Unless you are unusually resistant to both dental decay and gum disease, you are not saving money by staying away from the dentist. The CDC estimates that approximately 1/3 of the population has untreated dental decay. By the time that cavity starts to hurt, you will be facing a much greater expense than the cost of early diagnosis and treatment.

Bottom line: economics are not a good reason to avoid the dentist. Next time we will address the other major barrier—FEAR.

Yours for excellent dental health,
Dr. S

Is there Hazardous Waste in your Mouth?

A 2006 survey revealed that 72% of the respondents were not aware that mercury was a main component of dental amalgam fillings. Here are some facts you should know:

-The content of what we in the dental profession call “silver amalgam” is approximately 50% mercury.

-All amalgam fillings emit mercury vapor throughout their life. The amount of vapor is related to the size and number of amalgam fillings plus chewing habits.

-Mercury vapor from amalgam fillings is absorbed by the body and accumulates in various organs.

-Dental amalgam is the most common form of exposure to elemental mercury in the general population.

-Mercury in the body of a pregnant woman will cross the placental barrier and enter the fetus .

-Each individual has their own threshold at which mercury contamination becomes a health problem. This threshold can change due to aging and other immune system challenges.

-The Oregon DEQ requires dentists to handle scrap amalgam left over from fillings as hazardous waste.

-An FDA news release dated July 28, 2009, stated that the levels of elemental mercury released by dental amalgam fillings are not high enough to cause harm in patients.

-There are good studies published in peer reviewed journals supporting both sides of the question about whether dental amalgam fillings pose a health hazard to the general population.

So are amalgam fillings safe? Should you get all of your amalgam fillings replaced right away? Maybe, maybe not. First educate yourself. I would be glad to consult with you. Also Jeff Clark, ND, is an excellent local resource (drjeffclark@truehealthmedicine.com) as is the IAOMT (iaomt.org)

I will cover more on this subject next time. I welcome your opinions and stories, so please use my email address to contact me.

Yours for excellent dental health,
Dr. S

Conquering Dental Anxiety

Last time I discussed the prevalence of dental phobia and reassured you that if you have dental anxiety you are not alone. I pointed out that avoiding the dentist just leads to greater problems and more anxiety. So what is a more productive way to deal with your fear of the dentist?

1. Don’t wait till it hurts. Deal with the problem before you have acute pain. You need to take it slow and when you have severe pain, that’s not possible.

2. Find a dental office that understands your situation. It takes a lot of courage to pick up the phone and call a dentist so don’t give up at this point just because the first person you called was impatient with you.

3. Schedule a get acquainted visit. Many offices will do this free of charge. Find out if there is a non-clinical area to talk with the dentist and the staff to see if it is a good fit.

4. Make sure that the doctor offers different kinds of sedation. Oregon requires an additional endorsement on the dental license specific to the type of sedation offered.

5. Discuss your fears with the dentist and staff and work out a plan to get back into optimum dental health at a rate you are comfortable with.
Dentistry is different than it was 10 years ago. And you will be surprised at how well you can overcome your fear by taking it slowly before you have pain and using modern methods of sedation.

Yours for excellent dental health,
Dr. S