The Daily Brush

Helping you get and keep your teeth healthy and white

Mommy, Daddy, Help me! – An intro to your child’s first dental visit 0

General Dental Care / Pediatric Dental Care

Mommy, Daddy, Help me! – An intro to your child’s first dental visit

So now that we’ve discussed what to expect at your child’s first dental visit, now let’s discuss the dynamics of the parent’s role in helping their child have a dental experience which will continue throughout their life. As always, I must mention how things use to be just to give you a chance to open your mind to the differences between how things were done in the past compared to today. Long ago when a child went to the dentist, their mother or father usually accompanied them into the office and the kid just sat down without any dispute.  Now...

Now that my braces are finally off…Why do I need to wear a retainer?! 0

Orthodontic Dental Care

Now that my braces are finally off…Why do I need to wear a retainer?!

I know how it feels to have finally gotten rid of those food trapping, scratchy, wire poking braces off, but now that your teeth have been rearranged into a fantastically beautiful smile you must now get ready to try and maintain all of that suffering you just endured for years to come. Believe it or not, but your teeth have memory.  They kinda remember where they came from.  Now they may not return completely to their original positions, but they can shift around enough to undo all of that hard labor they just went through to get into their best possible...

Now that I have braces what can I eat? 0

Orthodontic Dental Care

Now that I have braces what can I eat?

This is a pretty simple question. Sometimes patient’s think their orthodontist is trying to watch their patient’s diet.  This is not the case.  The reason for the restriction on foods is to avoid broken bracket and wires.   Every time a patient comes into the office with something broken, usually unbeknownst to them,  they are just prolonging their treatment. Think of it like this – Your car needs an oil change but every time you go into your  mechanic’s auto shop you have flat tire which needs to be fixed.  For argument sake you can only do one thing when you’re there…so what do...

Prosto, Perio, Ortho, Who? – A Guide to Dental Professionals and Dental Specialties 3

General Dental Care

Prosto, Perio, Ortho, Who? – A Guide to Dental Professionals and Dental Specialties

Back in the day a dentist was a dentist was a dentist, but these days just like in medicine, there are several specialties of dentistry.  So here goes the breakdown: General Dentist (GD) – The practioner who most of us go to for our regular checkups.  I consider them the Jack of All Trades so to speak, because although training usually includes all aspects of dentistry, the GD mainly concentrates on the overall health of your teeth.  Procedures usually performed are cleanings, fillings, maybe some crown & bridge work, and/or maybe some simple extractiions (simple meaning not wisdom teeth or other possible...

Brushing and Flossing, Why? 0

General Dental Care

Brushing and Flossing, Why?

At sometime in your life, my life, our lives, everyone has heard those words, or has been asked that question more times than they can count… “Did you brush your teeth? ”  And as the dental world evolved over these last 10-20 years, the question turned into “Did you or have you brushed and flossed your teeth?” Brushing and flossing, why?  Or what one should ask is why not? For some or us, without that welcomed or dreaded ritual of brushing and flossing, our teeth would just rot away, not to mention all of the dental diseases that would infect our gums...

Anatomy of a Tooth 0

General Dental Care

Anatomy of a Tooth

In order to understand some of the details of why it is important to clean your teeth or keep your pearly whites clean, you need to understand the physical makeup of our teeth and/or how our teeth are structured.  Without using too much dental jargon, I’ll try to give you a snapshot version of the makeup of our teeth. So let’s build a tooth. Our teeth have two sections, like a plant, there’s the top (crown) which sits above our gums and the roots which are underneath our gums. Enamel:  This is most outer layer of each tooth, this is what...

That’s a lot of moola… Why are braces so expensive???? 1

Dental Care Finance

That’s a lot of moola… Why are braces so expensive????

One of the main concerns for most patients or parents of patients who need orthodontic treatment is the cost.  As they are being told the costs, they ponder the amount of money that will go into the process of having a beautiful STRAIGHT smile, sometimes the eyes get a little glazed or glossed over and I can usually tell that sticker shock is starting to set in. Unlike other dental treatments such as fillings, cleanings, or extractions, orthodontic treatment takes anywhere from a few months to as long as 2-3 years to accomplish the best possible results.  For the average 2-3...

The Ins and Outs of Filing Dental Claims (Insurance Submission Tips) 0

Dental Care Finance

The Ins and Outs of Filing Dental Claims (Insurance Submission Tips)

Now that you have some of the information needed to truly understand your insurance coverage now here are some tips to help insure your dentist/dental office will be able to file your claims effortlessly. Providing the following information will assure a prompt submission of your dental claim(s): Insured’s name Insured’s birth date Insured’s address Relationship to the patient Insurance ID card or insurance name, address, telephone number & group number Because of rise identity (ID) theft these days, some insurance providers assign each subscriber an unique ID number.  If you are afraid of being a victim of ID theft or have...

I Thought I Was Covered For That Dental Procedure! Guess Again 0

Dental Care Finance

I Thought I Was Covered For That Dental Procedure! Guess Again

Coverage can be a tricky thing in the dental insurance world.  There are rules to follow and if you make an error in some of your calculations, it’s gonna cost YOU, not them. Have you ever called your insurance carrier and got the automated system (which I personally hate!) heard these words: “Please be aware the benefits quoted are not a guarantee of payment.”  Well that disclaimer is just what is say it is, IT IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF PAYMENT!, especially if you don’t follow the rules! Let me go over some of the detailed information you need to look for...