Fewer than half of Americans see a dentist each year and millions live in areas where access to dental care is severely limited, a new analysis from the health policy group Institute of Medicine (IOM) finds.

A severe shortage of dentists, especially those serving rural and minority groups, is contributing to the “persistent and systemic” barriers to oral health care, the report noted.

According to the report:

• 33 million Americans live in areas that are underserved by dental health professionals.
• 4.6 million children went without dental checkups in 2008 because their families could not afford them.
• In 2006, almost two-thirds of retirees (62%) did not have adequate dental coverage.

The IOM committee concluded that around 9,600 additional dentists would be needed to meet the needs of underserved populations in the United States.

“We have the lowest ratio of dentists to population that we have had in 100 years,” says Shelly Gehshan, who directs the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign. “This is a serious problem that leaves 40 to 50 million people out of reach of a dentist at any given moment.”

Dental Care Lacking for Children, Elderly, and Poor

Gehshan tells WebMD that millions of Americans lack dental coverage or the ability to pay for dental care.

She served on the IOM committee that issued the report.

Committee chairman Frederick P. Rivara, MD, tells WebMD that barriers to dental services disproportionately affect children, the elderly, and minorities.

Rivara is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

“As the nation struggles to address the larger systemic issues of access to health care, we need to ensure that oral health is recognized as a basic component of overall health,” he says in a news release.

The IOM report included recommendations to federal and state policy makers to improve access to dental care.

Boosting Access to Dental Care

To address the shortage of dentists in underserved inner city and rural areas, the report calls for dental professional education programs aimed at increasing enrollment of African-Americans, Latinos, and people from rural areas into dental schools.

“Most dentists are white men,” Gehshan says. “Research shows that dental students from rural or underserved areas are more likely to go back to these areas to practice.”

The committee also called on the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand opportunities for dental residencies in underserved areas.

The IOM also addressed major limitations in oral care among economically disadvantaged people receiving Medicaid. States must provide dental benefits for children enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), they are not required to provide benefits to adults.

Gehshan says while the committee members agreed that dental benefits should be available to all Medicaid recipients, the group recognized that this is not likely to happen in the current economic climate.

The committee called on federal officials to fund state-based “demonstration projects” aimed at providing dental care to adult Medicaid recipients.

In addition, the committee recommended increasing Medicaid and CHIP reimbursements and simplifying administrative practices.

“A growing number of dental professionals will not take people on these programs because reimbursements are just too low,” Rivara says.

The committee called on state officials to update their dental practice regulations with the goal of doing away with restrictions that limit access to dental services.

One example cited by Gehshan involved the application of fluoride sealants that help prevent cavities.

She says 22 states still require a dentist to examine a child before a dental hygienist is allowed to apply a sealant.

New Ways to Deliver Dental Care

Gehshan says innovative ways of delivering dental services will be needed to address the shortage of dentists.

The report called for more research into new approaches to care, including the use of mobile dental vans staffed by dental hygienists or practitioners who have several years of dental training but are not dentists.

Known as dental therapists, these practitioners are the oral health equivalent of nurse practitioners.

Only two states — Alaska and Minnesota — license dental therapists, but at least 50 other countries allow them to practice, Gehshan says.

The American Dental Association (ADA) has come out strongly against allowing non-dentists to perform surgery.

In a statement, ADA President Raymond F. Gist, DDS, praises the IOM report for highlighting the dental care access issue.

Gist notes that the ADA continues to support exploring new ways to expand access to dental care, but he adds, “We must, however, restate our opposition to allowing so-called ‘midlevel providers’ to diagnose disease or perform such surgical, irreversible procedures as extractions. Everyone deserves a dentist.”

Supplemental dental insurance is dental insurance that pays up to 50% of your dental care costs.

The idea behind supplemental dental insurance is that you already have some sort of dental insurance coverage in place. Supplemental dental insurance picks up the portion of your dental care that is not covered by your primary dental insurance. You must have primary dental insurance before you can purchase supplementary dental insurance coverage.

Individual Dental Needs

Each of us has different needs for dental care; some people need more expensive dental care than others. The reason for this disparity can be any one of a number of different factors. Patients who need more dental care than normal are good candidates for supplemental dental insurance

If a patient’s mother had certain vitamin deficiencies while she was pregnant with the patient, these deficiencies can manifest themselves as weakness or discoloration in the patient’s permanent adult teeth.

Other patients may have certain dental disorders because of inadequate nutrition while they were children, because they ate too much sugar as children, or because of excessive thumb-sucking as a child.

Some patients have a physiology that requires more dental treatment than would ordinarily have been necessary. Patients with big teeth and a small jaw will probably need to have one or more teeth extracted in preparation for the patient receiving orthodontic care.

Some patients have conditions at birth, such as a cleft palate, that requires ongoing dental and surgical treatment over the years.

Finally, some patients need supplemental dental insurance to repair damage done to their teeth due to neglect, dental malpractice, or drug use. Methamphetamine use, in particular, is devastating to the teeth, and patients who recover from methamphetamine addiction will need the kind of intensive, expensive dental care that is perfectly suited to supplemental dental insurance.

Choosing Supplemental Dental Insurance

When selecting supplemental dental insurance, ask some of the same questions as you would ask about ordinary dental insurance. Find out if you can choose your own dentist or if you have to select a dentist in a certain provider network.

Ask what kinds of services are covered by the plan. There is no sense in buying a supplemental dental insurance plan that does not cover the services you think you will need in the coming years.

Find out how the payment process works. Do you have to pay for dental services up front and seek reimbursement from the supplemental dental insurance provider, or will the provider make payments directly to the dentist?

Careington International developed its discount dental plan in 1979, and the Careington Care 500 Plan remains one of the most prestigious dental plans on the market with over 8 million members and counting. Both the Care 500 Plan and the Careington Point of Service Plan use set fee schedules, so you can see what you’ll pay at the dentist before becoming a member. You can purchase a Careington dental plan starting at just $140/year for an individual, and use the plan right away to save 20-55% or more with thousands of dentists nationwide. 

That’s less than $12/month for your dental needs!

Participating dentists enjoy several different benefits for being members and also benefit by getting paid immediately for services rendered at the time of the patent’s visit. They don’t have to file insurance claims and wait to be paid.  Call us at 1-888-583-5070 to get started on your plan TODAY!

PPO dental plans are a popular option for senior citizens due to the freedom they allow plan members in selecting their own dentist. Typically PPO plans are touted for their flexibility compared to HMO plans, and their low cost compared to traditional indemnity plans.

Businesses use them to provide a valuable option to employees, although the annual payments are typically more expensive than other options. PPO plans are available to individuals and families as well.

Preferred provider organizations are managed care organizations with networks of dentists under contract with an insurance carrier. They offer the greatest savings to plan members who select a dentist within the network, but members have the freedom to choose a provider outside of the network.

When seeing a dentist, you the member pay the dentist directly for the services rendered as well as the copay, and are reimbursed at a later date by the insurance carrier.  Occasionally, PPO organizations will pay the dentist directly.

Though dental PPO plans have definite dental benefits for the elderly, be aware this flexibility comes at a price: PPO annual premiums are typically much more costly than other types of dental insurance for seniors. In addition to higher premiums, patients must pay their deductibles before coverage actually begins.

Many seniors looking for coverage on a limited income may find the monthly payments quite cumbersome.

There are also tedious claim forms to be filled out, and patients usually have a lengthy wait to receive reimbursements. In addition, since most PPO insurance plans only cover a portion of the dental fee, patients must make a copay out of pocket. Many choose this type of plan due to the flexibility it offers in selecting a dentist.

You may want to pay one time for the year and purchase a discount dental plan.

Participating dentists enjoy several different benefits for being members and also benefit by getting paid immediately for services rendered at the time of the patent’s visit. They don’t have to file insurance claims and wait to be paid.  Call us at 1-888-583-5070 to get started on your plan TODAY!

Children can get extremely thrilled when they are allowed to consume as many fizzy drinks, chocolate bars and candies as they want.

However, as a parent you should make sure to limit the consumption of these harmful foods and beverages, if you want to keep the teeth of your child as healthy as possible.

Here are two important tips on how you can protect the oral health of your little one:

• When you are offering them fizzy drinks, make sure you teach them to use a straw. This way, the sugars from the drink will not have a chance to get in contract with the surface of the tooth.
• Protect the teeth of your child from decay, by offering them a chunk of cheese after meals. The cheese helps neutralizing the harmful acids from the mouth. Moreover, cheese helps making that enamel stronger and becoming a perfect barrier that will protect from tooth caries.

These 2 important tips are coming from leading health scientists in the field of oral health.

The sweet and fizzy drinks are extremely harmful for the health of the teeth of your little one, and if you teach them to use the straw, children will not be able to “swish” these carbonated drinks in the mouth and cause damage to the teeth.

According to several studies in the health field, the increased consumption of soft drinks and fruit juices has also led to an increase of the number of children struggling with tooth decay.

Today, around 2 in 3 children have got a severely damaged tooth by the age of five.

According to dental specialists, these soft drinks have a double damaging effect on the teeth:

• The acid that is found in the soft drinks damages first the natural barrier of the tooth, which is the enamel
• Then, when the sugars come in interaction with the teeth, these will also interact with the bacteria already “nested” there and a process of fermentation starts. This is how acid is born which is extremely harmful for oral health.

According to some further research in the field, children who consume on an everyday basis lemonade or cola have very damaged teeth, compared to the teeth of children who consume only natural fruit juices.

Discount Dental Plans

Affordable Dental Plans for Everyone

Protect your family with affordable dental benefits, vision benefits, medical benefits, and prescription benefits from Discount Dental

When was the last time you went to the dentist? How about to the doctor for a checkup? Do you suspect that your son needs glasses but you just can’t afford the vision test this month? The professionals at Discount Dental are here to help! We offer discount dental plans, medical plans, vision plans, prescription plans, and even a Lifestyle Program to help you afford various activities and services.

We understand that sometimes the scariest part of going to the dentist is not the drill – it’s the bill that comes afterwards. Dental services are anything but cheap. On the other hand, cavities and gum disease can be excruciatingly painful, uncomfortable, and even dangerous if left untreated. The discount dental plans offered by Discount Dental are the affordable solution for those people without insurance who can’t afford dental services. By purchasing one of our affordable dental plans, you will save up to 60% and sometimes more on all types of dental procedures. With savings like these, you will never have to hesitate again when you or a family member has a cavity or needs an annual cleaning.

These unbelievable savings are not just reserved for dental procedures. Discount Dental also offers affordable medical plans, vision plans, prescription plans, and our exclusive lifestyle program. We understand that many people cannot afford insurance, do not qualify for it due to pre-existing conditions, and that many jobs do not provide it. At Discount Dental, we believe that our savings are for everyone to enjoy. We guarantee that we will never turn a customer away due to a pre-existing condition and we have no annual maximums or waiting periods. Unlike other discount dental plans, we have our own network consisting of thousands of providers. Some of our competitors lease 100% of their providers from other networks. This means that that have no control over the quality of the level of care they are providing to their customers.

Don’t let overwhelmingly high prices stop you from getting the dental and medical care that you and your family deserve. Call Discount Dental today to find the discount dental plan that is right for you. Call us right now to speak to a professional who will help you afford the care that you deserve. 1.888.583.5070

Dental insurance or discount plan?

Dental care is expensive, making dental insurance almost mandatory if you want a healthy mouth.

But Medicare doesn’t include a dental insurance plan, and many employers either do not provide dental insurance or they are scaling back their offerings, leaving consumers to pay for dental care on their own. As a result, many consumers are going without. A 2009 poll by Harris Interactive and HealthDay found that 30 percent of U.S. adults with health insurance did not visit a dentist because of the prohibitive costs. Of those who were uninsured, more than half required dental care, but costs kept them away.

If your employer doesn’t offer dental insurance, you can buy an individual policy, paying anywhere from $225 to $396 per year in premiums. However, another alternative is the discount dental plan, a membership-based network offering discounted dental services from select providers.

Analyzing the differences

With dental insurance, consumers typically pay a monthly premium and a deductible before insurance kicks in, but even after the deductible, policies vary widely on co-pay requirements. Some policies have no co-pay while others require the consumer to pay a substantial portion.

Dental insurance plans also often come with a coverage cap, meaning consumers are only insured for about $1,200 to $1,500 per year. Once the dental patient exceeds that amount, he or she pays out of pocket. Consumers who go the insurance route also get the benefit of oversight from their state department of insurance, which could prove helpful if they have insurance complaints.

With discount dental plans, consumers typically pay an enrollment fee and an annual fee of about $80 to $120 per year and get access to discounted services from member providers. Discounts can range anywhere from 10 percent to 60 percent, says Buddy Johnson, chief executive officer of DentalPlans.com, a discount dental plan provider. Because there are no deductibles or caps to worry about, consumers aren’t limited by the number of services they receive in a given year, and there’s also no paperwork to fill out for reimbursements. For those seeking cosmetic services, discount dental plans may be the way to go since they often cover cosmetic dentistry, while insurance plans typically don’t.

When it comes to selecting an insurance plan or a discount dental plan, some of the same rules apply.

“Because the differences between plans are so great, it is important for the consumer to completely research and understand what services are covered before signing anything. It is also important to verify that any preferred dentist is part of the plan selected,” says Geremia.

Participating dentists enjoy several different benefits for being members and also benefit by getting paid immediately for services rendered at the time of the patent’s visit. They don’t have to file insurance claims and wait to be paid.  Call us at 1-888-583-5070 to get started on your plan TODAY!

A tooth extraction involves removing a tooth from the socket in the bone.

The cost of a simple tooth extraction can range anywhere between $75 and $150. If the tooth is broken off at the gum line, it will be considered a surgical extraction and usually cost $150 to $300. Extracting a wisdom tooth can cost anywhere between $150 and $350, but if it’s an impacted wisdom tooth then the cost could climb as high as $650 or more.

But there’s help!

Discount Dental Plans are More Affordable

• Dental insurance premiums can cost you anywhere from $225 to $396 per year^¹
• Discount dental plans start at only $79.95 per year for individuals and $129.95 per year for families

How It Works

Discount dental plans are not dental insurance plans but dental discount programs instead. Participating dentists have agreed to accept a discounted fee from discount dental plan members as payment-in-full for dental services performed. There are a variety of other key differences between discount dental plans and dental insurance plans.

For example, the majority of dental insurance policies have annual maximums that are typically around $1000 to $1500. So if you need dental care treatments that cost more than $1000 like braces, root canals, crowns, oral surgery or dentures, you will have to pay the difference with a dental insurance plan.

Alternatively, since discount dental plans do not have annual limits, you can use your plan as often as needed. Plus, our plans may even be used to reduce your out-of-pocket dental care costs once you’ve reached the annual maximum on your dental insurance plan.

Even if you already have dental insurance, the discounts offered by our discount dental plans may be used after your dental insurance plan maximum has been reached for even more savings on your dental care. Please consult with a participating dentist or dental care specialist before beginning treatment.

Select discount dental plans even offer significant discounts on cosmetic dentistry services like teeth whitening, bonding and veneers. Additionally, since discount dental plans activate within 3 business days and do not have any health restrictions, you won’t need to wait 6 to 18 months to receive the dental care you need. Discount dental plans are an affordable, easy-to-use and hassle-free solution for anyone looking for dental care savings.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our plans, please Click Here to chat live with a qualified representative or call 1-888-583-5070

Discount Dental Plans are Easy to Use

• Print your membership card online right away
• Make an appointment with a participating dentist
• Present your card & enjoy on-the-spot discounts

Discount Dental Plans are More Affordable

• Dental insurance premiums can cost you anywhere from $225 to $396 per year^¹
• Discount dental plans start at only $79.95 per year for individuals and $129.95 per year for families

Advantages	Discount Dental Plans	Dental Insurance
Quick Plan Activation		X
Vision, Hearing & Prescription Discounts*		X
No Health Restrictions		X
No Annual Limits		X
No Paperwork Hassles		X
No Waiting for Dental Care		X
Cosmetic Dentistry Savings*		X

How It Works

Discount dental plans are not dental insurance plans but dental discount programs instead. Participating dentists have agreed to accept a discounted fee from discount dental plan members as payment-in-full for dental services performed. There are a variety of other key differences between discount dental plans and dental insurance plans.

For example, the majority of dental insurance policies have annual maximums that are typically around $1000 to $1500. So if you need dental care treatments that cost more than $1000 like braces, root canals, crowns, oral surgery or dentures, you will have to pay the difference with a dental insurance plan.

Alternatively, since discount dental plans do not have annual limits, you can use your plan as often as needed. Plus, our plans may even be used to reduce your out-of-pocket dental care costs once you’ve reached the annual maximum on your dental insurance plan.

Even if you already have dental insurance, the discounts offered by our discount dental plans may be used after your dental insurance plan maximum has been reached for even more savings on your dental care. Please consult with a participating dentist or dental care specialist before beginning treatment.

Select discount dental plans even offer significant discounts on cosmetic dentistry services like teeth whitening, bonding and veneers. Additionally, since discount dental plans activate within 3 business days and do not have any health restrictions, you won’t need to wait 6 to 18 months to receive the dental care you need. Discount dental plans are an affordable, easy-to-use and hassle-free solution for anyone looking for dental care savings.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our plans, please Click Here to chat live with a qualified representative or call 1-888-583-5070

“Pediatric dentistry is incredibly important since habits children learn are most likely carried on for the rest of their lives,” said Dr. Robert Lerman, D.M.D., Southern Connecticut Dental Group. “That is why we see the importance of educating parents so that they can be informed and help their children form the best possible dental habits.  A healthy smile is important, and with proper care, a balanced diet and regular dental visits, your child’s teeth can be healthy and strong.”

• A toddler should never be left in the crib or for an extended period of time with any liquid other than water.  Milk or juice can cause bacteria and decay; baby bottle tooth decay, or early childhood caries.
• Run a clean damp washcloth after you feed your baby to prevent bacteria growth.
• Take your child to a pediatric dentist by the child’s first birthday or when the first teeth arrive, whichever comes first.
• As soon as your child’s first teeth appear, brush teeth with a little bit of water. After children have reached the age of 2, start introducing fluoride toothpaste in pea-sized amounts.
• Take care of your own oral health. Research shows that the bacteria that cause decay can be passed from caregivers to infants and young children. Rinsing with anti-bacterial mouthwashes has been shown to significantly reduce the number of cavity-causing bacteria.