If you are fortunate enough to have dental insurance, call your insurance company to find out if your policy covers regular cleanings, peridontal cleanings, periodontal treatment, extractions, dentures, etc., and how often annually.

If the procedure you need is covered by your dental policy, bring a dental claim form to your next appointment so the dental office can submit it. It takes weeks, and sometimes months, for a claim to be reviewed and processed by insurance companies.

Never sign a blank insurance paper in a dentist’s office before the work has begun. Only after your dental examination has been completed will it be possible to set a fee for your treatment. You want to see everything your dentist is submitting to your insurance company before you sign the form. Ask for a copy. Get everything in writing. [Read more →]

The American Heart Association (AHA) believed for decades that dental patients with heart disease should premedicate with antibiotics before dental procedures. It was determined that premedication would prevent bacteria from entering the bloodstream and creating an infection in the heart’s lining or valves.

The AHA’s new guidelines recommend that, “most of these patients no longer need short-term antibiotics as a preventive measure before their dental treatment.”

The following people who routinely took prophylactic antibiotics in the past no longer need to:

1. Mitral valve prolapse
2. Rheumatic heart disease
3. Bicuspid valve disease
4. Calcified aortic stenosis
5. Congenital heart conditions: ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. [Read more →]