Savon Can Help When Your Dental Benefits Are Exhausted

As the time comes for you to renew your dental insurance benefits, keep one thing in mind if you choose to stick with your insurance.

For those of you who carry a dental HMO or PPO, you probably already know that you have an annual maximum of benefits every year. In most cases, if you're in good dental health, those benefits are sufficient enough to cover your routine cleanings, exams and the occasional fillings. But what happens if you need more dental work? The frustration of trying to schedule your treatment to coincide with the renewal of dental benefits can be exhausting an in a lot of cases a deterrent to patients scheduling extensive dental treatments.

Enter...Savon Dental Plan. Savon is an affordable discount dental plan that offers its members discounts up to 50% off their dental treatment. Memberships rates are really low! With benefits such as no waiting periods, no limitations, no exclusions and a steadily growing nationwide network of dentists, Savon can pick up where your dental benefits run out. Since there are no claim forms to be filed with Savon Dental Plan, your dental savings are immediate! 

If you would like more information on how Savon can SAVE for you, please visit our website at www.savondentalplan.com or call our Customer Care Team at 1-800-809-3494! We would be more than happy to assist you in any way. Don't wait for a toothache, your smile savings are only one call to Savon away!!

Harmful Effects Of Soft Drinks On Teeth

Did you know one can of coke cola has 39 grams of sugar? That's roughly 10 teaspoons of sugar per can. Now multiply that by how many cans you drink per day, how much sugar are you consuming JUST in soft drinks?

There are the two main effects of drinking soft drinks:

• Erosion
• Causing cavities

Erosion begins when the acid of the soft drink attacks the tooth enamel and once the enamel is worn away, cavities are formed, which can lead to pain and sensitivity.

You can fight tooth decay and erosion by drinking soft drinks in moderation or eliminate it, use a straw do your teeth are less exposed to the drink, drink water in between to help rinse the mouth, use a fluoride toothpaste.

Having a x-ray done will help determine what type of treatment is available. Small lesions can often be fixed by having a filling but bigger lesions you may need a root canal or have the tooth removed.  

If you are a soft drink lover like myself, try drinking it in moderation to protect your dental health!

The Disadvantage Of Frontal Fillings

This blog is more from personal experience that anything else. A few years ago I had the option of getting crowns or veneers on my front teeth, or filling the cavities that I had around the gumline. I an effort to save money and the hassle of getting multiple crowns or veneers, I chose to have each cavity filled.

When they were first done, they looked great and I was very happy with my decision to do it that way. However, over the years I sort of regretted it. When they filled the cavities, they did a great job of matching my teeth color at the time. Which wasn't exactly pearly white. Like I said it looked great for years. Recently though I have made a solid effort to whiten my teeth. I am doing a great job on it, with the exception of the fillings. Since I chose to go with frontal fillings years ago, I find myself ending up with 2 different color of teeth.

So my point is this, if you are ever in a situation where you have to decide on frontal fillings or crowns, my advise is to go with the crowns or veneers. Chances are good I am going to need to go back into the dentist and get them done to help get the smile back that I have been longing for so long.

Facts, Disorders and Treatments For TMJ

TMJ is your Temporomandibular Joint that connects your jaw to the temporal bones of your skull.  This joint allows you to move your jaw up and down and from side to side. 

Facts:

• 1 in 8 Americans are currently affected by TMJ. 
• TMJ is 4 times more common in women than men.
• Men are found to have more wear on their teeth and bite. 

Causes:

• Head, neck and jaw misalignment.
• Genetics.
• Grinding or clenching teeth.
• Trauma.
• Diseases like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Arthritis.
• Stress.

Symptoms:

• Headache
• Aching pain in or around ear
• Jaw locking or popping
• Tenderness in the cheek and jaw
• Pain and difficultly eating
• Dizziness
• Sharp facial pain
• Facial swelling
• Neck and upper back spasms

Treatment:

• Dental splint that helps keep the teeth in alignment and prevents tooth grinding.
• Physical therapy with the jaw.
• Trigger point acupuncture.
• Botox to help relax the muscles of the jaw.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed above see your dentist right away!

Caring For Rabbit Teeth

It seems like we are always posting something about dental care for dogs and cats but what about other animals? I came across an article about dental care on rabbits and I though I would share this information with you!

I used to have rabbits when I was younger and I never knew these important things about caring for their teeth.

Listed below are some dental tips for rabbits:

1. Give them tough- fibrous foods like hay, vegetables and fruits to help keep teeth properly worn because all of their teeth are constantly growing (about 1-5 mm per week).
2. Dental disease is common in rabbits if they are not on a proper diet and old age, symptoms include:
1. Not eating (wight loss)
2. Facial discharge
3. Tooth elongation
3. Teeth trimming - This requires visiting the veterinarian because they are professionals with training and they will using special equipment. You should have your rabbits teeth looked at on a regular bases to see if they need to be trimmed. Like I mentioned above with tough-fibrous foods they teeth will we naturally worn down but sometimes they will need some extra assistance.
4. Molar spurs or points - Sharp edges that cut the tongue or cheeks causing painful sores. These spurs will need to be surgically removed and the points can be shaved down. 

I found this information here and here!

Impacted Wisdom Teeth - Lose Them or Leave Them?

An impacted tooth is a tooth that gets blocked as it is pushing through the gum into your mouth. Commonly, a wisdom tooth becomes impacted. Wisdom teeth, also known as the third molars, usually begin to come in between the ages of 17 and 21. In most cases they may become impacted due to the lack of room in your mouth. They may also come in sideways or be tilted in your jaw, affecting your bite or cutting into the tongue or cheek.
It is possible to have an impacted tooth and not be aware of it, as some are painless. When an impacted wisdom tooth tries to come in it can become infected and swollen. It may cause you pain in nearby teeth, or even in the ear on that side of your face. 
If untreated, an impacted tooth can lead to an infection called pericoronitis. This infection can spread to the throat or into the neck. Impacted teeth can get cavities, cause your teeth to shift due to pressure on neighboring teeth and they can contribute to gum disease. 
Visit your dentist regularly. He can tell you if you have an impacted tooth, or whether you are at risk for one with a simple x-ray.  Remember, the longer you wait to have an impacted tooth exposed or extracted (especially a wisdom tooth) the more difficult can be to treat! 


Don't wait for a toothache!  Keep Smiling! 

Why Doesn't Your Dental Plan Doesn't Know About Your Dental Treatment

Every once in a while talking to a member we get the question "You didn't know that I was getting this treatment done?".  Often it results in the member being short of appauld that the answer is "no". Which is true. As a dental plan, we do not know if what treatment you are getting done, when your treatment is being done or whether you are going to general dentist or a specialist. Why is that? The answer is simple.

Since we are membership dental plan and not dental insurance, there is no claim forms sent to us from the dentist. The saving to you as the member/patient is passed to you at the dental office. The dentist is agreeing to provide you treatment at our savings rate in return for us sending them patients.

A dental insurance company receives a claim form after each treatment, they review it and approve or deny the coverage of it. Then they pay the dentist their portion of the bill. So in essence, they are informed of every visit you make the to dentist office and what treatment they performed. As a dental plan, that is not the case.

In fact, the only ways that we would know that a member is going to the dentist is if the member informs us about it or if the dental center calls to verify eligibility. When the dental center calls to do that, the only thing we are at liberty to discuss is whether or not you are an active member. Due to HIPPA (Health Information Privacy Protection Act) they are not able to discuss your treatment with us, unless it requested by the member for them to do so.

For example, we can not call a dental center and discuss the treatment that you are having done. However, if you call us and have questions about your treatment plan or how much you are being charged, then we can call the dentist and discuss it because the request for our intervention was initiated by you.

So that's the reason why we don't know if you have visited a dentist or what treatment you are having done.

Teething Syndrome

Do you have a baby that is getting ready to teeth? Well they will be going through a process called teething syndrome (Teething is the growth of teeth through the gums in the mouth of infants and young children.) 

Swollen gums are a good indicator your child is starting to teeth. Also if your child has a fever over 101 degrees teething is most likely the cause of this. If you child has lower persistent fevers you may want to contact you physician.

Some things to help relieve the pain of a teething child are a light gum massage, chilled or frozen toys to gnaw on, also chilled food and/or drinks!

Teething pain cannot be completely prevented, but you can help comfort them and this will help the baby get through it with less distress.