O'Fallon Family & Cosmetic Dentist

Dental insurance benefits, especially for restorative work like fillings, can be very difficult to understand. The benefits summary may state that fillings are covered at 80%, but due to several factors this is not usually the case. Most dental insurance companies use what is called a “Usual, Customary and Reasonable” fee guide. This means that the insurance company sets their own price that they will allow for every dental procedure that they cover. This is not based on what a dentist actually charges. The insurance company pays its percentile based upon its UCR fee, not the dentist’s actual fee.

Downgraded benefits can also effect the amount an insurance company will pay for a filling. Many insurance companies downgrade tooth-colored fillings to a silver amalgam filling fee. While the insurance company allows patients to have tooth-colored fillings, the patient will have to pay the difference between the fee for the tooth-colored filling and the downgraded UCR fee for an amalgam (silver) filling. The percentile benefit is then applied to the amalgam fee.

Our office goes to great lengths to attempt to provide an accurate treatment plan estimate prior to treatment. We try to figure in the effect of UCR and treatment downgrades when figuring our estimates, but it is not always possible to know the exact amount that an insurance company will reimburse.

Our office only offers tooth colored fillings for several reasons.
1. Tooth colored fillings require less removal of and damage to the underlying tooth structure in order to adhere to the tooth.
2. Tooth colored fillings provide a stronger bond to the tooth structure which makes it less likely than an amalgam filling to allow bacteria under the filling.
3. Tooth colored fillings are made of a non-toxic resin material and can actually make the tooth structure stronger.
4. Tooth colored fillings provide an overall aesthetic benefit as they can be blended to match the color of the surrounding tooth structure making their appearance virtually invisible.

Dental sealants have provided us with an opportunity to fight the build up of harmful decay and bacteria in the back molar teeth. These teeth are shaped differently than the rest of our teeth and contain quite a few pits and grooves. These pits and grooves prove harder to brush well and don’t allow for harmful food and drink substances to slide off as easily. Due to the structure of these teeth, the majority of dental restorations (fillings, root canals, and crowns) occur on molar teeth.

Dental sealants contain a thin plastic coating that is painted on to the tooth surface. This makes for a smoother surface with less opportunity for food particles to get trapped and a barrier for bacteria to penetrate. Applying sealants is a quick, simple inexpensive process that can provide good protection for several years. The back molars typically appear around age six and it is best to get those teeth sealed soon after they have fully erupted and before bacteria can begin to cause problems.

Dental sealants are not easily visible and should be checked by your dentist at each dental check-up. They will need to be replaced after several years to maintain their benefits. Many dental insurance companies cover dental sealants in children as a preventative dental benefit.

I have included links to two sources that answer questions about dental sealants:
The CDC Dental Sealants Fact Sheet and
The ADA Frequently Asked Questions about Sealants.

Please call us at 636-561-5445 if you want more information about how dental sealants can benefit your family’s oral health.

I just created an archive for my patient e-newsletters. It only contains the most recent e-newsletter at this point, but I will archive all of the newsletters going forward. Now you can always have access to the amazing content in my newsletters. Hopefully, you read the self-deprecating humor in that last sentence.

December can be the hardest month of the year to maintain healthy habits. Holiday parties, the change in temperature, the constant presence of goodies, the busyness of holiday preparations and gift buying can all make it difficult to stick to healthy routines. Below I have listed a number of healthy habits. I encourage you to pick three of these habits or make up your own healthy habits to focus on in the month of December. You can share your three picks in the comment section here or on my Facebook page wall. Research has demonstrated that sharing your health goals can help to keep you accountable and focusing on small changes in health habits can make a great difference.

Healthy Habits
Floss once a day
Brush 2 -3 times a day
Get 7 – 8 hours of rest each night
Stay hydrated throughout your day
Drink green tea daily
Take a multivitamin daily
Eat 5 – 9 fruits and veggies each day
Keep a food journal of everything you eat each day
Exercise portion control at holiday events
Perform weight resistance exercises 2 – 3 times per week
Do a cardio workout 3 – 6 times per week
Try a new workout class, dvd, or game
Stretch or perform simple yoga exercises for 5 – 10 minutes per day
Make medical appointments that you have been putting off
Park further away from the entrance to work or stores
Commit to sharing chores with family members to lighten your load
Decrease holiday stress this year with a decision to buy less or shop online

My three healthy commitments for this month are:
1. To stay hydrated throughout the day
2. To exercise portion control at holiday events
3. To get in 3 – 6 cardio workouts each week.

I found a great list of tools to help you meet your health goals. The list includes websites that can help track calories and health goals as well as fitness tools.

What are your three healthy commitments for the month of December? Do you have other ideas of healthy habits to share?

We’ve been looking for holiday events to enjoy in the St. Charles County area this year. I put together a list of several activities you might want to check out.

ST. CHARLES, MO HOLIDAY EVENTS

Outdoor Ice Rink – 11/27/09 – 12/26/09 on Weds, Fri, Sat, or Sundays.
Outdoor ice rink located along the Missouri River in Frontier Park. Cost is $6/adult, $5/child under 12. Skate rental is $3.

Christmas Traditions Festival – 11/27/09 – 12/26/09 – Along South Main Street. Stores are open until 9:00 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with activities including carolers from 6:30 – 9:00. There is a Santa Parade every Saturday and Sunday at 1:30.

Journey to Bethlehem put on by Harvester Christian Church – 12/10/09 – 12/13/09. Thursday and Friday 6:30 – 9:00, Saturday and Sunday 5:30 – 9:00. Free live re-enactment of the very first Christmas. I went to this last year and it is pretty amazing.

Erin Bode Holiday Concert at the Foundry Art Centre – 12/12/09 at 8:00 P.M.

St. Charles Community College Young People’s Theater presents “Scrooge, the Stingiest Man in Town.” Dec. 18th at 7:00 p.m., Dec. 19th at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m. and Dec. 20th at 2:00 p.m. Located in the Donald D. Shook Fine Arts Building on the SCC campus. General admission cost is $7, students and senior citizen cost is $6. Here is more information about St Charles Community College’s winter performances.

O’FALLON, MO HOLIDAY EVENTS

Celebration of Lights – 11/27/09 – 12/30/09, closed Dec. 24 & 25. Fort Zumwalt Park
Over 1 million lights and a mile of holiday scenes. Sunday, Tuesday – Thursday, from 6:30 – 9:00, Friday and Saturday from 6:30 – 10:00. Cost is $9/car or $15/van. Special walk-through night on December 8th.

ST. PETERS, MO HOLIDAY EVENTS

Santa Visits Old Town Log Cabin – Dec. 2nd, 1 – 3 p.m. Cabin is located at Gatty Road & Park Street.
Old fashioned holiday fun with horse-drawn carriage rides through Old Town.

Breakfast with Santa – Dec. 16th, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. at the Rec-Plex. Breakfast is $10/child and $4/adult. Breakfast, sit on Santa’s lap, crafts, activities and songs. Must register by December 8th by visiting the Rec-Plex or callings 636-939-2386 ext. 400.

FORISTELL, MO HOLIDAY LIGHTS

Holiday Night Lights – Rotary Park – 11/27 – 12/27 from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Open Thursday – Sunday from 11/27 – 12/13 and nightly from 12/17 – 12/27. Closed Christmas Day. Includes 1 1/2 mile drive with themed displays and over half a million lights.

CHESTERFIELD, MO HOLIDAY EVENTS

Winter Holiday Candlelight Walk – Dec. 4 & 5 from 5 – 9 p.m. Located in Faust Park. Cost is $10/car.

Candy Cane Hunt at the Carousel at Faust Park – Saturday, December 5th at 10:00 a.m. Some of the candy canes will have special prizes attached to them. You must purchase tickets ahead of time for $5 at the St. Louis Carousel Gift Shop.

Please comment if you know of other great holiday activities or places for viewing holiday lights in the area.

Dentists learn very early in their careers that many patients experience a considerable amount of dental anxiety. The phrase “Nothin’ personal Doc, but I hate dentists” is so common that there is a book by that title. The book is actually a helpful resource for patients dealing with dental anxiety. When I am asked, “What do you do for a living?” I am often tempted to make up a different, less fear-invoking profession. Recently, I did a search on Twitter for the word “dentist” hoping to find some colleagues to interact with there. What I found instead was a long list of tweets with the phrase “I hate the dentist.”

Hating the dentist can lead to a vicious cycle in which fearful patients avoid the dental office and routine cleanings only to visit when they are in a large amount of pain and will need more intensive treatment. Regular dental check-ups and early detection of decay can help patients avoid the need for the treatments they fear the most. As I have stated elsewhere in this blog, healthy teeth and gums can impact your overall health making it more important to take part in routine cleanings.

There is hope for patients who fear the dentist. New techniques in dentistry allow for less pain and less drilling. Anesthetic shots can be given without pain. Through the use of a numbing swab and proper manipulation, these dental anesthetics do not have to be painful. Patients often tell me they did not even know they received a shot. My young nephew who has needed a tooth extracted and several fillings swears that he has never had a shot in my office. Of course, as a loving uncle I have given him shots with these procedures. Tooth-colored composite fillings require less drilling and removal of the tooth structure in order to place the filling. These procedures are quicker, less drill intensive, and less uncomfortable.

More dentists are making an effort to design their offices and train their staff to alleviate the fears that arise when first walking into a dental office. For patients who had troubling experiences at the dentist when they were younger just the sight or smell of a dental office can raise their anxiety level. Dentists are becoming more aware of techniques to help patients deal with the sensory issues that might elicit a fear response by masking smells, decorating peaceful offices and offering movie goggles or earphones.

Some dentists offer sedation techniques to calm their most anxious patients. These techniques include taking a calming medication before the appointment, nitrous oxide use during the appointment, or a light sedation during procedures. It is very important to share your complete health history with your dentist prior to requesting one of these techniques.

Visiting the dentist does not have to be a fearful experience. It is a good idea to share with your new dentist that you are anxious about your appointment and to be pro-active in figuring out ways to reduce your anxiety. You can find more helpful information about dealing with dental anxiety online. WebMD provides a short video on sedation dentistry. This short article posing the question “Is Sedation the Answer?” gives a brief overview as well.

Cosmetic dentistry is the practice of using aesthetically pleasing materials and techniques to correct or enhance a smile. Cosmetic dentistry procedures range from a simple one visit contouring procedure to total mouth re-construction. I have defined some of the most common cosmetic dentistry procedures here.

There is a misconception that all cosmetic dentistry procedures are expensive and time-intensive. However, simple procedures like contouring and bonding can make a beautiful difference without a large expense of time or money. Contouring is a simple process used to re-shape teeth to create a more uniform smile. Bonding is an affordable way to fix small cracks, chips, gaps and discoloration. These simple solutions might help you to create the smile you have always desired.

We are frequently asked “When should I bring my child to the dentist for the first time?” The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends a child should see the dentist soon after the first tooth has erupted, but no later than the first birthday. These earliest appointments will primarily involve an exam and instruction on proper dental hygiene for these young teeth. Here is a link to a fact sheet on baby’s teeth written by the ADA:

http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/jada/patient/patient_11.pdf

Basic Tips for Dental Hygiene for Little Ones:
1) Begin washing teeth with a washcloth or Nuk brush as soon as the first tooth erupts.
2) Begin gentle flossing whenever two teeth touch. This isn’t an easy job with little ones so try to make it fun by singing, looking in the mirror, making funny sounds, etc. Small dental floss picks might be easier to use at this time. Even if you don’t have great success with flossing, don’t give up. Every little bit helps.
3) Do not use fluoride toothpaste prior to age 2. Make sure the child knows to spit the toothpaste out instead of swallowing it.
4) NEVER put your child to sleep with a bottle.
5) Remember candy and sweets aren’t the only foods that can cause decay. Limit the use of fruit juices and sticky foods such as cereal bars which can stay on teeth for long periods of time.
6) Children will need help brushing their teeth for the first several years and may need reminders to brush and floss throughout their childhoods.
7) Try having an older child brush or floss at the same time you are helping your younger child to do the same. This positive modeling may help to keep the child interested.
Prolonged use of sippy cups can cause damage to the front teeth. Try using no-spill cups with straws when your child is not ready for an open cup. This will allow the liquid to go back further into the mouth instead of first hitting the front teeth with every sip.

My business manager is hijacking my blog to add a link to more pumpkin recipes. My last blog entry showed the positive health contributions of pumpkin.

Here is a link to Cooking Light Magazine’s latest recipes using pumpkin: www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/in-season-pumpkin-00400000001273/. Check out the Pumpkin Recipes box on the left which includes a great lighter recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. It has 33% less calories and fat than traditional Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread because it uses fat free pudding to replace some of the oil. This recipe works great for making two big loaves or you can reduce the cooking time and make several mini-loaves to give out to co-workers,neighbors, or the friendly staff at your dentist’s office.

It’s pumpkin carving time so make sure to take advantage of the health benefits of pumpkin seeds. One quarter cup of pumpkin seeds provides around 50% of your daily need for magnesium, phosphorous, and manganese. Pumpkin seeds are also a great source of iron, protein, vitamin K, and zinc. Pumpkin seeds have been touted for their beneficial effects on cholesterol, prostate health, and arthritis as well.

Using olive oil and natural spices to flavor pumpkin seeds helps to increase their health benefits. Allrecipes.com has several variations on flavoring for pumpkin seeds. Here is a link to their recipes. http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Roasting-Pumpkin-Seeds/Detail.aspx. Their recipes don’t mention boiling the seeds beforehand, but if you like them crunchy try boiling them for 10 minutes before you bake them.