USE IT OR LOOSE IT!

The end of the year is fast approaching and some things seem to remain the same. Once again I'm talking about dental insurance. Each year our office in bombarded with calls requesting and appointment before the end of the year. Most dental benefits expire at the end of the year. It would be nice if they "rolled-over" like your cell phone minutes but we all know that is not the case. Needless to say, we never have enough available appointments to fill all the request. I thought I was alone in this insurance battle until I read a report that touched on this topic. The statistics are interesting.

Did you Know?

• It is estimated that more than 80% of people with Dental Benefits fail to use all of their benefits for that calender year
• It is also estimated that more than 90% of the 80% have untreated dental needs
  

The bottom line is, 7 out of every 10 people needing dental treatment fail to maximize their dental benefits each year. That's an enormous amount of unused benefits! Even more of a concern, that is a staggering number of untreated people.

Having dental insurance is an awesome benefit. If you have insurance and need treatment you need to remember, USE IT OR LOOSE IT!

Dr. Michael L Chandler
1745 W 33rd, Ste A
Edmond, OK 73013
405.330.4630
www.edmondsmiles.com

SLEEP IN AMERICA

I'm glad to announce that I recently began a mini-residency on Sleep Disorders at the UCLA College of Dentistry. Sleep disorders have been attributed to a multitude of health problems, leading to costly medical bills and often times death. According to some sources, Lack of sleep has been considered "America's top health problem!"

Here are a few statistics to that may be of interest

• It is estimated that over 12million Americans have Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• Only approximately 2 million people have been diagnosed
• 4% men & 2% of women have been OSA and daytime sleepiness
• 100,000 Traffic accidents are attributed to Drowsy Drivers
  
• Sleep Related Tragedies Include: Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl, and The Challenger
• People with sleep Disoders are 6x mole likely to be involved in a traffic accident

What does this have to do with Dentistry? Well you will have to stay tuned for future post.


Dr Michael L. Chandler
1745 W 33rd St, Ste A
Edmond, Ok 73013
www.mlcdental.com

DID YOU KNOW?

DID YOU KNOW?


o Dental Cavities is the MOST common childhood disease in the United States!

o Just 40% of children in poor or near-poor poverty level had a preventive dental visit in the past year.

o More than 51 million hours of school are lost each year by children due to dental related illness.

o Gum Disease is the most common cause of tooth loss in the United States!

o Gum Disease has been linked to other health problems including heart disease; stroke; diabetes; and pre-term low birth weight babies!

o Smokers are 3 times more likely to loose all their teeth when compared to non-smokers!

o Employed adults lose more than 164 million hours of work each year due to oral health problems or dental visits.

o 50 percent of Americans do not receive regular oral health care

o 33% of Americans have untreated tooth decay.

o More than 300 types of bacteria make up dental plaque.

Michael L. Chandler, DDS
Practicing Dentistry in Edmond Oklahoma
www.mlcdental.com

"THE ONE THAT DIDN'T GET AWAY!"

Many of my patients know that I am an avid fisherman. My son is 3 and this was his first fishing trip. After catching several small fish my son started to get a little bored. As any parent can attest to, keeping a 3 year olds attention is hard to do, especially for 2 hours. After an hour of fishing my son started repeatedly asking me if his bobber was going under. I would patiently tell him, " You have to pay attention." Well, maybe not so patiently. That's when it happened! His bobber went under and he started to reel in his line. You could see it in his eyes that this time was different from all the little fish. As his pole was bent over I kept telling him to reel it in. He would reply, "I CAN'T!" After a few minutes we finally landed the fish. A whopping 3.10lbs bass!

At that moment I reflected back on my life and the times my dad would take me fishing. In that instant a certain part of my life came full circle. Of all of my great moments in life this had to rank near the top of the list. It's hard to remember ever feeling so proud. It was more about the moment than the fish.

What does this have to do with Dentistry. Probably nothing or maybe everything. I love Dentistry. Dentistry has allowed me to help others, and provide a valuable service. It has allowed me to provide for my family and achieve several personal goals. But, very little can compare to that "MOMENT" I shared with my son on that Saturday morning! Not even Dentistry.

Dr. Michael Chandler (Proud Dad)
www.edmondsmiles.com

The Cost of a "NO SHOW"

Yesterday I had a referral from another doctor stating that they had a patient that needed several teeth extracted and was in severe pain. I told my Office manager to have the patient come in at 8:30 AM today. 8:30, no patient, 9:00 no patient. The patient was a No-Show. I've had No-Shows before but today it really got to me, today was supposed to be an off day for me. I was to stay home with my daughter who recently had her tonsils removed. Instead I brought her to the office with me to take care of a patient who was supposedly in "SEVERE" pain... and he never showed up.

When I speak of cost it's not necessarily the financial aspect, it is the lost time. When a patient fails to show up for an appointment, it wastes my time, my staffs time and other patients time. The time wasted could have been used on a patient who values their health care and appointments.

I know things happen and there are times in which appointments have to be broken. It just seems that out of respect for my time, or just as a plain common courtesy, that patients would at least call and let us know. We do our best at my office to try to stay on time. All we ask is that some patients respect our time as well.

For our patients that make their scheduled appointments and are on time I would like to say thank you. I really appreciate it.

Dr. Chandler
www.edmondsmiles.com

Just Pull IT!

Dr- Mr. Smith the old filling in that tooth broke and in order to save your tooth we are going to have to place a crown on it.

Mr Smith Aren't crowns expensive?

Dr- Yes they are, but the benefits outweigh the cost.

Mr Smith- That's OK, JUST PULL IT.

This scenario presents in my office at least once a week. Did you know that an estimated 50% of adults in America are missing at least one tooth.

I guess the question would be, "What's the Big Deal?" about loosing a tooth.

1. Loosing a tooth can cause other teeth to shift causing a change in the bite, which could lead to head aches, jaw pain, stress on the other teeth, as well as a host of related problems.

2. Loosing a tooth can create a food trap that could lead to gum disease in that area resulting in another lost tooth or gum surgery.

3. If the tooth is not all the way in the back people may be able to see the missing tooth, or black hole, when you smile. Studies have shown missing a front tooth can lead to self esteem and self confidence issues.

4. Replacement of a tooth could cost 2-3 times the amount it would have cost to repair the tooth initially.


Hopefully you will never be faced with the decision of whether or not to save a tooth. If you are faced with this decision, you can now make an informed choice before saying, "PULL IT"!



Dr. Michael L Chandler practicing dentistry in Edmond Oklahoma

www.mlcdental.net

You Want to Send Me to a "WHAT-A-DONTIST?"

"Dr. Chandler, you want to send me to the Oral Surgeon to get that Root Canal done?" Answer, "No, Mrs Smith, I'm sending you to the Edodontist. I usually send people to the Oral Surgeon to have teeth removed." Mrs Smith, "So what does the Endodontist do?" This is a typical conversation I have with patients when I find I necessary to send them to a specialist. As a General Dentist I perform many of the same procedures that a specialist would but there are times I find it necessary to refer a patient to a specialist. Currently the American Dental Association recognizes 9 Dental Specialties. Below is a simple list of specialties and a brief description of what each specialty does. Hopefully this list will help the next time your dentist needs to send you to a specialist.

• Periodontist- This is a specialist that is trained to treat all types of gum disease. Many periodontist perform other procedures such as extractions, placement of dental implants, sinus lifts, perio plastic surgery as well as many other procedures. For some actual before and afters of periodontal procedures click here.


• Prosthodontist-Prosthodontics is the dental specialty pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment planning, rehabilitation and maintenance of the oral function, comfort, appearance and health of patients with clinical conditions associated with missing or deficient teeth and/or oral and maxillofacial tissues using biocompatible substitutes


• Oral Surgeon- Oral Surgeons are often times associated with the removal of wisdom teeth. Oral surgeons do much more than just removing teeth. They have procedures ranging form dental implants to jaw surgery.


• Endodontist- An Endodontist is typically known for performing complex root canals as well as root canal surgeries


• Pedodontist- Also known as a Pediatric Dentist is mostly known for treatment of small and some adolescent children.


• Orthodontist- An orthodontist is primarily known for placing braces an other orthodontic appliances.


• Public Health, Oral Pathology, and Oral Radiology are also listed specialties.

Cosmetic Dentistry and Implant Dentistry are not currently recognized as specialties by the American Dental Association. There are dentist who have trained extensively in these fields, but as stated previously there are no specialist in Cosmetic or Implant Dentistry.

My description of the Dental Specialties is very brief. I have attached a link to each specialties organization for more information.

Michael L Chandler, DDS, Practicing Complete Family Dentistry in Edmond Oklahoma

405-330-4630 www.mlcdental.com

I HATE THE DENTIST!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Monday Morning and like most Americans I'm not quite ready for the week to start. My assistant comes to my office and says, Dr. Chandler we are ready for you in the first room, your first patient is a toothache on the lower left. My assistant also informs me that the patient has several badly decayed teeth. I enter the treatment room and introduce myself, "Hi, I'm Dr. Chandler". The patient looks me dead in the eye and says, "I just want to let you know, I HATE THE DENTIST! No offense to you Doctor, but I really hate the Dentist." Well hello to you too!

I'm sure someone has done a study somewhere listing the most hated professions and I venture to guess that Dentists are in the top 3. Probably just below Lawyers and Proctologist. Like I said, I don't have any data on this, I'm just guessing. Why is this? I could imagine that the fear of pain probably propels us(Dentist) to the top of the list. Maybe a bad childhood experience at the dentist. The invasion of personal space. I'm not sure. I do know that I hear the term I hate the dentist quite often. It's almost like people think I get joy out of their fear. For the record I do not. I often ask frightened children that I treat, "Do you think when I woke up this morning I said, I can't wait to go to work so I could hurt you?" Their response is always, No". Then I tell them, "Give me a chance, I PROMISE I'm going to do my best to make this as easy as possible". This usually works every time. It's not a script, I really mean it.

That reminds me of a 4year old patient I treated recently, He spoke very little English and my Spanish isn't that great. My assistant explained what we were going to do and we began and finished treatment in about 15minutes. Not a whimper, whine, tear, scream, yell, nothing. I was so pleased with his behavior that I gave him $5 and a toy from the treasure chest. This child was reminder of why I love dentistry. It was refreshing to know that I was able to help someone without them, "HATING", me. While he is probably too young to appreciate the value of dentistry, I can assure you that he didn't have a bad experience. It is my hope that this child will have a positive view of dentistry for LIFE!


I know that I personally take every measure to ensure that a patient has a pleasant experience in my office. I'm sure that 99.9% of all dentist across the country do as well. All we ask is that patients give us a chance.


What Do You Think, Why Do People "Hate" the Dentist?


Dr.Michael L. Chandler Practicing Dentistry in Edmond, Oklahoma


www.mlcdental.com

Does My Root Canal Really Need a CROWN?

All to often a patient presents to my office with a broken tooth that has been endodontically (Root Canaled) treated. The conversation between me and the patient is usually the same. My question, Mrs. Johnson, why didn't you get a CROWN on that tooth? Answer, My dentist never told me that I needed too. Well Mrs. Johnson, we need to extract the tooth now, it can't be saved!
I remember back to Dental School and having looooong lectures about crowns. One of the top reasons we were taught to do a crown was to restore a Root Canaled tooth. This lesson was told to us over and over again! It's hard for me to believe that most dentist forgot this lesson and have elected to not tell patients that their Root Canaled tooth needs a Crown.
For informative reasons, lets discuss what actually happens to a tooth once it is root canaled.

• Often times a large amount of tooth structure has to be removed during the root canal.
  
• The treated tooth is most often weakened by the root canal
• Over time the treated tooth becomes brittle.
• There is usually not enough natural tooth structure to support the remaining tooth.
• A filling or temporary filling will not adequately seal the root canal from contamination and support the remaining tooth.

So, what does a CROWN do for the Root Canal.

• Simply put, a crown protects the tooth and restores your Root Canaled tooth to normal form and function!

Let's face it, like everything else Dentistry is expensive, including a root canal. Ok I said it, Dentistry is expensive. I honestly tell my patients before we do a root canal, If you don't plan to get a crown on this tooth you may as well throw your money out the window, because your tooth will eventually break! A crown not only protects your tooth, it protects you investment.

My Denture Doesn't Fit!

It’s estimated that around 40 million Americans are missing ALL of their teeth! The most widely used treatment for a patient missing all of their teeth is a denture or dental plate. Patients often tolerate a top denture with fewer problems. The lower denture on the other hand is a different story. Most patients I have polled state that they are not satisfied with the fit of their lower denture. Years ago there weren’t many options for stabilizing a lower denture. Today patients have options that can help with the challenges of wearing a lower denture.

1. Mini-Dental Implants are becoming a popular form of treatment used to stabilize a lower Denture. When possible, 4-5 mini-implants are placed in the lower jaw and the existing or new denture is fitted to go over the mini-implants. The mini-implants have attachments that allow the denture to snap into place.

2. Dental Implants – “Regular” dental implants have a wider diameter than the mini dental implants. A lower denture can usually be stabilized with 2 regular implants as opposed to 4-5 mini dental implants. “Regular” dental Implants do have a tendency to cost more than mini implants

3. Implant supported Bars- This is when regular dental implants are placed and a custom “Bar” is made to fit over the implants. A new denture is made to fit over the connection bar. This technique provides for a very stable denture but is probably the most expensive of the three options listed.

If you or someone you know is unhappy with the fit of your denture you now know that there are options. You can contact your dentist for more information regarding alternatives for stabilizing you denture