Let’s Talk About How Dental Insurance Is Different from Health Insurance // San Bernardino County Orthontist

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Open Enrollment season is upon us again. Many people don’t think about how different health insurance is from dental insurance. WGBH published a great article about this, “Why Aren't Dental Benefits Typically Included With Health Insurance?” 

Health insurance first began in 1929. "‘It was actually not insurance companies that brought health insurance to the market in the U.S., but rather hospitals and physicians themselves,’ explained Melissa Thomasson, an economics professor at Miami University in Ohio.” 

“The idea, eventually called Blue Cross, was simple. Patients paid hospitals a small annual fee. In return, they were allotted a certain number of hospital visits each year.”

"‘It starts to be a huge hit,’ said Thomasson of these hospital-based insurance plans, as they spread across the country. ‘Hospitals like it because it’s getting their bills paid. People like it because it’s pretty cheap and it’s helping them budget.’"

Health insurance spread immensely during WWII. “It wasn’t until the 1950s that the first dental insurance plans were created, and the 1970s until they became commonplace.”

 "‘[Dental coverage] is not catastrophic coverage,’ said Adam Powell, a Boston-based health care economist and consultant. ‘It's the exact opposite in the medical world. There's almost a flip in benefit design.’"

‘So, what they’re doing in the dental space is they're selling a discount program,’ he said. ‘It’s almost like AAA for your mouth.’"

“With most dental plans, you pay little or nothing for basic services, like cleaning, until you hit a cap — at which point all further costs are on you.” 

"‘It is not serious insurance where there’s all this risk being born by the insurance provider,’ said Powell.” 

Most dental plans have a cap on how much they will reimburse each year. Health insurance is the opposite where you meet your deductible and everything over that is covered by the insurance. 

We want all of our patients to get the most out of their dental insurance so call and schedule those exams and cleanings!

Let's Talk About Parenting Styles // Chino Hills Pediatric Dentist // Pine Smiles

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The holidays being just around the corner also means we’ll soon be visiting or visited by judgmental family members! Kidding? Not kidding? While we know all Charleston parents, especially the ones whose children are patients at Magnolia Pediatric Dentistry, are doing stellar jobs, we thought it would be interesting to look at different parenting styles and summarize some of the more well known categories. While reading, please remember that there is no right way and no ONE way to raise a child, despite how many times your Great Uncle tells you that back in his day, ‘kids knew the meaning of respect and walked ten miles to school both ways in the snow year round.’ 

Authoritarian

Authoritarian parents often say, "Because I said so," when a child questions them. Parents are not interested in explaining or negotiating and do not want input from their children. They make the rules and enforce the consequences. Children follow rules, and endure the consequences. 

Authoritative

Authoritative parents use positive discipline to reinforce good behavior, and try to prevent negative behaviors before they start. Authoritative parents aim to strike a balance between being firm but also warm and supportive. Instead of forcing children to follow rules just because, authoritative parents will discuss rules and expectations as a family. 

Attachment

Attachment parenting stems from attachment theory, or the belief that children need to stay physically close to their primary caregiver for the first few years of life. Some followers of attachment parenting may be against sleep training methods like letting a baby or toddler cry it out.

Permissive

Permissive parents are lenient and often only step in when there's a serious problem. They adopt an attitude of "kids will be kids." When they do use consequences, they may not make those consequences stick. Permissive parents usually take on more of a friend role than a parent role. They often encourage their children to talk with them about their problems, but they usually don't put much effort into discouraging poor choices or bad behavior. 

Free Range

Free-range parents value teaching kids to become more independent. In short, it’s allowing your kid to do what you feel they’re capable of. Free-range parenting might seem like it only works for older kids, but the concept can be applied to children of any age. Findings suggest that letting children be more independent can foster a sense of resilience, where they’re better able to handle challenges and setbacks. 

Remember, as long as there are more smiles than scowls, you’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work.

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Let’s Talk Parenting Styles

Dr. Avani Gandhi 

Pine Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics 

Chino Hills, CA

The holidays being just around the corner also means we’ll soon be visiting or visited by judgmental family members! Kidding? Not kidding? While we know all San Bernardino parents, especially the ones whose children are patients at Pine Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics in Chino Hills, CA, are doing stellar jobs, we thought it would be interesting to look at different parenting styles and summarize some of the more well known categories. We’ve also included how we think they might handle resistance at tooth brushing time, just for fun. While reading, please remember that there is no right way and no ONE way to raise a child, despite how many times your Great Uncle tells you that back in his day, ‘kids knew the meaning of respect and walked ten miles to school both ways in the snow year round.’ 

Authoritarian

Authoritarian parents often say, "Because I said so," when a child questions them. Parents are not interested in explaining or negotiating and do not want input from their children. They make the rules and enforce the consequences. Children follow rules, and endure the consequences. 

Tooth brushing style: ‘Exactly two minutes, exactly twice a day. OR ELSE!’

Authoritative

Authoritative parents use positive discipline to reinforce good behavior, and try to prevent negative behaviors before they start. Authoritative parents aim to strike a balance between being firm but also warm and supportive. Instead of forcing children to follow rules just because, authoritative parents will discuss rules and expectations as a family. 

Tooth brushing style: ‘Everybody in the bathroom to brush together! Let’s learn from each others technique.’

Attachment

Attachment parenting stems from attachment theory, or the belief that children need to stay physically close to their primary caregiver for the first few years of life. Some followers of attachment parenting may be against sleep training methods like letting a baby or toddler cry it out. There is a lot of communication and interaction with children. 

Tooth brushing style: ‘Now let’s go through our plan for brushing one more time before we do the brushing dress rehearsal together and go over any questions you might have!’

Permissive

Permissive parents are lenient and often only step in when there's a serious problem. They adopt an attitude of "kids will be kids." When they do use consequences, they may not make those consequences stick. Permissive parents usually take on more of a friend role than a parent role. They often encourage their children to talk with them about their problems, but they usually don't put much effort into discouraging poor choices or bad behavior. 

Tooth brushing style: ‘You’re tired? That’s okay, let’s skip it this week.’ 

 Free Range

Free-range parents value teaching kids to become more independent. In short, it’s allowing your kid to do what you feel they’re capable of. Free-range parenting might seem like it only works for older kids, but the concept can be applied to children of any age. Findings suggest that letting children be more independent can foster a sense of resilience, where they’re better able to handle challenges and setbacks. 

Tooth brushing style: ‘If you come across a toothbrush in the woods, I’m sure they’ll figure out how to use it!’

PARENTS! Remember, as long as there are more smiles than scowls, you’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work.



Let’s Talk About Oral Health During Pregnancy // Pediatric Dentist Chino Hills // Pediatric Dentist San Bernardino

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Pregnancy can sure be rough! Your body is changing in all sorts of fun (and not so fun) ways. And your mouth changes too. Pregnancy increases your risks of developing oral diseases like gum disease and cavities because of the physiological, dietary, and hormonal changes that are happening.

Did you know that if you're having problems with your teeth or gums while you're pregnant, that it can increase the risk that your unborn child will have cavities? So your oral health routines before, during, and after pregnancy, will affect your child's oral health

A lot of women worry that it's not safe to go to the dentist while they are pregnant. Let me assure that it is safe and important, especially during this time that your body is changing so much! Go get your teeth cleaned, exams done, and ask questions if you have concerns about any changes occurring in your mouth. And it is safe to have x-rays taken; just make sure that a lead apron is used that covers your neck (to protect your thyroid) and your belly (to protect that sweet little baby). You can also have routine and emergency procedures done safely like fillings and extractions. It's actually more important to treat these urgent needs than to let them alone as we don't want the bacteria that cause tooth problems to cause infections and get into your bloodstream. 

There is one caveat ... as your pregnancy progresses into the third trimester, it will be more difficult to lay on your back for long periods of time. For this reason, if you do need to get any fillings or other work (besides exams and cleanings) you should try to schedule them in your second trimester.

We believe that it's so important for women to receive dental care during pregnancy for their overall health and their oral health, and for their children's oral health. Taking care of your mouth now helps you take care of your baby's mouth in the future, greatly reducing oral diseases in children! We know that if we can keep infants and toddler's mouths cavity free, they are much less likely to ever get cavities as they grow older.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to call us at the best pediatric dentist in Chino Hills, Chino, and Eastvale. (909) 393-4800

Let's Talk About Dental Specialties

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Did you know that pediatric dentists are specialists with 2-3 extra years of training and education after dental school? Pediatric dentists provide primary care and comprehensive specialty treatment for infants, children, adolescents, and individuals with special health care needs.

The majority of dentists are general dentists, and pediatric dentists comprise about 5%of the dentists in the US. While we think pediatric dentists are the bee’s knees, it’s important to be aware that we are only one of ten recognized dental specialties by the America DentalAssociation. So let’s break down what these other kinds of dentists are, and what they do.

Dental Anesthesiology: This is the newest specialty and was recognized in 2019!Congratulations! These are dentists who are extensively trained in the specialized field of anesthesia. They work with other dentists to provide anesthesia during patient procedures. If a child needs extensive dental treatment, they can come to our office and provide anesthesia there so we don’t need to take the child to the hospital or an outpatient surgery center.

Dental Public Health: These dental specialists want to improve the health of all citizens and support effective programs of oral health promotion and disease prevention.

Endodontics: Think root canals!

Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology: Their goal is to identify and manage diseases affecting the mouth. If you ever had a dentist take a biopsy, it was sent to a pathologist to get theDiagnosis.

Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology: They are dentistry’s specialists in radiology (x-rays).

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Think wisdom teeth! We refer many of our patients to oral surgeons to have those pesky wisdom teeth removed in later teenage years.

Orthodontics and Dento-facial Orthopedics: Pediatric dentists work very closely with orthodontists and may refer your child to them for braces during different phases of their growth and development.

Pediatric Dentistry: This is us! The big authority on little teeth! And of course my favorite one! We are the only age defined specialty.

Periodontics: These specialists are concerned with keeping the gums and bones in your mouth healthy.

Prosthodontics: They restore and rebuild mouths using implants, dentures, crowns, etc.

Let's Talk About Tough Topics

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There are a couple of commemorative days coming up next week that might lead to heavy conversations with your children. Monday is, ’Stand Up to Cancer Day,’ and Wednesday is September 11th. We’ve gathered some information on how to discuss topics that aren’t always easy to talk about. 

First, don’t treat it as a secret or taboo subject. Be matter of fact about the topics that arise and check your emotions when reacting to questions from your children. Modeling healthy behavior and emotion is a great way to make your children feel comfortable talking about any topic without fear of negative reaction. 

Second, ask them what they know and to explain it to you. In an article found on, ‘The Today Show,’ website, Dr. Lori Walsh suggests letting them take the lead in the beginning of the conversation to avoid sharing more than is necessary for their age. and to give them feelings of empowerment ask them to tell you what they know instead of launching into an explanation. 

Clear up misconceptions. Many times, information gleaned by your children from bits of information heard from the news or overheard conversations.  Be sure to address exaggerations or misconceptions. "(Children) pick up little pieces of information, and then they make up crazy stories because their 4-year-old brains can't make sense out of it," explains Walsh. It's important to correct any misperceptions.

Keep it simple. Use easy to understand language and don’t share concepts that would be difficult to comprehend. For example, five year olds won’t understand the intricacies of politics and terrorists, or cancer survival rates. Young children probably don’t need to see video of the twin towers, or hear about the side effects of chemotherapy. 

Make them feel safe by sharing examples of the solutions to issues. For example, we go through airport security so that the TSA can make sure something like 9-11 never happens again. Point out the people who work hard in our communities to protect our safety. Military, police, and firefighters are all working hard to keep us safe. For health topics, assure them by reminding them that we go to the doctor and dentist regularly to make sure we’re healthy, and that if there is something that needs to be treated, we find out early. 

Help children feel empowered to help! Join a local cancer walk, or write letters of encouragement to our troops! Research products that support causes your children care about. 

Lastly, give them time to absorb the news and communicate that they can always talk to you.