With the continuously rising cost of dental care treatments more and more individuals are seeking out dental insurance to help them with their dental care cost.

Knowing what dental insurance plan would be best for your dental needs is important in order maximize your savings.

When shopping for dental insurance make sure you know how the individual dental plan you are reviewing works. Not all dental plans are the same.  Therefore knowing the benefits of each plan will help you choose one that best for you.

A study that was done by the Faculty of Dentistry at Malmö University that followed a cohort of dentists throughout their adult lives, show that our jaws decreases with age. The study showed that over forty years there was less and less room for teeth in the jaw. This crowdedness comes from shrinkage of the jaw, primarily the lower jaw, both in length and width. While this is only a matter of a few millimeters, but it is enough to crowd the front teeth.

That is a question often asked and although there is no one “Best Dental Insurance Plan” for all people there are dental plans that may work better for you and your family then others.

In order to know what dental insurance plan is best for you or your family you first have to know your own dental needs.   Such as if you already have a family dentist you are wanting to stay with then it would be important to know what dental insurance plans they are a provider of.  Like wise if you have a dental need that needs to be address ASAP you may want to choose from a plan that will not have long term waiting periods.

Another good way in choosing the best dental plan for you or your family is to make sure you read the terms and conditions of each plan.  Understanding the plans limitations will help you choose the best plan for you.

In recent studies it shows a lack of regular dental care increases their risk of chronic diseases and a reduced quality of life. Poor oral health can contribute to many serious medical conditions as well as affect a person’s ability to chew and digest food properly. With dental services not covered under the universal health-insurance program and many older adults not visiting dentists regularly, the study findings suggest that there should be more thought given into services provided to seniors in order to keep them healthy as they age.

In California we offer over 65 different dental insurance plans. Included in the plans available is Delta Dental HMO plans as well as there PPO and Free choice of provider plans. If you have a dentist wish to say with chances are they are a provider of one or of the  Delta Dental programs we have to offer.  Just enter your zip code in the quote box provide to be able to review our Delta dental programs as well as any of the other 60 plus dental plan options.

There are some dental insurance plans we offer such as SafeGuard, AlwaysCare and StandardLife that comes with Vision. When wanting both dental and vision for yourself or your family these would be good plans to review.

SafeGuard is a dental HMO which is a more affordable dental option that does not have waiting periods or yearly dollar maximum limitations. Where as AlwaysCare and StandardLife are the dental PPO or free providers plans allowing  you to stay with or choose your own dental provider.

If you are looking for dental insurance that does not have long term waiting periods then you may want to review dental HMO plan options available in your state.  Generally dental HMO plans do not have the waiting period that PPO or Free choice of provider plans come with.  Affording you the ability of having your needed dental services at the effective date of the plan and not months or year latter.

The unexpected findings could pave the way for the development of preventative measures in tackling gum, by manipulating the normal bacteria in the same way that probiotic yoghurt works to protect the intestine.  Researchers at Queen Mary’s Blizard Institute, including Medical Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellow Mark Payne, worked with scientists in the US; they published their findings in the journal Cell Host and Microbe.

Supplemental dental insurance is an individual or family insurance policy purchased to cover a portion of the dental costs. Supplemental dental insurance will normally not cover the entire dental care procedure.

If you have a primary dental insurance plan that you purchased or your employer provided, the supplemental dental policy typically covers the remaining dental bill.  For example, if the dental plan policy covers half of the dental cost, the secondary or supplement dental insurance plan should cover the remaining balance of your dental procedure.

A supplement dental insurance plan may also be purchased to cover the dental charges when there are annual dental benefit plan limits or exclusions.

Dental implants can be the best method for replacing a missing tooth, however it is also the most costly.   Most dental insurance plans do not provide coverage for dental implants, which means you are having to pay the full cost for this type of dental service there by  making cost a large factor to consider.

Dental Implants will involve surgically placing a titanium artificial root into the space that the root of the lost tooth once occupied.  A crown is then connected to the implant.   One benefit of having a dental implant is that the adjacent teeth are left unaltered.  The dental implant and its crown are a free-standing self-supporting total tooth replacement. Also a dental implant has the same chance to last a lifetime as one of your natural teeth.

Fine artist Steven Heward is the pioneer of tooth art called “Tattooth”.  He started designing on false teeth in a mini lab and has inked around 500 teeth since then. The images can range from animals,logos, letters and pretty much any other art form that you may want. The Heward Dental Lab known world wide for their quality crown and bridge work are now also training tooth artists to apply custom hand painted tattoos on a porcelain crown for your tooth.

A person can choose whether they want to have a permanent or temporary Tattooth. A permanent type is done by etching the design on the false tooth, which is then sealed with the help of a glaze. Later, the dentist simply incorporates it on a set of teeth. The temporary Tattooth (which is very much in vogue now) is similar to nail art that can be just stuck on the tooth and removed at will.

Another way to replace a missing tooth is by getting a Fixed bridge (Dental Bridges are also normally covered by most dental insurance plans)  A fixed bridge does requires some preparing, which involves cutting down, the teeth on either side of the missing tooth.  Tooth preparation of the adjacent teeth is irreversible and involves the removal of quite a bit of the tooth structure.

Providing this type of dental service is technically demanding and will require all of your dentist’s skill.  A well made fixed bridge will look natural, function well, and potentially last a lifetime.  However, 75% of fixed bridges fail within 7 years.  Make sure you go to a dentist that has experience in providing this type of dental service.

Did you know that your diet can play a large role in the health of your teeth and gums.   Here are some tips suggested by the American Dental Associations (ADA) in maintaining teeth and gums health.  Try to limit the amount of sodas and fruit drinks sweetened with sugar. Limited your consumption of cookies, candies, cakes and other desserts with added sugar. Eat nutritious snacks that are low in sugar.  Brush and floss daily and drinking water often throughout the day.

One of the more affordable tooth replacement option is an acrylic removal partial denture. (This is an option that is normally covered by dental insurance)  There are varieties of removable partial dentures and partial dentures are made to replace one to many missing teeth.

The Flipper is one of the more inexpensive type of partial denture.  However for replacing just one tooth, it may not be the best option, since it would be a lot of “hardware” in your mouth.  Along with the artificial denture tooth that fills the gap in your smile, there is a plastic framework that covers all or a part of the roof of you mouth.  This is necessary to keep the denture tooth in position and provide retention to keep the partial denture in your mouth.

To replace a missing tooth or not can depend on many factors, cost being one that can tend to stop many people. In fact due to dental cost there are still many people that find it cheaper to pull a tooth then to repair it by having a root canal and crown work done.

However what happens once you have a missing tooth and you chose not to replace it?  Over time the tooth that opposes the lost tooth may supererupt. An upper tooth that does not have a lower tooth to chew against will migrate down until it finds something to stop it, and vice versa. In addition if there is one or more teeth behind a lost tooth, drifting and tilting of these teeth can usually occur.  This can lead to a number of serious complications that include developing bite problems and even loss of additional teeth.

One way to help keep dental cost low is by having dental insurance.  By having dental insurance it will make replacing a missing tooth much more affordable, because in the end not replacing a missing tooth will only make for more expensive dental care sevices in the future.

There are many people that have missing teeth either do to gum disease, dental decay or trauma. Having missing teeth can effect how you feel about yourself.  Yet replacing a missing tooth depends on a number of factors which you should know before any dental services are started.

Make sure to consider such things as cost, time, comfort, esthetics and the effects of the treatment on the adjacent teeth and the rest of the mouth.

If you have current dental insurance you may want to make sure of your covered options. If you do not have current dental insurance and you wish to get some in advance, make sure such a service is cover as many dental insurance plan have missing teeth clauses that will not cover for preexisting missing teeth.

It is important to keep your dentures clean in order to help maintain a healthy mouth.  The ADA suggestions on how to properly take care of dentures. Dentures are fragile, so make sure while cleaning them you hold them over something soft such as a towel. You want to make sure you thoroughly brush your dentures daily using a denture brush or soft-bristled toothbrush to remove food particles and plaque. Clean your dentures with a gentle hand soap or mild dish detergent. Never with bleach or an abrasive powdered cleaners. Store your dentures in water or a dental cleansing solution in a safe place, and out of reach of kids and pets

In the Journal of Periodontology a study done found that subjects with periodontitis who were exposed to secondhand smoke were more likely to develop bone loss, which is the number one cause of tooth loss.

In previous clinical research it has been proven that there is a strong positive correlation between smoking and gum disease. However, this study done it is unique in that it evaluated the impact of secondhand smoke on periodontitis.  According to the study author Getulio da R. Nogueira-Filho, D.D.S.

Higher Medicaid Payments to Dentists Associated with Increased Rate of Dental Care Among Children. According to a Study in the July issue of JAMA Children from states that had higher Medicaid payment levels to dentist were more likely to receive dental care.  Although children that are covered by Medicaid still received dental care less often the children with private dental insurance.