How to Correctly Floss Your Teeth

There are a lot of people that think flossing their teeth involves grabbing a piece of floss, and shoving it down in between their teeth then pulling it up. This is a rather ineffective way to floss. Read this article to know the correct way to floss your teeth.

Open your floss and pull off a section about 16 inches long (you need to be able to hold it in both hands).

Wrap each end of the floss around your thumb and index fingers of both hands for a good grip.

Open your mouth and stick the floss in between two of your back teeth, only pressing hard enough to get it to the base of them, just under the gums.

Now, pull the floss with your fingers in the direction of the tooth you want to floss so that it creates somewhat of a semi circle around the side of your tooth.

While slowly moving the floss up and down the side of the tooth,(go below the gums, but not very far) also pull on it with each hand to create a double motion to clean the whole side of the tooth.

Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each side of every tooth.

Visit your dentist every 6 months, and surprise him/her with your excellent flossing skills.

Most people like to floss in front of a mirror, it seems to help.

When flossing, it helps to start at one end of the mouth and go to the other, that way you don’t lose track of what teeth are done.

Remember, your goal is to floss your teeth, not your gums.

Don’t press the floss in between your teeth too hard, you can cause your gums to bleed and cause some pain (Unless you’re somewhat masochistic, in which case, be my guest).

Read More...

What to Do When You Need Multiple Teeth Cleaning Appointments

Did your dental hygienist or dentist tell you that you need more than one appointment to have your teeth thoroughly cleaned? Are you upset about this because your insurance only covers two cleanings a year? This article will explain the reason for the additional cleaning and the insurance codes than can be used to get your insurance to cover it!

Bring your insurance card with you to the dental office. Also, bring your insurance booklet about coverage to the dental office and/or the phone number of the insurance company. If the office does not know about your dental coverage or refuses to call the insurance company, then call the insurance company yourself. There should be a toll-free number on the back of your card.

Ask the dentist or hygienist for their diagnosis of the condition of your gums and insist on a copy of their complete periodontal pocket charting. (Some offices don't really check the gums, so if you insist on a copy of the periodontal charting, they will be forced to do so.) You can keep this chart for your reference so that you know where your problem areas are. You will also be able to see in the future if problem areas are getting better or worse. There is a space between the gum and tooth called a "pocket." Pockets 3 millimeters or less are within normal limits. Pockets deeper than that indicate gum disease. However, even pockets 3 millimeters or less can have early gum disease (gingivitis).

Have the dental hygienist show you the best way for you to brush and floss your teeth. There are many different ways to brush. Your brushing needs change over time. The way you were shown to brush as a child is probably not the way you should brush now. Brushing only cleans the front, back, and top of your teeth. You ABSOLUTELY need to clean the bacteria from in-between the teeth with floss. I know, we all hate this, but it is very important. Be sure you are not just flipping the food out from between your teeth with the floss. You must floss CORRECTLY to remove the damaging bacteria!

Have the hygienist or dentist explain the gum disease process to you. Plaque is the soft film that forms on everyone's teeth daily. It contains a lot of bacteria that can destroy the tooth (causing cavities). When you do not remove it all, it eventually mixes with the minerals in your saliva and hardens up into what people call tartar (or calculus). Plaque under the gumline has more damaging bacteria. In addition to destroying the tooth, it causes the gums to become inflamed and bleed and also destroys the bone that holds your teeth in!

Eventually you form gaps (pockets) between your teeth and gums that even your brush and floss cannot clean. In that case, the hygienist needs to do deep periodontal cleaning to reach those areas. Over time, when enough bone is destroyed, the teeth become loose, and then it is time for dentures! This process can occur more rapidly in some people, and much more slowly in others.

Some people do not even get the bleeding, but still lose the bone support around their teeth. Genetics is involved somewhat, but no matter how susceptible you are to gum (periodontal) disease, you will not lose your teeth if you remove the damaging plaque daily with your brush and floss. I am explaining this process as simply as possible. Please ask your dentist or hygienist to explain your unique situation to you. Also, ask the hygienist or dentist to explain the relationship between gum problems and the rest of your body.

Gum disease is an infection, and your head is not a little machine that sits on top or your body all by itself! The bacteria in your mouth get into your blood stream and flows throughout all your body! In the last several years, researchers have been finding relationships between gum problems and diabetes, coronary artery disase, respiratory, liver, kidney, and pancreatic disease, as well as miscarriages and preterm, low birth-weight babies.

Request the diagnosis code that the dentist intends to use to submit charges to the insurance company. There are other codes for cleaning teeth besides the ones used for the two preventive cleanings every year. Most people don't even know about these additional codes for gum problems. If the dentist recommends additional cleanings, then different codes should be used.

Request the dental office to "prior authorize" the dental procedures to the insurance company BEFORE any work begins--and also prior authorize any follow-up cleanings to the insurance company. Regular preventive dental cleanings are submitted to your insurance company as code 1110. If you need just one additional cleaning because you have gingivitis, then the first cleaning should be submitted as code 4355 (initial cleaning/bridge removal) due to gingivitis), and the second cleaning a couple weeks later after the gums are somewhat healed should be submitted as code 1110 (preventive cleaning).

You may have a co-pay. If the dentist or hygienist tell you that you need more than one additional cleaning (deep cleaning/periodontal scaling and root planing), then those cleanings to treat the gum disease should be submitted as code 4341. When that code is used, the dentist charges a fee for each quadrant/quarter of the mouth. That is the way the insurance companies want it, and it is the way all dentists charge it. It is charged that way because it takes a lot of time to do the deep cleaning, and sometimes not all quarters of the mouth need to be cleaned that way.

The name of that treatment sounds scary, but it is totally nonsurgical, and usually the hygienist or dentist give you anesthetic to make the area numb when they are working on it. The anesthetic makes you more comfortable so that someone isn't poking around in your inflamed, sore gums for an hour, and the anesthetic also helps reduce the amount of bleeding so that it is easier for the hygienist to do a good job for you. The fee for deep cleaning (also called periodontal scaling and root planing) can be quite high--often up to $250 per quarter of the mouth ($1000 for the whole mouth), so insist that your dental office send in a prior authorization before you begin the procedure, so that you will know how much your insurance company will pay, and how much is your responsibility. Some insurance companies pay 80% of this; some pay 50%; some don't pay. The insurance is a contract between your employer and the insurance company, so if your insurance doesn't pay anything, then it is because your employer contracted for it that way. Many dental insurances do pay these additional cleanings.

Your employer can always pick up better insurance for you, but it will cost you more.Do not let the dental office begin extra dental cleanings until you FULLY understand the complete cost and what portion your insurance company will NOT cover. Also, after periodontal treatment, the dentist may want to see you every three or four months for cleanings until YOU have your gum disease under good control. These cleaning should be submitted as code 4910 to the insurance company (periodontal maintenance cleanings). Many insurances cover up to 4 "periodontal maintenance cleanings" a year after periodontal scaling/root planing. Most people do not about this coverage. This is because after 3 or 4 months, different types of damaging bacteria start accumulating in your pockets, and if the pockets can be professionally cleaned out every 3 or 4 months, the dentist can HELP you keep the gum problems under control so that you do not reach the point where you need surgery.

However, you must understand that only YOU can bring the problem under control by brushing and floss the plaque off your teeth DAILY. (The extra cleanings help, but what YOU do daily at home determines if your periodontal disease gets better or worse.) Think of your brush and floss as an antibiotic--it is removing the bacteria that causes the gum disease and is possibly causing problems in your body as a whole. The dentist may also recommend other gadgets to clean your teeth. Each situation is unique, and he may possibly recommend medications. If your gum problem is advanced, he may recommend that you see a periodontist (a dental specialist in gum disease).

OR--if you just plain are not happy with the cleanings you receive from your dentist or cannot seem to get your gum problems under control no matter what your dentist or hygienist recommend, you might want to seek a second opinion from a periodontist. (I will warn you that there are many general dentists/hygienists who just do not treat gum disease. It is sad, but it takes a lot of experience and good skills to treat gum disease well, and some dentists/hygienists just are not interested in doing these procedures. It does not matter if the dentist is in a beautiful office or is the President of his local dental society. He just may not be into treating gum disease. He may not even tell you about it, because he does not have the skills to detect it. On the other hand, a dentist in a tiny office in a basement may have a hygienist who does highly skilled cleanings!

Read More...

How to Find Out What Dental Insurance Covers

Insurance companies offer different dental plans. What is covered depends on the plan you choose and the premium you pay. Many people are unaware of the kind of coverage they have under their policy and the treatment that is excluded. It is important to know what is covered, where and for how long.

Review your dental plan. Begin by looking at the major dental clause. It should list all the major kinds of coverage offered. Rarely, you will find a plan that reads, “Pay all.” Such plans are usually very expensive and rarely available under a group plan or dental plan.

Understand the limits on coverage. Some insurance companies provide a fixed amount of coverage on each of your medical bills irrespective of the duration of treatment or severity of the problem. Others provide a fixed to variable percentage of a pre-determined amount. Obviously, you cannot claim full reimbursement of the dentist’s fees. In effect, you will have to spend an additional amount from your pocket for the complete payment of dentist’s fees.

Talk with your employer and learn about what kind of coverage is available on your existing company dental plan. You will be surprised to know about several exclusions and may have to settle for diminished service on treatments--employers typically choose the cheapest dental plan for their employees.

Find out the demography of dentists you can choose for a particular treatment. PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plans restrict (PPO MAKES LESS RESTRICTIVE) the options available to visit a dentist of your choice in your region.

Learn about the basic aspects of stop loss and annual maximums in your plan. Ask your insurance agent if you have doubts. The annual maximum is the upper limit of the total expenses your insurance company will provide every year. If you are maxed out in three months, it means you have no dental insurance for the remaining nine months despite paying regular monthly, quarterly or annual premiums.

Learn about the plan under which your policy falls. Typically, dental insurance is available in three formats: Traditional indemnity insurance plans, PPOs and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Each plan has its own limitations on coverage.

Ask your local agent to clarify the UCR (Usual, Customary and Reasonable) terms. This is the term insurance companies use to standardize the fees.

Ensure that you get correct information about what is included and not included in your dental plan.

Consider buying a supplemental insurance for items and expense amounts not included in your primary dental insurance.

Talk to friends and colleagues to sort out dental insurance issues.

Seek an individual plan if you wish to be totally covered for all dental care costs. Remember, the premium will be substantially higher.

Contact your agent representative before getting a dental treatment. Ask questions on coverage and extent of expenses. If the treatment is to cost you more than expected, get it in writing from the dentist. This will save you a lot of trouble in case of rejected or exceeded UCR claims.

How to find out what dental insurance covers
What is included in your dental insurance?
Dental insurance coverage
Features of dental insurance

Read More...

Good Dental Hygiene Can Prevent Cavities And Gum Disease

Good Dental Hygiene Can Prevent Cavities and Gum Disease

Good dental hygiene is important for the overall health of your teeth and gums. Making periodic trips to your dentist for a cleaning and brushing and flossing your teeth daily can prevent cavities from forming and tartar buildup which can lead to gingivitis. There are many recommendations for good dental hygiene which can help you maintain healthy teeth and gums and avoid costly and invasive dental procedures.


One of the first steps in maintaining good dental hygiene is making regular visits to your dentist. It is recommended that you see your dentist twice a year for cleanings and examinations. Your dentist will remove any tartar from your teeth that has been built up in between visits and take x-rays of your teeth to make sure the roots are strong. They can also check for cavities and fill them while they are still small. They will examine your gums to make sure they are healthy and free from disease. Often after a regular cleaning, the dentist will treat the teeth with fluoride to help maintain the strength of the teeth. Regular dental visits are essential to good dental hygiene.

Following a regular daily brushing and flossing routine is also important to maintain good dental hygiene. It is recommended that you brush your teeth upon awakening, after meals and before you go to bed for the night. It is essential to brush your teeth thoroughly for at least ten to fifteen minutes in order to remove any plaque buildup and control tartar. Flossing is also important for good dental hygiene. Flossing can help prevent gum disease and cavities. Flossing removes plaque and food that remains stuck in between teeth that can decay and cause cavities. Food decay and plaque can also cause irritation to the gums, allowing them to bleed easily. Going without flossing can lead to tooth loss and gum disease. Flossing is recommended to be done at least once a day, preferably at bedtime in order to prevent receding gums, gingivitis and cavities between the teeth.

There are some other important steps to good dental hygiene that may not be as obvious or well-known. Cleaning the tongue is an important part of any good cleaning regimen. Brushing the tongue or scraping it removes a layer of bacteria that can be responsible for bad breath. Cleaning the tongue also removes decaying food particles, fungi and dead cells from the surface of the tongue. Tongue cleaning is an important step in dental hygiene as it can remove some of the bacteria that are responsible for tooth decay.

Practicing good dental hygiene can prevent disease and cavities and make your visits to the dentist painless and enjoyable. Getting into the daily habit of brushing and flossing, along with twice a year visits to the dentist is good preventative medicine for optimum oral health.

Read More...

Braun Professional Care

Gone are the days of the handheld toothbrush, today is the day of the electric toothbrush Electrical toothbrushes are now heavily recommended because they are planned and built to the standards of a dental surgeons advice, such as brushing times and gum care.

So the brand new proceedure for gleeming pearly white teeth is the contemporary electronic toothbrush. An electrical toothbrush, which many times is referred to as rotary toothbrush, is a device that uses electric power to move the tooth brush head. The movement of the toothbrush head is in a swirling motion that helps clean precisely between the teeth and in the far corners of your mouth. It is a fantastic experience to use the electronic tooth brush.

They come as a smashing benefit to those who have a kind of difficulty in managing the usual toothbrush and often elderly folk, or persons with some type of wrist complaints, can favour heavily from the satisfaction and least effort concerned in using an electric toothbrush.

Electrical tooth brushes typically have slight motors that move the head of the toothbrush independent of the toothbrush hand grip. What you need to do is to motion the tooth brush around the inner of the mouth, but you do not have to make the general brushing manouvers that clean the teeth. Electrical tooth brushes are getting very beloved amongst all the different age groups.

That is why many manufacturers have come up with different types of electric toothbrushes that suit different people. Also there is no classification of the toothbrushes, as they use a similar technology, but they can be very well classified based on their head styles. They can be approximately identified as soft to hard.

Softer bristled toothbrushes are intended for kids and are also beneficial for adults with bleeding gums. The hard bristled tooth brushes are typically used by grownups with normal gums and at the temperament to the elevated composition of dental intermission.

Brush Heads that come with average amount of sturdiness are most widely applied to grownups. Presently, the up-to-date tooth brushes consistantly have linked brushes of assorted hardness that are marked by varied shades for identification, with more firmer bristles in the middle of a brush efficiently clear eating surfaces of your teeth, outside gentle bristle clean without cutting gums.

There are lots of proven advantages of working an electric toothbrush. The leading benefit that is more clear is that distinguished to the hand-held toothbrush, an electrical toothbrush not only cleans greater but is also accountable for cleaner breath. The second benefit is that the electric toothbrush can reach deeper rims and outer parts that are difficult to be brushed by manual brushes.

Not only that, but the electrical tooth brush can also clean away the plaque and the bacteria and make your teeth appear more admirable. Compare the products on price and durability and also on the nature of the brush. This assists you to pick the greatest electrical toothbrush.

Read More...

Top Causes of Bad Breath

Bad breath, also called halitosis, is a common malady for many people. It can negatively affect interpersonal interactions as well as self-esteem. Fortunately, it can be treated effectively, and usually easily, at home. The cause of the odor simply needs to be identified first.

Some forms of bad breath are caused by the foods we eat. There is an initial scent that lingers, such as garlic or onions, that isn't truly "bad" breath. Rather, this is just the odor of the food most recently ingested. Other foods actually contain compounds that alter the way the air leaving our lungs smells. This form of bad breath is unpleasant, but there is nothing to be done to solve it, short of not eating those foods any more. The odor can be mitigated by using breath mints.

Most other bad breath is caused by bacteria of the mouth. This bacteria can in several spots, some easier to reach than other, throughout the mouth. When the bacteria excrete waste from what they have ingested, they leave behind certain compounds that result in foul odors. The majority of these compounds are sulfur based, which is why people often relate the taste in their mouth to the smell of rotten eggs or the "bottom of a bird feeder". Other scents that are considered unpleasant are also sulfur based.

Sufferers usually wonder how to get rid of bad breath. If the odor is bacteria born, the only way to effectively end it is to kill the bacteria. Good oral hygiene, beyond simply teeth brushing, involves a thorough cleaning of all areas of the mouth. This requires daily flossing and tongue cleaning. If bad breath is a persistent, troublesome issue, a special dentist-prescribed mouth rinse may be necessary.

One of the most important factors in bad breath prevention is not giving bacteria a hospitable environment to grow in. Saliva is a key factor in killing bacteria within the mouth; if the mouth becomes dry, or short on saliva, bacteria aren't effectively removed. Individuals who frequently complain of a dry or "cotton" mouth also often report bad breath or a foul taste. Dry mouth can be caused by dehydration, extended speaking or smoking.

Bacteria also grow well in an unhealthy oral environment. Gum disease, or gingivitis, as well as periodontal disease both cause a breakdown of the gums and tissues surrounding teeth. This gives bacteria a well protected place to breed, far from reach of a toothbrush or dental floss.

Not only that, it can cause bad breath in and of itself. The bacteria that break down the gums and tissues to cause the disease release the same waste materials as other oral bacteria. The initial cause of bad breath, an overabundance of oral bacteria, can often lead to secondary bad breath, caused by gum or periodontal disease. Thorough oral hygiene is the most effective ways to get rid of and prevent bad breath.

Read More...

Discount Dental Plans and their Utility

Discount Dental Plans have increasingly been useful and act as a handy alternative to dental insurance. They have revolutionized the process how millions of people solve their dental needs all over the US.


Unlike dental insurance, discount dental plans have no yearly limits and no tedious paperwork hassles. One can start saving right away especially with a discount dental plan and some plans even offer savings on cosmetic dentistry, orthodontia and other dental specialties. To top it all, most dental plans have no annual limits too!

Every person in the world is interested in making himself or herself healthy and fit. Teeth are an important of your body which indirectly helps to keep your body healthy because it is the primary organ necessary for you to digest food. Taking care of teeth and gums is vital to our dental health yet many care a damn for it, and regret it afterwards when they encounter sudden pain, excessive swelling in gums and so on.. Various discount dental plans provide a solution to millions of people in the U.S. to get rid of their dental maladies at astonishing rates. Gone are the days when you needed dental health insurance; now anyone can save on their own family dental problems.

Discount dental plans are perfect alternatives to dental insurance plans that start from $79.95 - $100 annual prices and most of them provide discounts in the range of 10% to 60% on most dental procedures. There are thousands of participating dentists who are part of the combined network of different discount dental plans, and also easy to find a dentist and plan in nearly all cities in the US states.

This is one of the samples of an unnamed dental plan which is discounted!
• You don’t have to wait! Instant Savings! No Paperwork! The Plan is affordable and simple!

• The Plan includes everyone in the house even if they are not blood relations.

• This is not a dental insurance plan; it is a discounted dental program, therefore, anybody and everybody has guaranteed acceptance. Save more than 40-60% on dental treatments for the year…no limits whatsoever. All ongoing dental problems are accepted, except for orthodontic treatment already in progress.

• The Dental Plan requires you can use one of the participating providers listed out by us. Otherwise it is essential to issue a request to the company to contact one of your providers to become a part of our list of providers. You can see the list on our website for more details.

If you already have family dental insurance then too, you are eligible to receive discounts offered by our discount dental plans along with your current insurance dental plans for even more dental care savings! You can even consult with one of the dentists you know that participate in our discount dental plans before beginning your dental care treatments.

Save money on your dental care by choosing the best discount dental plans in the US! You can learn more about the plans and their comparison with dental insurance plans

Read More...