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10 Things Your Dentist By WILLIAM MAULDIN AOL: 10. "You think this root canal hurts -- wait till you get my bill."The skyrocketing cost of health care is an issue of growing concern; what you might not know is that dental treatment is rising faster than other medical services. A $1,000 dental bill in 1985 would translate into $2,837 today, since dental care has shot up at nearly twice the rate of inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and of all Americans who had at least one dental expense in 2003, the average annual cost was $540, up 41% from 1996. The good news is that 55% of Americans now have some kind of dental insurance, and 67% of employers offer dental benefits, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. But that's not the whole story, as employers are paying less of the tab than they used to: Only 28% of policies are fully covered by employers, and average premiums have risen almost 50% over the past 10 years, according to the National Association of Dental Plans. If you really want to save money on your teeth, take care of them. Experts say decay and gum disease can be prevented to a large extent, so don't forget to floss. Dr. JPM: Finally, a bit of plain old GOOD advice: prevent problems. Brush. Floss. Visit your hygienist. Or it's going to cost you. A lot. And despite "the good news...that 55% of Americans now have some kind of dental insurance..." the rest of the story has already been alluded to previously. Insurance pays what's cheapest for them, thus many patients end up doing the wrong thing from a dental point of view because "that's what insurance will cover." It is my contention that if you took all the annual premiums you pay to your dental insurance carrier and just gave it to your dental hygienist, she would give you back the change. Let's consider this dilemma. Needing insurance implies that you have some risk. For instance, health insurance is a great idea, because you never know when you're going to get hit by a car, or when you're going to have a heart attack. But dental 'insurance'? What are you insuring against? Any experienced dentist worth his salt can look in most any adult's mouth and predict what will be needed, for the rest of the patient's life. Your established lifelong habits, your current dental conditions and a comprehensive set of X-rays are a good predictor of your future dental needs. Barring trauma, which your dental insurance policy probably doesn't cover anyway, I can make a statement like "You need crowns here, here and here; you need a bridge here; you need to visit the hygienist once every three months and include a professional fluoride application every visit unless you stop living on Doritos and Coke, and you need to brush at least twice a day and floss once a day." That's a comprehensive, lifelong treatment plan. What are you insuring against? I would like to see a "Top Ten Things Your Dental Insurance Company Won't Tell You" article. That might have a bit more credibility than this pretty cheap shot, one sided article which forces a response lest these words be thought accurate. It was my pleasure. John P. Meyer, DDS
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