Preferred Provider is a term used by the Insurance Industry to make it sound like these doctors/dentist are “better” than others.  Makes it seem that perhaps your Insurance company has graded the dentist in some way to prefer them over all the other dentists in the area.

In reality, a “Preferred Provider” to a dental insurance company is a dentist that has agreed to take reduced fees in order to be on a list.  And remember that no dentist goes on a list to make less money.  It means they need more patients and they will reduce their fees to get them.

So, how do they make up for the reduced fees?  One way is double booking appointments so they can see more patients in the same day and make up for what they are reducing in thier fees.  What does double booking appointments mean to you?  A long wait in the reception area, in the dental chair, and being rushed through your appoinment just to start with.

Dental Insurance is different than Medical Insurance - In many ways, too many to put in the blog post.  But here are the highlights

• 9 out of 10 medical doctors are on an Insurance preferred provider list
• 2 out of 10 dentists are on an Insurance preferred provider list
• Medical Insurance Lifetime maximum coverage per patient can be 1 million dollars
• Dental Insurance Annual maximum coverage per patient ranges from $800 – $1500 per year.  That would be a lot of years before it reached a million.
• Medical Insurance monthly premium fee is hundreds of dollars
• Dental Insurance monthly premium fee is $10 for a family of 4

So when you decide to chose a dentist because your insurance provider has them on a list, think about this:   Did you spend more time chosing where you are going for lunch?

Columbus Ohio Dentist

With just over 30 years experience owning a private dental practice in Columbus Ohio area,  I have seen a lot of patients.  Although there are exceptions to every rule, here is my perspective on the types of dental patients.  Take the poll and see where you fall with others.

Old Faithful - These are the patients that come to see us on the recommended check-up schedule 2 or 3 times per year.  If they have gum disease or decay they get it taken care of.  They have healthy smiles because they take care of their smiles.

Only when it hurts – These patients are under the myth that they only need to come to the dentist when it hurts.  The sad truth is that they could avoid the pain that typically comes with neglecting their dental care by making routine visits.  Decay and gum disease, doesn’t go away….. it grows and becomes more expensive and painful to fix.

Every year or so – These people still call us their dentist even if we only see them every other year.  They typically need a filling or crown which could have been avoided with regular visits.  They continue to pay for dental insurance even though they aren’t using it.

Too afraid to go to the dentist- These people have perhaps had a bad dental experience in the past that keeps them from getting the dental care they need.  This is a sad situation.  Dentistry is constantly changing and there are new materials and methods to reduce fear and anxiety.  Sedation dentistry can be an excellent method to help the patient that has always been afraid of the dentist.  If you have a fear of going to the dentist, you owe it to yourself to see if a sedation technique would help you get the dental care you need.

I can’t go to the dentist,  I don’t have insurance -  You need to go to the dentist to maintain your teeth, if you want to keep them functioning for life.  Just as a car needs oil, (which isn’t covered by car insurance) your smile needs professionally cleaned to get all the gunk out.  In addition, your teeth break down and start to wear out with constant daily use.  A dentist can catch problems early when they are small, and less expensive.  And you can bet that the money you are trying to “save” by not going to the dentist now will be a lot less money saved than the money you will spend to get the bigger dental problems fixed in the future.

Besides, what you save by not paying an insurance premium will cover most if not all of your professional dental cleaning costs.  And remember… just because it’s called dental insurance doesn’t mean it “insures” you of no out of pocket costs.

It’s that time of year again!  It’s time to plant the vegetable garden.  Since we are in the midst of landscaping our house we have planted a raised bed mostly with herbs and lettuces but my wife planted some Sugar Snap Peas and radishes and the squirrels didn’t get all of the seeds so we have some plants growing. 

We did a 1/2 plot in Wallace Gardens last year and found that it was too much work even if it was just down the street.  We smile when we drive by the Gardens now… smile because we don’t have to go tend to the weeds and watering.  We can go home… and tend to various house projects.

As we plan out our landscaping we want to plan some space for tomatoes and a few vegetables in amongst our other landscaping plants.  There are  a lot of creative ideas out there for those of us without a large lot.  See the link below for some ideas.

Small Space Gardening

We enjoy being part of the Grandview Heights community so when we see an event that is fun for the whole family, we want to do our part to promote it.

The Agora is a festival that brings together musicians, artists, performers, vendors, and art patrons, and more for a celebration of the arts. Agora is an event to be enjoyed by people of all ages, with a wide range of activities planned from the early afternoon into the late hours of the night.

The event will be complete with outdoor stages, Soap Box Derby, booths with vendors, food and beverages. In addition there will be the usual dancers, poets, musicians, and hundreds of works in an  extraordinary art show.

Saturday May 16th from Noon until Late

889 Williams St, Columbus Ohio 43212

For more information goto http://www.agoracolumbus.com/2009/

Columbus, Ohio Invisalign Dentist

Hi!  My name is Kathy and I am a very happy Invisalign patient.  I started my Invisalign treatment at Grandview Dental Care in April 2008 and I am just finishing up.  It really went fast!

In the beginning of my treatment I had some trouble getting my aligners in but with the help of the staff I was able to get the hang of it.  My trick was to position the aligner over my teeth and then start on one side and push the aligner on with my finger.  The Invisalign aligners kind of “pop” like a Tupperware seal and then you know it’s on.  To get the aligner out it helps to have a fingernail to get it started.  Even with these minor inconveniences if I had the choice to do Invisalign all over again, I would.

I decided to do Invisalign because my teeth were crowded and when I closed my mouth there was a tooth turned out that you could see under my lip. (see my before/after picture here) I didn’t like the way it looked and the front tooth just seemed to be protruding more, so I came to see Dr. Thompson during one of their Smile Extravaganzas.

None of my friends could tell I was wearing the aligners until I told them.  I thought it was harder to talk but no one else noticed a difference in my speech.

In the beginning the aligners were really tight but they were moving my teeth so I guess that is to be expected.  I was also not a big fan of the “sand paper” adjustments between my teeth but it wouldn’t stop me from doing Invisalign.

Dr. Thompson really knows what he is doing.  I was a little concerned because I was near the end of my treatment and my front tooth was being stubborn about moving into it’s final position but it eventually moved into place just like the clincheck and Dr. Thompson said it would.  Click on the links below to see my clincheck movie of my tooth movement with Invisalign.

smile_front_view

smile_from_below

So, if you are on the fence about whether or not to do Invisalign, if you are self conscious about your teeth I say “do it”!  The results are incredible, the time flew by and I could see the results a long the way.

The people here at Grandview Dental Care were wonderful!  Thanks for my new smile!

Columbus Ohio Invisalign Dentist

Dr. Thompson has been an Invisalign certified provider since 2002 and has treated over 150 patients with Invisalign since then.  We really do see Invisalign patients in our office everyday.

If you are curious about Invisalign there are a lot of Invisalign Dentists to chose from in the Columbus Ohio area.  But how experienced is the Invisalign Dentist you are choosing to visit?  Here are some questions to ask that will help you to determine if this is the dentist you want taking care of your Invisalign Smile.

1. How long have you been certified as an Invisalign Dentist?
2. How many Invisalign cases have you done?  How many in the last 6 months?
3. Can I talk to some of your Invisalign patients about their experience with Invisalign and with you as their dentist?
4. Can I see some before and after pictures of some of your Invisalign Patients that have the same situation as me?
5. Can I see a Clincheck movie of one of your patients and compare the clincheck with the actual end results?
6. Are there any alternatives for my smile?  Do you offer those alternatives?  Sometimes Veneers are an alternative to Invisalign.  If a dentist doesn’t do both types of procedures, are you really getting the best solution for your smile?
7. Beware of dental professionals that claim that, their way is the only way you can have a straighter smile.  Typically with dentistry you have options.  It all depends on what you want.
8. How many Invisalign patients are on your schedule this week?  If they say anything less than 10 you might consider a second opinion at another Invisalign dentist.
9. Do you offer any sort of warranty or guarantee? In our office we stand behind our work 100%.  We want you to be happy with the level of care, service, and dentistry that we provide and will work with you until you are satisfied.
10. Is the dentist passionate about dentistry or are they just showing up for a J.O.B. ?  The enthusiasm a dentist and staff has for his/her work will be evident throughout your entire smile consultation. Don’t settle for anything less than what you deserve.

Take the Invisalign Smile Assessment Survey to discover if Invisalign will work for you and your lifestyle.