Find a dentist and cheap dental insurance plan

It was fear of the hefty bill as much as fear of the drill that kept American musician Don Clay away from U.S. dental clinics for 30 years.

When a sorely infected tooth eventually drove him to the dentist last month, it was to a clinic in a Mexican border city better known for violent crime and drug cartels. Shrugging off concerns about hygiene and Mexico’s brutal drug war, thousands of Americans are heading to Ciudad Juarez and other Mexican border cities for cheap dental treatment. “I had to get my teeth fixed. I need a perfect smile to make a successful career in music. Treatment in the United States is so pricey,” said Clay, a Texan trying to get a record deal as a hip-hop artist. U.S. dental treatment costs up to four times as much as in Mexico, making it tough for uninsured Americans to treat common problems such as abscessed teeth or pay for dentures.

A dental crown in the United States costs upward of $600 per tooth, compared to $190 or less in Mexico.

Aspiring Mexican dentists are moving to border cities in droves and are luring American patients away from farther flung discount destinations such as Hungary and Thailand. Americans have long crossed the border for cheap medicines, flu vaccines, eye surgery or specialist doctors, but dentists are now in highest demand. Dental clinics are on almost every block in central Ciudad Juarez, ranging from dingy dives to clinics that look more like posh hair salons. Getting there involves dodging prostitutes, drug pushers and cowboy-boot sellers.

BARGAIN-HUNTING

“We’ve gone from a handful of patients when we started 2-1/2 years ago to 150 new patients a month,” said Joe Andel, an American who owns the Rio Dental clinic in Ciudad Juarez with his Mexican dentist wife, Jessica.
Rio Dental, which uses U.S. labs to make its crowns, picks patients up at the airport in El Paso, Texas, across the border and has treated people from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. “The Internet makes this possible. It allows patients to find us and research us and shows we can do dental work of equal or superior quality to the United States,” Andel said. Internet bloggers swap stories and compare notes about Mexican dentists, but it always comes down to money. Dentistry in the United States has become prohibitively expensive for some patients, with bills that can run to tens of thousands of dollars. Malpractice insurance premiums, operating costs that are much higher than in Mexico and dentists seeking to claw back the rising cost of their tuition all weigh.

Even among Americans who have medical insurance, many find they are not covered for treatment other than the basics, and paying on credit means high interest payments. “I did $4,000 of dental work in the United States and put it on my credit card. Because of the interest, I only paid off $400 in three years,” said a U.S. teacher from New Mexico getting treatment in Ciudad Juarez who gave his name as Bill. Cosmetic dentistry, which insurers do not cover and which can be paid in dollars in many Mexican border clinics, is also popular, Ciudad Juarez dentist Luis Garza said.
“If you want a perfect smile, you have to pay for it, and we can do it cheaper, that’s all,” he grinned.

A boy bit into a Tesco sausage - and found a tooth inside. David Walker, 10, was eating dinner with his family when he felt something hard as he chewed. He spat it out and realised it was a tooth.

David Walker, 10, found this tooth in a Tesco sausage

His father Andrew, a writer, said: “It was a pretty gross moment. David ran upstairs and cleaned his teeth because he was so upset. Nobody else finished their meal.” Mr Walker, 41, took it to environmental health officials who confirmed that it was a milk tooth. “If it was a pen or a 50p piece I could perhaps understand that it fell out of a worker’s pocket but a tooth is different,” he added. The £1.02 pack of 24 Tesco Value sausages had been delivered to the Walkers, from Cheltenham, by Tesco’s online store.

He was eating his sausages with chips when he found someone else’s tooth in his mouth. On Tuesday, David’s parents, who have four children, cooked the sausages with chips. Tesco apologised and said: “We do take such incidents very seriously and would welcome the opportunity to carry out our own investigation with our supplier.” David’s mother Helen, 41, said: “I can’t imagine David will eat sausages again.”

Combining the latest in braces technology and fashion, 3M Unitek Corp. introduces Clarity SL braces, a clear, self-ligating braces system. Made from translucent ceramic, Clarity SL braces are designed to blend in with teeth, help teeth move faster, and make braces easier to clean, while eliminating the less desirable appearance and hygiene issues of ordinary braces. Clarity SL braces are now available nationwide.

Unlike traditional braces, self-ligating braces such as Clarity SL and SmartClip™ brands from 3M Unitek do not need elastic bands (ligatures) to attach the wire to the brackets. Ligatures can slow down the teeth-moving process by causing friction or resistance, much like driving a car with the emergency brake on. Eliminating elastics reduces friction and can help the braces work more efficiently.

With the introduction of Clarity SL braces, consumers do not have to choose between clear and self-ligating braces. They can get both in one system.

“For the first time, adults and children who need braces no longer have to trade off looks or performance to achieve a beautiful smile,” said Anoop Sondhi, DDS, MS, an orthodontist in Indianapolis, Ind. “Clarity SL braces are an important new option, especially for teens and adults, who often want less visible braces and to get their braces off as quickly as possible.”

Clarity SL braces use advanced technology 3M Unitek pioneered for its SmartClip Appliance System, the first truly self-ligating braces. Designed with sophisticated engineering and space-age material, these braces use a unique clip to hold the wires in place without elastic ligatures, yet carefully regulate force. With no mechanisms to slide or clog or become difficult to operate, these clips permit easy and simple wire insertion and removal. The result is less patient discomfort and more efficient treatment.

Self-ligating technology is one of the most significant modern innovations in orthodontics. According to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), the self-ligation market grew 40 percent from 2005 to 2006. Although conventional braces are still a good option, braces without elastic ligatures allow the use of lighter force, which can move teeth into position more efficiently and comfortably, shorten overall treatment time and may mean fewer and quicker visits for adjustments.

Ordinary braces, which are typically worn for 18 to 24 months, require time-consuming adjustments about every four to six weeks to change the elastics and wire. Since they do not use elastic ligatures, self-ligating braces may need adjusting only every two or three months, depending on the stage of treatment. In addition, the intelligent clip mechanism of Clarity SL and SmartClip braces allows the orthodontist to easily insert and remove the wire, helping to reduce chair time at each visit.

“Today, most patients and their parents have extremely busy schedules, and it can be difficult finding the time or taking off from work or school for frequent adjustments and changing ligatures,” said Dr. Patrice Pellerin, an orthodontist in Quebec, Canada. “The convenience of fewer and faster appointments over about 14 to 18 months of total treatment with Clarity SL braces is a great service to patients and orthodontists.”

Cosmetically and hygienically, self-ligating braces can help patients keep their braces and teeth cleaner. The elastic ligatures used with conventional braces can discolor and stain, drawing unwanted attention to the mouth. On a more serious level, the elastic bands can trap food and harbor bacteria, which promote tooth decay. They also make brushing more difficult, making it a challenge to keep braces, teeth and gums clean. Self-ligating braces can offer improved patient hygiene and help increase patient confidence during treatment.

According to the AAO, nearly 5.5 million Americans wear braces. Although about 80 percent of them are children and teens, more adults than ever are beautifying their smiles due to the growing variety of appliances. From 1994 to 2004, the number of adult patients grew 37 percent.

3M Unitek: a leader in orthodontic innovation

Clarity SL braces are the latest innovation from 3M Unitek, meeting the challenge to develop a bracket with the optimum combination of aesthetics and efficiency. Using advanced technology, the bracket combines the aesthetic properties of Clarity Ceramic Brackets with the technology of SmartClip Self-Ligating Brackets.
For more information, visit http://www.3MBraces.com.

Can you believe that? Black toothpaste!

If you are using a black toothbrush, you might as well go all the way and use black toothpaste as well… Here it is! The oddly named “Toothpaste Thought up by Hiroshi – Pure BLACK” by Three-Hills Co., Ltd is a black toothpaste that could be especially efficient for people concerned about halitosis or periodontal disease. It promises beneficial effects on gums, and with its squid-ink-like appearance it must be so much fun to use - if you feel adventurous. And we bet you are!

Black toothpaste with a long name: “Toothpaste thought up by Hiroshi - Pure BLACK”. Your teeth will look black while brushing, but certainly much better after rinse! But who is Hiroshi?

 

Can you believe that? Black toothpaste!

Not really knowing what it was, I held it in my hands admiring the type in both English and what I’m going to assume was Korean (not sure) - she then exclaimed it was black toothpaste. Black toothpaste? Interesting idea though I’m not sure how it would take to my mouth. This morning I tried it for the first time, the experience ended up being less pleasant then I first thought it would be. I was fine seeing the black stuff on my brush, it wasn’t until it went into my mouth when my stomach started to turn. Near the end I barely could brush my tongue and when I spit it out to rinse I felt a bit queezy. In the end though my mouth did feel clean, but I’m not sure if the weirdness that I felt would be something I’d want to do again.

 

A black toothbrush - how significantly effective!

You can easily find toothbrushes in white or shades of pastel with an eye toward cleanliness. With this “Fresh Black Toothbrush” by Jacks, however, the handle and even the bristles are black. They use special black hair with platinum colloid ceramics which are supposed to effectively remove plaque - even without toothpaste! All kids will want one of those…

The “Fresh Black Toothbrush” by Jacks. What is missing now? Correct, the need for a black toothpaste…

When I’m flat on my back, mouth open, bright lamp shining overheard, I feel vulnerable. So when my Dentist asks me “have you been flossing” in that dark tone all Dentist possess. I want to lie and say “everyday, twice a day!” but sadly I know deep down inside, my Dentist can see right thru me. The Oral Hygiene Monitor makes it that much easier for your Dentist to know what you’ve been doing with your mouth.

A small unit containing a scanning plate can be mounted anywhere in your home. Each day you are to bite down on the plate and place it back on the unit. Information about your mouth is then transmitted to your Dentist. The personalize database will help you and your Dentist decide what’s best for your teeth and mouth. My God! It’s like Big Brother’s in my mouth!

Oral Hygiene Monitor Narcs On Your Jacked Up Teeth.

When you go to the dentist the last thing you want to divulge is the fact that you drink 12 Mt. Dews each day. So why the hell would you voluntarily use an oral hygiene monitor that informs you dentist about your bad habits? Each day you would bite down on the plate and insert it into a unit that can be placed anywhere in your home. The information collected would be sent to your dentist and archived to determine the best course of action for correcting your teeth. The device is only a concept at this point, and my guess is that it will stay that way. After all, why do you need a dentist to tell you that you are not brushing and flossing regularly? You know that chewing gum and drinking Mt. Dew doesn’t equate to brushing your teeth and using mouthwash right?

Our subject will be this rather jolly, but yellow toothed, gentleman :

First off, zoom in to the mouth area and press ‘q’ to go into masking mode, then select a suitable sized brush and begin coloring in the teeth - because you are in masking mode it will paint over the area in a red shade. Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations on your decision to get dental braces. They will greatly improve your smile and overall looks once they have completed their transformation of your teeth!

If this is the first time you have ever worn braces, you will likely develop sore areas on your cheeks, lips, and gums from the metal brackets and wires of the braces. These sore areas are caused by the hard and sharp metals rubbing against your sensitive inner mouth skin. Thankfully, there is a solution to the problem of mouth sores from your braces - dental wax.

Dental wax can be applied any area on your braces which is causing you discomfort and soreness. Dental wax can help to provide you with a protective barrier between your braces and the rest of your mouth, to help you get used to your braces quicker, and to help them feel much more comfortable as well.

Dental wax can be used on any portion of your braces. The most popular place to use it is in the very back of the mouth where the last brackets and end wires are located. However, you can use dental wax anywhere you feel it might be helpful and make your mouth feel more comfortable. You only need a small amount of dental wax to get relief. To use it, simply take a piece and gently warm it between your thumb and finger. Once it has become soft and pliable, then you can stick it onto the area which is bothering you.

By using wax when you need it, you can help to avoid painful canker sores and other irritations in your mouth caused by your braces. There are many different forms of dental wax on the market today. Here is an overview of a few of them:

Dental Wax for Braces

Dental Wax for Braces is the typical wax used with braces. It has been used safely for years and works well. Dental Wax for Braces comes in clear and also colors.

OrthoSil Silicone Dental Wax for Braces

OrthoSil is not exactly a wax, but more of a silicone product. It comes in strips and is much more pliable than average dental wax.

Brace Guard Silicone Wax

Brace Guard is wonderful because it can be removed and reapplied without crumbing like traditional braces wax does.

No matter what your choice for dental braces wax, you will find that it helps you to feel a lot more comfortable in your dental braces. It also helps to keep in mind that your braces are working hard to give you that wonderful smile you have always wanted. There is some pain along the way, but in the end it is all worth it.

According to a new study, there is no association between breastfeeding and tooth decay in infants. However, it was found that being poor, Mexican-American, or having a mother who smoked during her pregnancy, were independent factors that raised the risk of early childhood tooth decay.

Dr. Hiroko Lida, University of Rochester, New York, explained that despite limited epidemiologic evidence, there has been concern that breastfeeding and its duration could raise the risk of early childhood tooth decay.

Lida and team decided to carry out a study aimed at assessing the potential link there might be between breastfeeding and other factors with the risk of early childhood caries in the USA.

The researchers gathered information on infant feeding and other child and family characteristics among 1,576 children aged 2 to 5 years from the 1999-2002 National Health Nutrition Examination Survey.

After making adjustments for factors which could influence the likelihood of early childhood tooth decay, the scientists found that there was no link between breastfeeding, regardless of how long it went on for, and tooth decay during early childhood.

They did find that the following factors raised the risk of dental caries for an older child:

– Being poor
– Being Mexican-American
– Not having been to the dentists during the last 12 months
– Maternal smoking during pregnancy

They also found that being poor and Mexican-American was independently linked with severe early childhood tooth decay.

The scientists concluded that there is no evidence that breastfeeding or its duration are independent risk factors for early childhood tooth decay, severe early childhood caries (tooth decay), or decayed and filled surfaces on primary teeth. As being poor, Mexican-American, and smoking during pregnancy are independent risk factors, the researchers say these groups need to be targeted for early preventative dental visits.

"Association Between Infant Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Caries in the United States"
Hiroko Iida, DDS, MPH, Peggy Auinger, MS, Ronald J. Billings, DDS, MSD and Michael Weitzman, MD
PEDIATRICS Vol. 120 No. 4 October 2007, pp. e944-e952 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-0124)

How Does Online Pharmacies Affect Pharmacy Leaders?

With cheaper drugs made available online, big pharmacy companies are losing control of their monopolistic control over the pharmacy industry. They are not able to compete with these online pharmacies with their exorbitant drug prices. FDA moves in and tries to protect these companies from online pharmacies by trying to censor online information from users. What FDA does not know about the internet is: nobody controls internet and the spread of information over the web. Even major search engines like Google have no control over the use of information on the web. Google protects and encourages free speech on the web and that is why searching online for products is so good- you can find anything online these days. If major pharmaceutical leaders cannot compete with online pharmacies’ prices, they should look to resolving the situation themselves, not use FDA or use political pressures. What good is the internet if certain products are censored?

How Good Can It Get?

Buying medicine online is the way of the future. They do away the need for extensive pharmaceutical company structures and hundreds of drug salesmen stalking hospitals and clinics every day. When comparing online pharmacies and pharmaceutical leaders, it is similar to comparing Toyota and BMW. Online pharmacies work just like Toyota- cheap and more effective. They are safer and better than BMW in many ways while BMW represents the prestige of owning a continental car.

Clearly, we should present cheaper drug alternatives via online pharmacies to internet users as well as brand name drugs. So far, US pharmaceutical industry is infested with drug lords and BMWs, but why can’t there be more online pharmacies and Toyotas?

Can you always trust your dentists’ recommendations? Think for yourself - in the last 30 years the health of our teeth has improved dramatically. We drink fluoridated water, which almost eliminated decay in our teeth. We eat better, we brush and floss. Yet the amount of money we spend on dental care continues to rise. Could it be connected to the fact that the amount of dentists is increasing every year without any proportion to increases in population?

Let’s face it - your dentist is in a business like everyone else. And since it is a very attractive business (the dentists’ income is three to five times above the average), more and more students are graduating from dental schools every year. What does it mean to your dentist? He has to face a very tough competition. He must pay his increasing costs (malpractice insurance, new materials, office maintenance) from an ever shrinking pool of potential patients. The only way he can do it is by raising income derived from each patient. What does it mean to you? You are the one, who is asked to pay the price. As the marketing experts phrase it: "In order to stay in business, a dentist must offer bigger and better services". Translate it into regular language - the dentist must try to sell you more services regardless whether you need them or not. The amount of money we spend on dental medical services is already insane and it grows every year. A dentist pays hundreds of thousands of dollars for his rising insurance costs, office maintenance, assistant and secretary salaries. If he makes less than $400,000 a year, he considers himself a failure.

There is a clear contradiction here. You want to spend as less as possible on your dental care, and your dentist will earn less if he does that. Yes, I know. Your dentist is a decent person. He wouldn’t do such things. I agree with you. But often there is no clear-cut solution (in most cases). I want to believe that most dentists are good. But why are their prices keep rising? Check for yourself. How many seminars are on the Net promising to increase a dentist’s profits. And what exactly do they preach? Selling you services, which you might not need. Evaluate your dentist’s recommendations using the same common sense, as you would apply to any other business proposition. Is it really necessary? Is there some other alternative treatment, which may achieve the same result? With the amount of information available today on the Internet you can educate yourself in the new and not so new techniques used for the dental care. You might be able to save a lot of money that way. And yes, by educating yourself you can have better teeth.

DENVER - Sometimes as Freud once said a good cigar is just a smoke. A headache, on the other hand, occasionally can be a sign of something much more serious than just a headache.

This is particularly true if it is accompanied by facial pain, neck and shoulder pain, tinnitus or ringing in the ears and unexplained loose teeth. These symptoms, along with jaw pain, limited jaw movement or locking jaw, numbness in the fingers and arms, worn or cracked teeth and clicking or popping in the jaw joints can be signs that a person has the condition called temporomandibular joint syndrome or TMJ. The condition occurs when the teeth, facial muscles and temporomandibular joints are out of alignment.

Fortunately, neuromuscular dentistry can help alleviate symptoms such as headaches, neck and shoulder pain, jaw pain, clicking or popping in the jaw and tinnitus - another name for ringing in the ears. A neuromuscular dentist may be able to help if you are suffering from any of the above symptoms or a number of other symptoms. In a number of cases, these symptoms can actually be attributed to TMJ, also referred to as TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder) or MPD (myofascial pain disorder). The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI) is considered by many to be the world leader in training neuromuscular dentists. Neuromuscular dentists trained there are specially trained to recognize signs of TMJ, a disorder that is commonly passed by or misdiagnosed, and to provide the most appropriate care for the individual patient.

The first direct posterior composite to achieve less than 1% volumetric shrinkage.

Based on 3M ESPE’s latest product innovation, silorane chemistry, Filtek™ Silorane Low Shrink Posterior Restorative is the first direct posterior composite that shrinks less than 1%. This scientific breakth rough reduces polymerisation stress by up to 80% – and leads to excellent marginal integrity.

A dedicated system adhesive provides optimal bond strength. Achieving the ideal margin begins with the right chemistry. Silorane System Adhesive Self-Etch Primer and Bond is the one and only adhesive formulated to ensure optimal bonding of the Filtek™ Silorane Low Shrink Posterior Restorative. This extraordinarily low-shrinking composite and optimal adhesive are formulated to work together for great clinical outcomes with:

• excellent marginal integrity,
• reduced risk of stress-induced enamel fracture, and
• reduced risk of post-operative sensitivity.

It’s the latest gizmo for the hi-tech generation - a toothbrush with a built-in “satnav”. As you clean your teeth, it transmits information by radio to a separate miniature display screen, telling you where you should clean, for how long, and if you’re brushing too hard or not hard enough. But the big question in many mouths yesterday was: Does anyone really need such a sophisticated electronic gadget to tell them how to brush their teeth? And when you learn that it costs a whopping £140, it’s not hard to figure that the brightest smile it will create will probably be on the faces of its manufacturers.

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A state disciplinary board has fined Lynnwood dentist George Whitehead $10,000, suspended his license at least through the end of the year and ordered him to take 41 hours of continuing education courses. The actions, taken by the state’s Dental Quality Assurance Commission, found "clear and convincing evidence" that Whitehead’s treatment of a patient constituted unprofessional conduct. This included what the commission described as prescribing "extremely excessive" amounts of narcotics for one patient’s pain. "He’s ready to comply with all requirements and he’s going to move forward," said John Mellen, Whitehead’s attorney. "He expects to be back at work in January." Whitehead has been a successful dentist and treated people for 34 years, Mellen said. The case involved a patient treated between June 2004 and November 2006 who needed nine dental implants. The procedure involves inserting metal posts into the upper or lower jawbone. Bone growth fastens the implant in place, and the post is then used as roots for an artificial tooth. Read the rest of this entry »