Dental insurance is YOUR insurance. Dental insurance does not care.

We do our best to know how your plan works, but as a consumer it is necessary for you to be familiar with your plan. There are thousands of dental plans out there and subgroups as well. Employees in adjacent cubicles can have the same plan but different benefits. It is confusing and we try to help, but it is impossible for us to predict with 100% accuracy what they will cover 100% of the time (we are good and usually ARE correct, but sometimes the insurance companies do what they do…).

As the economy fluctuates, we see some plans reject claims that they covered in the past. The person most qualified to suggest treatment is the doctor that actually LOOKED into a person’s mouth. If an x-ray was all that was needed, dentists wouldn’t need to even look inside of a mouth.

An example was a tooth that had a very large filling and decay all around the filling and cracked enamel. The recommendation was a crown, yet the insurance company refused to pay, saying it was fine. No matter how many photos and x-rays were sent, they just wouldn’t pay.

That doesn’t mean the care given was not appropriate. It simply means the insurance company chose not to pay based on the opinion of their minimum wage desk clerk, or occasionally their contracted dentist that gets paid based on how much money is NOT spent.

The insurance company is designed for nothing more than to make money. They make their money by NOT spending it. They deny claims for their own profits, and the subscribers (patients) suffer as a result.

No.

The bottom line is this: We are VERY proud to use only American labs that do all of their work in America, nothing is outsourced. We use the highest quality materials and American craftsmanship.

Call 206-241-5533 to learn more!

Don’t let your fear stop you. Get the smile you deserve by calling Renton and Tukwila sedation dentist Dr Lance Timmerman DMD at 206-241-5533

A dental office is either cleaning teeth (polishing them up, removing stains, etc) or providing periodontal therapy. This therapy is often called a “deep cleaning” but that isn’t really what is done. The goal here is to remove what is called the bio-film from below the gum line. The bio film is a collection of plaque and bacteria and can create an inflammatory response from your body. Chronic inflammation can affect your whole body, and periodontal disease destroys bone around the teeth. If left untreated, you will lose teeth. If left untreated, you could die (I know, it sounds like an exaggeration, but just ask Whoopi Goldberg)

The process for periodontal therapy WILL make a person’s teeth clean, and the process IS deeper than a “regular” cleaning, to call it a “deep cleaning” is not truly accurate…

Sometimes we get patients that will request a “regular” cleaning when a “deep cleaning” was recommended. While it would seem logical that you could request that, the laws are clear that the dental health care provider cannot violate standard of care, and a patient is not capable to waive the standard of care. Legal precedent has been set, and if a dentist has diagnosed gum disease, therapy must be performed even if a patient requests otherwise.

It is similar to a physician diagnosing an infection in your lungs. He cannot simply give an aromatherapy candle and ignore the infection. The patient has the right to decline care and leave, but the doctor cannot ignore the infection.

So, whether you are looking for a cosmetic dentist in Seattle, Burien, Tukwila or Renton (or even NOW in Belgium!) Dr Timmerman is here to help!

A few weeks ago, Whoopi Goldberg returned to her TV show, "The View," and shared with the world the significance of gum disease. What you don’t know CAN kill you…

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Pregnant women with gum disease may be more likely to develop gestational diabetes than those with healthy gums, researchers have found.

Gestational diabetes arises during pregnancy and usually resolves after the baby is born, but it can raise a woman’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on. It can also contribute to problems during pregnancy and delivery, including maternal high blood pressure and a larger-than-normal baby, which may necessitate a cesarean section.

The new findings, published in the Journal of Dental Research, suggest that gum disease may be a treatable risk factor for gestational diabetes.

Among pregnant women researchers followed, the 8 percent who developed gestational diabetes had higher levels of gum-disease-causing bacteria and inflammation.

Gum disease can trigger an inflammatory response not only in the gums, but throughout the body. It’s possible that such inflammation may exacerbate any pregnancy-related impairment in blood sugar control, contributing to gestational diabetes in some women, the researchers speculate.

Past studies have also linked gum disease to a higher risk of premature birth, with one theory being that systemic inflammation is involved.

Of the 265 women in the study, 83 percent were Hispanic, a group that is at higher-than-average risk of both gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes. The women who developed gestational diabetes were also significantly more likely to be heavier before they became pregnant, have had gestational diabetes before, and higher C reactive protein levels, a marker for inflammation and cardiovascular disease.

“In addition to its potential role in preterm delivery, evidence that gum disease may also contribute to gestational diabetes suggests that women should see a dentist if they plan to get pregnant, and after becoming pregnant,” Dr. Ananda P. Dasanayake, the lead researcher on the study, said in a statement.

“Treating gum disease during pregnancy has been shown to be safe and effective in improving women’s oral health and minimizing potential risks,” added Dasanayake, a professor at the New York University College of Dentistry.

Future studies, Dasanayake noted, should investigate the link between gum disease and gestational diabetes in other high-risk groups, such as Asian and Native American women.

SOURCE: Journal of Dental Research, April 2008.