Primrose Dental - Serving Springfield, Missouri

“An ounce of prevention…..”

is worth a pound of cure. True, very true.
  It is the application of this principle that is hard for people to do. Procrastination, or neglect, is a human trait that affects us all. My brakes have been squeaking for weeks, but will I repair them while it will only involve a cheap set of pads? Probably not. I’ll put it off until the squeak becomes a grind and the repair involves new rotors, pads and a 1000% increase in price. Not really, because the proper operation of my car is a priority to me, so I will attend to the problem right away.
    However there are people who would put off the problem until it is too late, I see them everyday. People come to see me with problems that will require three to four appointments and a couple thousand dollars to repair. They tell me that the tooth has been sensitive for a couple of months, but not bad enough to come in until now that the tooth is keeping them awake at night, and they haven’t seen a dentist in 5-6 years(which really means 10-12). These problems could have been averted with one appointment and 1-2 hundred dollars if that person had exercised a little prevention. Simple cavities, tooth decay, can be detected early and repaired inexpensively if a person simply makes the effort to have their teeth checked by a dentist. These simple cavities, if left until they hurt, turn into root canals and crowns instead of fillings.
  The same principle applies to the health of gum tissue. Regular cleanings can help prevent the onset of gum disease, but if neglected the disease will cause damage that will cost thousands to treat, repair often is not possible. I’m not even going into the overall health effects of gum disease, that is for another day.
    The moral of my story is prevention, prevention, prevention. There is a reason the dental community has been preaching for as long as you can remember, “see your dentist every six months!”. We don’t do this for our own profit, we would make more money if we kept our mouths shut, and waited to pick up the pieces as people neglected themselves until they were in so much pain they couldn’t stand it anymore. That is not want dentistry wants for people. We want happy, HEALTHY, people who make dental health a priority for themselves and their children.
    I said the magic word again, priority. When a person makes their oral health a personal priority, prevention becomes an obvious easy step. A step that will reap the benefits of saving you money and making you look and feel your best.
  If you don’t have a happy dental home, call us and we’ll help.

Dr. W

Do You Take My Insurance?

One of the most common question I get asked when people find out I’m a dentist is “do you take my insurance?”

Well, the mention of dental insurance brings up an entire bucketful of issues to be discussed, but today we’ll focus on the immediate question at hand.

“Do you take my insurance?” asked of most prospective dentists is a resounding, “Yes we do.” We at Primrose Dental, and most other offices, will file claims for you and wait on insurance reimbursement as payment for service from any entity that will pay. We do this, (file claims), as a courtesy to you because we want your business. Some dental offices, however, do not accept insurance as payment and expect payment at time of service. It is then up to the patient to file their own claims. This style of office is the exception rather than the rule.

The other side of “Do you take my insurance?”, and probably the more important side, is “does the insurance take me?”. What this means is, will your insurance policy pay any dentist, or only dentists on the policy’s list of providers? The answer is in which type of policy you have, there are generally three.

1) total freedom. You have freedom to choose the dentist you feel is best for you and your family. These policies usually allow for more freedom between you and your dentist to choose types of treatment as well. This usually results in a higher premium.

2) Partial freedom. The policy provides a list of “Preferred Providers” to which the policy would pay a higher percentage of cost of treatment received. Policy holders may also choose a “Non Preferred Provider,” and have the policy pay a little less of the cost. Sometimes this freedom to choose is worth the extra out of pocket.

3) No freedom. If you wish to receive any benefit from your policy you must visit a dentist from the policy list. These policies usually cost the least, and offer the lowest quality of care. Participating providers know they have you by the wallet, so there is no incentive to work hard to impress you and keep you in the practice. Also the insurance company generally dictates type of dental procedures on a cost basis rather than a need basis. The last thing you want is insurance dictating the care you receive.

The moral of my story is this:
We at Primrose Dental will file insurance for any policy. If you policy pays, great. If not, the bill falls on you.

If your policy requires you to visit the dentist they choose for you, be careful. You want a dentist that is working to make you want to visit their office, not one that knows you have no other choice. If you are shopping for policy, pay for freedom to choose. It’s worth it.