One of the significant problems that the healthcare industry faces is access to care. Access to care has many aspects but primarily involves the ability of a patient to get an appointment for treatment with a doctor. Everyone has had the experience of calling a doctor’s office and being told that the earliest appointment available […]
Continue ReadingVirtually every dentist out there will go to any length possible to try and repair or “save” a bad tooth. Certain situations however may arise where a tooth cannot be repaired and must be extracted. In other cases the degree of difficulty of the procedures necessary to repair a broken tooth may not lead to […]
Continue ReadingRecently there have been some concerns amongst our patients with regard to the management of pain through medications post-operatively. These concerns fall on both sides of the argument where some people feel they haven’t been given enough pain medication and others don’t want pain medications at all. This is a very tricky subject, not just […]
Continue ReadingWith the advancements in dental technology and treatment methods, patients faced with losing all of their teeth are no longer limited to traditional dentures. One of the main concerns for these patients is that they will have to go without teeth for an extended period of time. Several methods now exist to allow patients to […]
Continue ReadingPart of the consultation process for any surgical procedure is obtaining informed consent. Informed consent is the process by which the surgeon explains the procedure being done and the risks, benefits and potential complications which can occur from undergoing a procedure. Additionally the consent process implies that with full knowledge of what can occur as […]
Continue ReadingWhen making appointments at our practice whether it is for extraction of wisdom teeth, dental implants, TMJ or tooth extractions and other dentoalveolar procedures the front office staff is almost always told/asked “I don’t need a consultation I just need the procedure done.” In the back of my mind I always wonder if the same […]
Continue ReadingThe other day I was watching television when an advertisement came on for mini implants to aid in fitting lower and upper dentures. This advertisement (as most advertisements do) made it seem like these miniature implants cost less than regular implants and do the same job for less money. But the purpose of this post […]
Continue ReadingMany children these days will at some point during their development are recommended for orthodontic treatment or braces. Most of these patients will be routine cases for any orthodontist to handle. A small percentage of these patients however will be evaluated for a significant malocclusion. Occlusion is the way that your teeth come together. People […]
Continue ReadingAnother confusing topic for patients is the training and background that Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery entails. Prior to starting the residency portion of our education all oral surgery residents will have completed nationally accredited dental school and obtained their doctorate. A very small percentage of new dentists or experienced practitioners will then apply to a […]
Continue ReadingAs an oral and maxillofacial surgeon one of the most common issues that our patient’s find frustrating is the paperwork and resulting battles that ensue from insurance companies. In our field we deal with both medical and dental insurances which compounds the problem. There are hundreds of insurance companies out there that provide insurance to […]
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