Meyer & Johns Dental Blog

Advice and Education on Your Dental Health

Flex Spending for Dentistry?

Dec, 3, 2018

If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA), now is the time of year — Reimbursement Season! You’ve begun tallying expenses, submitting receipts, and figuring out how much is left over (hopefully!) to spend before your funds expire.

Most FSA and HSA plans reimburse patients for any non-cosmetic medical treatment, as well as prescriptions and many over-the-counter medications. But what about dentistry? We’ve told you about the connection of oral wellness to overall health, but does it play out on paper? What dental expenses does your plan cover?

You should always review your plan details or check with your FSA/HSA administrator before incurring any health-related expenses, especially for dental care. Plans vary greatly on covered condition and the definitions around certain procedures. However, a basic rule of thumb is this: any routine procedure to treat or prevent dental disease should be covered. Any cosmetic or elective procedures (unless there is a serious underlying health issue) are not eligible for reimbursement. Here are some common dental services and their coverage:

YES!

Preventative — This includes teeth cleaning, basic fluoride treatments, fillings, sealants, and all diagnostic and preventative services.
Restorative — These can include crowns, bonding, dentures, tooth extraction, inlays, onlays, or overlays. Again, the standard of acceptance is based on medical necessity, rather than cosmetic or aesthetic preference.
Mouth guards — As we’ve discussed, those who suffer from Bruxism can do serious damage to their teeth during the night, and these guards protect the mouth and prevent injury.
Oral Disorders – Treatments for gingivitis, TMDs, gum recession and most oral surgeries are generally reimbursable.

NO.

Teeth Whitening
Veneers
Cosmetic Orthodontia

MAYBE?

Corrective Orthodontia — Check with your individual plan administrator. Treatment may be eligible for FSA/HSA reimbursement if there is a health condition associated with the patient’s teeth misalignment. Some of the qualifying diagnoses include:

Speech impediment
Jaw or TMJ pain
Difficulty eating or chewing
Sleep apnea
Bruxism
Gum Disease

Our team at Meyer & Johns is ready to help you with any FSA/HSA-related questions you have — just give us a call or send a message.

Thanksgiving Foods to Smile About

Nov, 20, 2018

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the Eating Season, with feasts, leftovers, and of course, desserts! As always, brushing is key protecting your family’s teeth. Make sure to stick to your established brushing routines even though eating patterns maybe different than usual.

But there are also other ways to make your gatherings and meals better for both teeth and overall health. Consider alternative recipes for making old favorites, or starting a new food tradition by serving something entirely different. Here are some options to consider:

Sweet Potatoes

These are a Thanksgiving staple for many families, but traditional preparation often includes up to a cup of brown sugar, plus sticky marshmallow topping. Why not try a different, healthier take this year by roasting instead? Toss your cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, honey, and cinnamon and bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Honey blends differently with vegetables than processed sweetener, and helps bring out the natural sweetness without coating teeth in sugar.

Cranberry Sauce

You really can’t do Thanksgiving without it, but canned varieties and many traditional recipes contain excessive amounts of — you guessed it — sugar. Not that we dentists don’t love cranberries… research suggests that they inhibit the formation of glucan, the sticky molecular foundation that plaque uses to collect on your teeth. For a healthier alternative, the website WellnessMama.com has a no-refined-sugar recipe that is a tasty way to get your annual cranberry fix.

Fruits & Veggies

These should always be a go-to snack, and holidays are no different! Blogs and social media sites are great sources for creative presentation ideas to get kids engaged with healthier holiday snacking. We’ve shown a few of our recent easy favorites from Pinterest above.

Whatever is on your plate, all of us at Meyer & Johns Dental are thankful to be your dental care home, and wish you a safe, festive Thanksgiving holiday.

America’s Favorite Halloween Candy Is…

Oct, 26, 2018

Even though it’s many people’s favorite holiday, Halloween might seem like a nightmare for dentists. Actually, at Meyer & Johns we LOVE Halloween — our staff is in the spirit all month long. It’s just the after-effects of all that candy we don’t like. We talk about it every year, but sensible consumption and good brushing habits are key to winning the candy battle. We trust that you know what strategy works best with each of your children. If you’re still not sure, check out our blog post HERE for age and developmentally-appropriate approaches.

We trust that you know what to do, so enough about teeth – let’s talk about the candy! Confectionary information and shopping website candystore.com has compiled a mountain of data on candy sales and consumption. They recently published an interactive map that lists the favorite Halloween candy for each of the 50 U.S. states, including pounds sold, as well as 2nd and 3rd-place choices by state.

Missouri’s fave? The Milky Way bar, a preference we share with Maryland and Vermont. Some of the interesting tidbits include:

Corn Rules! Candy Corn is the most popular nationwide, taking the top spot in seven of the 50 states. Somewhat surprisingly, Skittles came in at #2, with five.
Cowboy Candy? Dubble Bubble gum was the favorite Halloween candy in Oklahoma and Montana. Don’t they know what they’re missing?
Location, location… Not surprisingly, the extreme Northeast and Northwest favor salt water taffy.
Marketing wisely? Two of the most-recognizable and highly-promoted products – Twix and Kit-Kat – only ranked 1st in one state apiece.
Sour in the South – Lemonheads were the top pick in Louisiana.

Happy Halloween from your friends at Meyer & Johns Dental – Have fun, be safe, and don’t forget to brush!

6 Scary Mouth Facts

Oct, 16, 2018

October isn’t just Dental Hygiene Month, it’s also Halloween! In honor of the most frightening 31 days of the year, we’ve assembled a collection of six scary mouth facts. Read on at your own risk…

#1. Mouth + Nose + Eyes + Ears = Connected

Yep, they’re all attached. Tear ducts feed into the sinus/nasal cavity, which shares space with the oral cavity and is also connected by the ocular nerve channel to your ears. That’s why tears make your nose run, why your sense of smell is so important to tasting things, and why your ears pop if you blow your nose too hard.

#2. Saliva is actually a form of filtered blood.

Specialized cells in our saliva glands are responsible for absorbing some elements of the blood. Other plasma components are filtered and combined with secretions from the mucous glands in the mouth. The result helps us digest food, keep teeth clean, and ensure our talking, swallowing, and breathing mechanisms are all well-lubricated.

#3. Oh, that dirty mouth!

So, we know that our mouths are a hotbed of bacteria — both good and bad. However, most of the hundreds of strains that live in our mouth are inert – they don’t really do anything. Meanwhile, the good bacteria help protect us against bad bacteria, plus many environmental elements that invade our mouths through air, food, or beverage. But even some good bacteria can have bad effects elsewhere in the body if introduced into respiratory tracts (aspiration pneumonia) or under the skin (as in a bite!).

#4. Not brushing could lead to a brain abscess.

No joke – teeth that aren’t cared for can form an abscess, a bacterial infection often caused by untreated cavities or tooth injuries. If left untreated, that infection can spread from mouth to the jaw, neck, or even your brain. Sepsis and bacterial meningitis are also potential complications of untreated tooth abscess.

#5. Soda does horrifying things to your teeth.

It coats, it soaks, it accelerates decay. In fact, people who drink three or more daily glasses of soda each day have over 60% more tooth decay, fillings, and tooth loss. This is mainly because the average soda contains between 10-12 teaspoons of sugar — that’s almost a ¼ cup!

#6. Even more about spit…

As we’ve mentioned, our mouths produce a lot of saliva – enough each year to fill two bathtubs. But over the course of a lifetime, we will make 25,000 quarts of spit. That’s 6,250 gallons, or enough to fill the average in-ground residential swimming pool.