How to chose an insurance plan?

This is the routine for pretty much everyone, we get a new job, we wait 90 days then we get to chose a new insurance. And then we go to the doctor or dentist and they tell us - well you need knee surgery or you need Invisalign just to find out that your insurance barely covers that, or deductibles are huge, or not covered at all. Not sure why we do this backwards, this is upside down, we should first know what our needs are and THEN choose our health, dental or vision insurance.
So how do I chose an insurance plan correctly? First you should know your needs, and then chose an insurance plan tailored to your specific condition. How do you do that? Ideally, you had insurance and got treatment before and you know what you need. But if you don't, then you are taking a shot in the dark and hope for the best!
But there might be hope, and that's why we advise our Patients about their insurance plan depending on their specific needs. Most of the time you can't change your dental plan till next year, after it expires, which is still better than nothing. Now you'll know you need coverage for implants, or a night guard, or Invisalign for yourself or braces for your kid. But until then you can also consider getting a second insurance plan and use it as primary (or secondary, depending on preferred coverage). And this is something that you can do right away. Just make sure there is no waiting period, or if there is and the price is right ask us how long can you wait on those invisible braces and if it's worth it. No one knows your dental needs and how everything works better than your dentist and our treatment and financial coordinators, they do this every day. So don't hesitate to call, text or email us and ask for help with choosing your dental insurance, we'll use our knowledge to help you for free, plus your next payments will be discounted and covered partly by your new insurance!

The value of a beautiful smile!

We are blessed to have such awesome Patients everyday! And every day is a great experience with each and every one, we discuss and we learn from every beautiful smile that comes through our door! And we do our best to make sure everyone leaves with a healthier, happy, beautiful smile!
And most people understand the value of a beautiful smile, how others see you and how people make their first impression about you, or how they form an opinion in the long run. We try to make the case of a healthy, beautiful smile as the first thing people see, notice and remember about you. Also, how they perceive a smile that they don't like as a lower social status, and you can find more details in this blog.
But sometimes people who otherwise take smart, educated decisions - don't see the value of improved dental health. We see people who are in the process of buying a new house or remodeling an old one, so they clearly understand what smart decisions are, not recognizing the importance of a bright, beautiful, healthy smile. Yes, buying a new house can be a great investment for your future, yes, remodeling your old one will most likely increases the value of your home. Yes, even buying a new car, a cool one might change how other people look at you and the way they perceive your status. Those are all good reasons to upgrade your life and move up on the ladder of social acceptance. Every time your friends will visit your home, and every time they see you coming out of that new flashy automobile they will think more of you, they will recognize your smart addition. Your boss might think - hmm, she seems smart and takes great decisions, or he understands the value and what it represents, maybe I'll consider this person for a promotion or give them more tasks because they look capable to handle more. And they would be right, the more good decisions you take - the more people will entrust you with other important things in their lives or work.
But what is the value of your beautiful smile? I hope more people would see their beautiful, healthy, trusty smile as an investment, as important as your house or fancy truck. If not more important, since they might only see your house once or twice a year, and you car maybe once or twice a week. But they will see your bright white smile all the time they are with you, and that might be 8 hours a day at work! Or they might just see it once at an important meeting or a sales visit if they are your customer, but that would make a great difference in the outcome if they trust you more and if they see how you understand good value.
Ready to improve your smile, improve the way others see you, get better first impressions, better friendships, better relationships, a better job, a better life and ultimately a better you? Make an appointment online at AlisoViejoDental.com, or call/text us at 949-425-1447

Why we stand out

I am like most people and I have my routine and my comfort zone (and my comfort food too!). And that is good because it provides some stability and some peace of mind in our lives. But sometimes it's good to explore, to see what else is out there, what is new and if we can do something better. You know where I'm going with this - sometimes is good to see if you can find a better option for a dentist. There are many dental offices in Aliso Viejo and the surrounding cities in Orange County, and they all provide great service, I'm sure. But we like to stand out, so we improved our office, our services and team, we updated our tools and procedures, and raised the bar! So here are a few reasons why you should chose us when you are looking for  a new dentist, or when going to the same old same old place doesn't cut it any more. Because let's be honest, if they didn't tell you that you could take care of a cracked tooth when it was still treatable instead of needing an implant - they didn't do their job right.
That's why we practice preventive dentistry, we believe in taking care of your oral health issues before they become a nightmare. We also believe in nutritional and dental care counseling to prevent issues from happening in the first place. It's cheaper and it makes total sense in the long run.
We offer free oral cancer screening for all our Patients, just because, again, it makes total sense, #ScreeningSavesLives. We use the ViziLite Pro device, and the process only take about 2 minutes.
We use Laser therapy for a lot of procedures, for less or no pain and faster healing. Laser is the best alternative to drills, it doesn't touch the tooth surface but it's gentle power sterilizes, cleans and desensitizes the cavity or the tooth.
We use the DryShield isolation system. DryShield is an intelligent breakthrough in isolation and helps make your visit shorter, more pleasant, and more comfortable!
We also use ReLeaf Suction system, your Hygiene cleaning visit will be up to 15 min shorter and more comfortable!
We safely remove old amalgam/mercury fillings! We use a special vacuum that filtrates and traps mercury particles .We use special Clean Up suction tips that completely cover your tooth and capture mercury vapors.
We should also mention  Digital X-Rays for low radiation, intra-oral pictures so you can better understand the symptoms and conditions, digital impressions - we are a #NoGoop, #NoGag practice.
If all this isn't enough - please consider our friendly staff, and our personalized treatment and service. We see New Patients every day and it become a routine to explain what their previous dentists didn't cover or even mention to them. "If I knew this was going to get this bad I would have taken care of it sooner". Yeap, we don't want OUR Patients to say that! Call or text us for more info at 949-425-1447.

Amalgam is fazing out

Amalgam was used in dentistry since forever, but lately it has been the subject of a lot of controversies and criticism. In an era when we are trying to be more health-conscious and more environmentally friendly - it is harder and harder to justify the use of amalgam any more. If this is the first time you hear about it - here is the skinny: amalgam is 50% mercury, now google "Is mercury toxic?" and brace yourself for some nightmares.
So lately European Union came up with a 3 year plan to faze out amalgam, starting with a virtual ban  for children under 15 years old, also pregnant and breastfeeding women as of July 1, 2018.
Hopefully some of those changes and rules will come in US soon, especially when these days we have so many better alternatives. Needless to say, our office has never used amalgam, we only use tooth colored composite fillings, we remove old silver-mercury in a safe environment for the Patient and for our staff. Safe removal of amalgam is becoming more and more popular especially with health-minded and environmentally conscious Patients, but for children and future Mothers too.
Using less amalgam and mercury is good for everyone, for Patients, for dental professionals and staff and for the environment too. Our office had amalgam traps and filters for years, from back when no one cared about this or required any standards. Our traps and filters get picked up and recycled or responsibly disposed, we don't pollute our city's or county sewers that eventually end up in the ocean, and we are proud of that!
But also there is a social injustice factor, that very few would think about. Since only amalgam fillings are covered by most insurance plans (composite fillings get downgraded and only partially covered) what happens is that lower income Patients are more likely to receive silver-mercury fillings. That goes for lower income children or Mothers too, and this is not fair.
It's time to end this and our office is proudly only using tooth colored, composite fillings (that happen to be BPA and gluten-free too), we are also SMART certified,
please check our website or give us a call for more info.

Not all x-rays are equal

How many times have you said "I love my dentist!"? How many times have you heard others saying - "I've been going to the same dentist for the last 20 years"? We hear these all the time, at every promotion we do, at every event, at every fair or convention we participate.
There is nothing wrong with that, your dentist knows your medical/dental history, they proposed and performed most of your dental treatments, they took care of your emergency pain when it happened.
And of course you love them for that!
This becomes a problem only when your dentist uses the same equipment and procedures as 20 years ago. This is something that you might not even notice since you've only been in the same office all your life. A lot of materials and equipment changed for the better lately, they are more health-conscious and environmentally friendly. Between the BPA free resin to low radiation x-ray machines there are a lot of improvements in dental offices in United States in the last decades.
We use digital sensors connected to computers these days instead of films for example, since they need less radiation and have instant exposure. Meaning that the dentist and you can see the x-rays on the screen in just a second, and you have the option to enlarge or change the contrast and brightness to be able to see the smallest cracks or cavities right in front of your eyes. The old films are as small as your watch, good luck seeing anything there!
The x-ray machines have similar settings these days and the sensor/computer setting should be 0.100 and 0.50 for children, as seen in the picture above. At least look for the computer or sensor symbol to make sure it's set up right. If you see a different symbol or higher numbers on the x-ray machine display or you see them using films - ask your dentist why and if they can change the settings. If they can't offer the lower radiation option you should refuse to receive higher radiation for every exposure they will take of your teeth.
There is a better, healthier way to do dentistry today and you shouldn't downgrade your oral health care just because you got used to go to the same dentist as your Father did. If they can't upgrade their skills and educate for the latest technology - they don't deserve your trust with your dental care needs, or your business. If they don't upgrade their equipment and their education for the better - it's because they want to pocket the money instead.
Try to find a dental office where they provide a better, healthier service, geared towards preventing problems rather than treating them. Yes, you can take care of your problems when they are incipient and easier to treat with less pain and inexpensive, before they become the big problems that will empty your wallet. For more info or to learn more about preventive dentistry please visit our website at https://www.alisoviejodental.com/

"In-house" Discount plans

Given the raising cost of insurance and all the uncertainty about coverage or restrictions - we see an increase in Patients with no Dental Insurance. Even though the dental coverage doesn't cost too much, compared to the medical insurance, just because people don't renew one - they don't renew the other either. Of course you could get Dental or Vision separately, but few people do that, most just end up with no dental insurance after all.
That's why we offer a discount plan for Patients with no insurance, that offers some preventive services at no cost and a discount for other, more common procedures. There is an annual fee, depending on your needs, for 1 person or for the whole family.
This is great for our Patients since it encourages them to keep their preventive, cleaning appointments with their dentist, and also offers a discount for other cosmetic or restorative procedures, which comes in handy.
Plus  - this is not insurance, so there are no claims to send, no deductibles, and no check to wait for in the mail. You can see the discount, the difference upfront, and how much you save and it's all clear, with no confusion or delays. Also, you can take advantage of our $49 New Patient Special if you don't have insurance coverage.
Call or text us for a brochure at 949-425-1447, or come in if you want to ask for more details, we are in the Aliso Viejo Town Center, near Ralphs, next to Habit Burger and Urbane Cafe. Visit AlisoViejoDental.com for more details.

Keep your cleaning appointments to avoid "deep cleanings"!

Your dentist office called to remind you of your next cleaning or Hygiene appointment you booked almost 6 months ago when you had your last cleaning. You totally forgot about this appointment (that card they gave you is somewhere in your car or at home with all the junk mail) and you look at your calendar and realize you can't make it. How often does this happen? Pretty often, considering how many Patients miss their dental cleaning appointment.

But should you ignore it or try to re-schedule it as soon as possible?
As a rule of thumb - you should have the cleaning as close to the recommended date as possible.

Why? First of all - it's covered by your insurance most likely, or it's inexpensive compared to the alternative.
So why would you not take advantage of this (most likely) covered cleaning?
Or, you might be THAT Patient who flosses and brushes twice a day and really takes good care of your oral health, so there is very little tartar that adds up on and in between your teeth. But you would rather clean them regularly anyway, especially when the cost is close to $0 out of your pocket.

But let's be honest, you forget to carry the floss sticks in your car or purse, and brushing is rushed and inefficient. Then a lot of bacteria and tartar adds up on your teeth and you really need that cleaning every 6 months!
Because if you don't get your teeth cleaned regularly - 6 months becomes a year and a year becomes 2 and you are most likely set up for a deep cleaning. Why? Because the tartar and inflammation is already there and at this point "emergency" flossing and brushing won't help any more - you'll need a professionally done, thorough cleaning! The tartar can be visible on the x-rays to the point when the dentist doesn't even need to look at your actual teeth to diagnose your deep cleaning!
At this point - time works against you. Postponing, delaying, rescheduling and avoiding will make matters worse! Plus, a deep cleaning and any adjacent procedures will cost hundreds of dollars out of pocket at this point.

First stage is gingivitis, which is reversible with a thorough cleaning. If it's not cured, it will transform into the second stage called periodontitis. This is a chronic disease, much harder to reverse, the inflamed tissue starts to pull away from the teeth, forming spaces, or deep pockets. These deep pockets are housing the harmful bacteria and tartar buildup that chew up on the bone surrounding the teeth, creating bone loss. In the advanced stages of this disease - the bone loss is so severe that teeth become loose.

Do yourself a favor, take care of your oral health while is inexpensive and mostly covered by insurance so it's less harmful, less painful, less costly and keep your routine dental cleanings. So you don't have to google "deep cleaning" 'cause you wont need it! Having a great smile will most likely help you get better first impressions, better friendships, better relationships, a better job, a better life and ultimately a better you!

If you need a cleaning or a deep cleaning - don't postpone it, call or text us at 949-4251447 and schedule you appointment today!