Dental Library- Family Dentistry

Family dentistry is a term used to describe a dental office where your entire family can receive treatment. Family dentistry encompasses a very wide and varied range of treatment options for a very diversified group of patients. Family dentistry begins with a child's first visit to a dental professional, extends to the needs of senior citizens and includes all the treatment aspects in between. A general restorative dentist whose interests and professional training are extremely diversified will practice family dentistry. They are also adept at bringing in specialists when it is in the patient's best interest. After consultation with a specialist a family dentist will often refer the patient to that specialist to ensure the highest quality of care possible.

Family dentistry is there as a resource for oral health care information for patients and the community at large to help educate them on preventative care as well as restorative care. Preventative measures are less costly and help maintain the patient's natural dentition intact thereby assuring the greatest probability of the patient retaining their teeth their entire life. This educational process starts with explaining to expectant mothers how their poor oral health can adversely affect the health of their unborn child. The bacteria associated with gum disease can cause premature births and or low birth weight babies. Once the child is born good oral hygiene, avoiding anything with sugar in bottles given to the baby at bedtime and ensuring the baby gets the proper amount of fluoride significantly reduce the risk of the child developing caries (dental cavities). As the child gets older issues of thumb sucking, mouth rinses and sports mouth guards need to be addressed.

Family dentistry can also be a resource for patients understanding their dental insurance plans better and can help patients maximize the benefits their insurance plan will pay. This helps to minimize the patient’s out of pocket dental expenses and optimizes the patient's insurance benefits in both utilization and payment reimbursement. A family dental office can obtain a summery or benefits from a patient's insurance company thus allowing the dental office to give a pretreatment estimate of insurance payments for any proposed treatment. As a courtesy to the patient the dental office may file the insurance form for the patient and even accept assignment of benefits from the insurance company. This reduces the patient's payment at time of treatment and eliminates the waiting period for the patient to get reimbursed. This may be helpful to patients by making it easier for them to accept and receive the quality treatment they need.

Family dentistry tries to make all patient treatment visits as comfortable as possible. This includes stress reduction and anxiety control measures all the way to intravenous sedation, so called sleep dentistry. Family dental offices often have cassette or CD players with music that can help soothe and relax patients while they are receiving treatment and patients are encouraged to bring their own music with them that makes them feel comfortable. When these measures are not enough nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, can be used to help alleviate the patient's anxiety during treatment. The next step in anxiety control would be the use of prescription Valium. One down side to this treatment is that someone must drive the patient to their appointment and pick them up afterwards. Finally either a qualified dentist or physician can do intravenous sedation at the dentist's office, but here again transportation of the patient needs to be arranged and risk assessment done.

Family dentists often try to make the financial aspect of treatment as easy of possible for patients. As previously mentioned they may accept assignment of insurance benefits and will often offer payment options through third party lenders that have zero percent financing charges for the first 3 to 12 months. Most family dental offices will accept checks, credit cards or cash to allow for the most flexible means of payments for their patients. Thus allowing for the greatest patient acceptance of the important oral health care proposed by their doctor.

Return To Library Home>>