Going to the dentist without insurance quickly adds up with each appointment. As an alternative, consider signing up for a dental membership plan. This pre-paid membership is paid directly to the dentist offices and covers a whole year of visits. Memberships work differently than insurance, so for first-time membership purchases, learn about the benefits and what is included in your membership.

1. 12-Month Membership

A dental membership is based on a 12-month window. The membership lasts for a whole year but is not based on a calendar year. For example, if you sign up for a membership in July, the full membership will last until July of the next year. You do not lose your membership benefits at the end of December.

With the flexibility of the membership, you may time out the membership sign-up date to match your affordability. For example, if you typically file for a tax return in February, consider the annual membership from March to March. When each March rolls around, you will use part of the tax return to pay for the membership so you can easily afford payments.

If your job offers a quarterly bonus or holiday bonus, you may time the membership around the dates. Budget and plan accordingly to easily fit the membership into your spending.

Children often experience many changes during a divorce, but they don’t need to miss a step when it comes to their dental care. Your children’s oral health is affected by both their daily choices and habits. Regular visits to the dentist’s office is another big part of taking care of your children’s dental and overall health. Here’s how to help kids stay on top of their dental care during a divorce.

Get Duplicates of Toothbrushes and Other Dental Care Tools

Children who are going between two homes sometimes keep track of a lot of different items. When possible, get duplicates so kids won’t have to be consistently packing for each home. When it comes to dental care, make it as easy as possible for kids to stick to the healthy habits you worked hard to teach them. That includes having a toothbrush they love at each parent’s house.

CAlso make sure that your kids have floss, or the interdental cleaning device they like to use, and mouthwash in each home. If you have a dental care chart to track your kids’ habits, consider putting it online in a shared file so they can easily track their habits no matter which house they are in.

Paying for dental care when you don’t have dental insurance isn’t as terrible a proposition as many people might believe. You may even find that some of the solutions out there are even better than using dental insurance. No matter your situation, you don’t have to avoid dental care because you think you can’t afford it. Here are several ways you can pay for dental care without dental insurance.

1. Look for Free or Discounted Local Services

Several options for free or nearly free dental services are out there. A few places to check include:

• Dental schools
• Public or free dental clinics
• Volunteer or donated labor dental clinics

If you spend long periods of time away from home, you need to care for your teeth even when your normal toothbrush, dental floss, and mouthwash aren’t on hand. Bacteria and plaque accumulate throughout the day regardless of where you are. Here are some tips to help you care for your teeth and keep them healthy when you aren’t home.

Avoid Sugar-Laden Foods

The most effective way to fight tooth decay is to prevent the bad bacteria that cause cavities in the first place, and you can greatly reduce the bacteria in your mouth by watching what you eat. Bacteria need certain food to grow on, and they won’t have any if you don’t eat the type of food that they like.

Many adults fear the possibility of losing a permanent tooth. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to prevent permanent tooth loss. Knowing the risk factors and what you can do to prevent this problem can help you keep your own teeth throughout your adult life.

1. Brush Your Teeth Twice Daily

Brush your teeth at least twice each day — once in the morning and once in the evening before bed. When brushing your teeth, spend about two minutes total, gently brushing your teeth in small circular motions with the toothbrush.

If you notice problems like blood on the toothbrush, this could be a sign of gum disease. Make an appointment with your dentist to have the problem inspected.

Whether you opted into your employer-sponsored dental insurance coverage for the first time in 2019 or you have had dental insurance for years, you may not be maximizing your dental benefits as much as you can. The end of the calendar year is quickly arriving, so check your dental insurance policy to see if your dental benefits reset at the beginning of the new calendar year, because most do. 

The end of the year is a prime time to obtain dental procedures before you yet again have to meet your dental insurance deductible, especially if you have not yet met your dental policy’s maximum annual benefit. Read on to learn more.

The addition of a little fizz to your daily drink often provides unique tastes and flavors people prefer over flat water. Unfortunately, drinking too many carbonated beverages could result in some major problems for your teeth and gums down the line.

While you do not need to eliminate carbonated drinks all together, help protect your teeth and smile by knowing facts about the drinks and ways to ensure you have proper oral health.

If your little one has been refusing certain foods, turning their nose up at a cold glass of water, and complaining their mouth hurts, the cause of your child’s discomfort and irritability could be a common oral health issue: sensitive teeth.

Here are the answers to a few frequently asked questions you might have about your child’s sensitive teeth.

Why Does My Child Have Sensitive Teeth?

Enamel erosion is one main cause of tooth sensitivity in children. Teeth are covered with a hard substance called enamel. Under the enamel is another protective layer called dentin. Dentin directly covers the tooth’s root and features several small tubes or canals. The root is filled with a system of nerves. When enamel is eroded or damaged, the dentin isn’t properly protected.

Head back to class with a fresh new smile when you whiten your teeth. Here’s what you should know about professional tooth whitening, as well as the side effects and people who shouldn’t use tooth whitening.

Teeth Need Treatment Before Tooth Whitening

When you schedule you a consult for teeth whitening at your dental office, your dentist will examine your teeth thoroughly. The dentist looks for problems with your teeth that can affect the success of your whitening procedure.

When you have a cavity, your dentist repairs it with a restorative process that most patients call fillings. The decayed portion of your tooth is removed, and then the remaining space is filled with a substance that bonds to your tooth without compromising the overall health of the tooth. Fillings are the most common dental-restoration procedure.

However, people can make the mistake of thinking that dental fillings last forever. While the replacement portion that fills the gap is hardwearing and long-lasting, it is not the same as the strength of your natural enamel. Fillings do not last forever, and when they do fail, they leave the rest of your tooth open to further decay.