TTC_02_15_17_Vol.13-No.16.p1-12

Page www.TheTownCommon.com February 15 - 21, 2017
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Health & Wellness
By J. Peter St. Clair, DMD
If you missed any of this series,
they can be found at www.
thetowncommon.com.
Is there a solution to the dental
insurance problem we have in
this country? I can tell you the
way I see it, different groups of
dentists may have different views,
large dental chains see it from a
different perspective, consumers
have varied opinions, and
insurance companies are leading
the way with their solution. These
are all very different perspectives.
Ask someone how they feel
about their medical insurance and
they might say that premiums are
too high, deductibles are too high,
they can’t go to who they want,
it’s tough to get appointments
sometimes (especially with
specialists), etc. Employers
looking to cut costs, obviously
tend to choose lower cost plans.
That usually increases deductibles
and may limit which providers
the employee is able to see.
Depending on your insurance,
you may have decreased benefits
or none at all, if you see a provider
outside of “your network”.
What does “in-network” vs.
Coffee, specifically the caffeine
in it, helps reduce the chronic
inflammation that occurs in our
bodies as we age, according to
a recent study out of Stanford
University. Chronic inflammation
can cause any number of problems,
such as cardiovascular issues,
Alzheimer’s disease, osteoarthritis
and cancer, according to more
than 1,000 research papers.
Chronic inflammation starts
with the breakdown of molecules
in the blood, called metabolites.
Coffee apparently has its own set
of metabolites that work against
Brighter Smiles...
The State of Dental Insurance in 2017 - Part 3
“out-of-network” mean? A long
time ago, if you had insurance,
you could go to anyone and use
your benefits. PPO’s and HMO’s
eventually formed and were able
to provide lower premiums by
contracting with providers who
agreed to a discounted fee for
their services - the “in-network”
providers. Providers who do not
sign that agreement are considered
“out-of-network” providers. Your
insurance company decides your
benefit level with both in and outof-network
providers. The goal
for the insurance company is to
pay out as little as possible.
This is the way dental insurance
is trending in this country. There
are fewer plans being offered that
will allow you to use your benefits
with providers outside of their
network. Why? It depends on
who you ask, but I believe the
primary reason is to control costs.
And that is understandable…if
you’re the insurance company.
If you were running a business
with a 70% overhead and a major
supplier of your revenue decided
they were going to pay you 30%
less, would you be able to run your
business the same way? Of course
not. You would need to do things
faster, do more of it, and control
your costs by investing less in the
business, using cheaper materials
and paying people less. There is
only one winner in this game. Of
course, you could not accept the
30% less, have fewer customers,
Senior Scene
those breakdown metabolites. But
again, it’s the caffeine that does it,
and researchers are confident that
there’s a link between caffeine
intake and living longer.
Not everyone has a problem
with inflammation, say the
researchers, and those who don’t
are generally people who drink
beverages containing caffeine.
For this study, researchers paired
a large group of participants ages
20 to 30 with a group that’s been
part of a long-term Stanford
study, those who are over 60 years
of age and have been monitored
and tested for 10 years. They
compared portions of the blood
in both group, and here is what
they found:
--In the high-inflammation
and run your business the way
you see in in the best interest of
your customers.
You can’t be very happy reading
this, as a business owner, employee,
and/or consumer. It is important
to advocate for yourself, especially
when it comes to your health.
I get asked just about daily
by patients who are either selfemployed
or are not offered
insurance through their employer,
“Should I consider getting dental
insurance?” In most cases, in my
opinion, it does not make sense
to purchase dental insurance on
your own – at least the way that
dental insurance currently works.
You should definitely talk to your
own dentist about that prior to
purchasing something.
What happens if your dentist
doesn’t take (or isn’t in network)
with your insurance anymore?
Should you stay? How do you
find a provider in your network if
you choose to leave? What other
things do you need to consider in
making a decision?
….to be continued
Dr. St. Clair maintains a private
dental practice in Rowley and
Newburyport dedicated to healthcentered
family dentistry. If there
are certain topics you would like to
see written about or questions you
have please email them to him at
jpstclair@stclairdmd.com. You can
view all previously written columns
at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com/
blog.
Drink Coffee, Live Longer
group, more people had high
blood pressure, more free radicals
running around the blood stream,
and fewer relatives who’d live past
the age of 90.
--In the low-inflammation
group, they found an abundance
of the metabolites found in coffee,
tea and chocolate.
If you search online for sources
of caffeine, you’ll be surprised
at how many foods and drinks
contain at least some of it. Ask
your doctor how much caffeine
is appropriate for you. Some
prescription and over-the-counter
drugs contain caffeine, and it can
act as a diuretic and might have an
effect on bone density.
(c) 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.