Today is the deadline for Medicaid and CHIP patients to select their main dentist and main dental home.  Letters and forms were sent out to Medicaid and CHIP patients and/or their parents several months ago.  Texas is now using managed care for Medicaid and CHIP dental benefits.  So, patients eligible for CHIP and Medicaid must choose one of three dental managed care plans and then select a main dentist from the plan they choose.  If you enjoy having Summit Dental Center as your main dental home and wish to continue to receive quality service and continuity of dental care, then don’t forget to make this important choice.  Summit Dental Center is a provider on all three managed care plans, so pick the plan that best suits your family.  Please let us continue to provide you and your family with quality dental care, or if you’re not a Summit Dental Center patient, give us the chance to care for your family.

Attention Houston CHIP and Medicaid dental patients! You’ve probably heard that April 30^th is the deadline for selecting your main dental home.  Nobody likes paperwork, but this is important and really painless to take care of.  In order to keep Summit Dental Center as your child’s main dental home and to keep the same great level of care, you need to make an election now – otherwise the Texas Department of Health and Human Services will make that election for you.  Everyone wants to make their own choices, so please take a minute and let Summit Dental Center continue as your family’s dentist.  If you have questions about how to do this, please contact our office.

When patients come into one of Summit Dental Center’s seven Houston offices for more invasive dental care, a topical and/or local anesthetic may be used to control discomfort the patient may feel.  Dentists commonly apply topical anesthetics to tissue in the mouth to numb the area before giving a shot, and in some cases to ease the pain of mouth sores.  The most common active ingredient in topicals (also known as “numbing gel”) is benzocaine.  Topical anesthetics are generally applied with a sanitary swab, but some come in a spray form.  For topical anesthetics to be most effective, they should be left on the tissue for about two minutes before a shot is administered.  Novocain® is a local anesthetic that was developed in 1905; while it is still used as a local anesthetic, dentists now also use lidocaine because it is faster acting and longer lasting for some patients.  Local anesthetics such as Novocain and lidocaine are given through an injection directly to the area of the mouth where the dentist will work.  Once the local begins working patients will feel numb.  While locals block the nerve cells that create pain sensations, the patient will still feel some pressure while the dentist is performing his/her work.  When you come in for your appointment, be sure to let your hygienist and dentist know about all medications and supplements you’re taking, as well as any changes in your health history.  That way they can be sure to use anesthetics that are appropriate for you.

Sometimes non-narcotic analgesics such as aspirin and ibuprofen are not enough to help the patient with his/her dental pain, and that is why Houston dentists have access to additional forms of pain control such as narcotics.  Because narcotics have a more significant impact on the patient, only a licensed physician, such as your Summit Dental Center dentist, may dispense and prescribe them, and this is done under supervision.  This is because some people abuse narcotics.  The narcotic elements in these pain drugs are designed to act on the patient’s central nervous system to relieve pain.  One example of a narcotic analgesic is codeine.  Following a root canal or other oral surgery, the patient may be given a prescription for Tylenol with codeine, which must be filled at a pharmacy, and the prescribing dentist carefully controls refills.  Tomorrow’s bog post will discuss both topical and local anesthetics that help patients while they are in the midst of treatment.

Dental emergencies never happen at a convenient time, but Summit Dental Center has you covered with seven Houston dental office locations – some with expanded hours.  though emergencies occur after hours, but you should make arrangements to see your dentist as soon as possible to avoid associated discomfort, injury to the mouth and/or tooth, and to avoid more costly repairs down the road.  The following are dental problems that require attention immediately or as soon as possible:  knocked out tooth; chipped tooth; partially dislodged tooth; lost filling; lost crown; tooth abscess; and, injuries to the gums, cheeks, or lips that cause bleeding.  Summit Dental Center will work with you to get you in to see your dentist just as soon as possible, but there are some temporary remedies you can perform at home until you can get in to see us.  We will discuss those further this week.