• Home
  • Dr. Stiegler
  • Our Staff
  • Directions
  • Insurance
  • Reviews
  • Our Services
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Forms

Dr. Kim E. Stiegler
Dentistry Discussion

General Cosmetic and Reconstructive Dentistry
Mobile, Alabama
​(251) 639-1853

About Author

CURRENT TRENDS IN DENTISTRY GOOD OR BAD?

3/5/2017

1 Comment

 
​When I started my career as a Dentist in the early 1980's, Dental Insurance was a relatively new concept, advertising by Dentists was restricted and most new graduates would enter private practice as a sole practitioner or as an associate in an established Dental Practice. The cost of Dental Care was only increasing at a rate similar to the rate of the Consumer Price Index, Dental Insurance had an average yearly Maximum Compensation of about $1000.00 and patients could use their insurance to receive care from any Dentist with very few restrictions.

Today, Insurance Companies have a significant influence on the delivery of Dental Care and pressures from the Federal Trade Commission have led to removal of restrictions on advertising by Dental Practices. Dentists are now graduating from Dental School with hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt which makes it very difficult for new Dentists to afford the costs of getting started in a traditional Dental Practice. Large Corporate owned Dental Chains are opening in many areas and capitalizing on aggressive marketing and hiring new Dental School Graduates as employees who are paid a percentage of their production. Most Dental Insurance now requires patients to choose from a limited list of contract Dentists who have agreed to provide discounted care. While Dental Insurance premiums have increased substantially, the maximum yearly compensation of most Dental Plans has not increased since the 1980's yet the cost of Health Care has increased at a rate that exceeds overall inflation. People generally purchase Insurance to minimize risk of unexpected large expenditures but most Dental Insurance covers only a few routine services after the policy holder pays substantial deductibles and co-payments. Ironically large dental costs are paid entirely by the patient after the low yearly insurance maximums are reached.

Some important questions that need to be answered include: How does all of this affect the Delivery of Dental Care? Does Dental Insurance, with access to providers limited to only contracted (PPO) Dentists with Discounted Fees, encourage quality care for the policy holders? How do Corporate Owned Dental Chains affect the Dentist-Patient relationship? Do production incentives increase the potential for aggressive treatment? Is a traditional preventive care oriented practice a better model to deliver conservative cost effective care?


1 Comment
Taft Hill Orthodontics link
12/14/2021 09:56:32 pm

Thanks for sharing such great information! Orthodontists are dental specialists who operate with the teeth and jaw to fix bite issues like crowding and tooth gaps.

To guarantee correct fit, orthodontic therapy usually entails the extraction, pressing, and repositioning of teeth. The term "braces" or "orthodontics" is also used to describe the field. In order to straighten teeth, orthodontists employ braces. They also wear retainers after their braces are removed to keep their teeth from reverting to their pre-braces positions. Orthodontists also educate patients on proper tooth brushing and flossing techniques, as well as oral hygiene management.

An orthodontist is a dentist who has completed three years of orthodontic training in a university-affiliated school, which can take up to four years to complete.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2024
    December 2022
    November 2021
    November 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2019
    October 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed