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In This Issue
Specialty Dentistry with General Anesthesia
Sterilization and Infection Control
Insurance Networks and Navigating the Insurance Maze
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Navigating the Insurance Maze
Maze
 

September 2010

Greetings!                                                           
 
We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe summer! As the fall
season comes upon us, we bring you another edition of our
newsletter. Just as a reminder, children going into kindergarten,
second, or sixth grade are required to have a dental exam and
provide proof to the school. 
Specialty Dentistry With General Anesthesia
 
Some patients have special dental
cases that require them to receive
general anesthesia. According to the American Academy of Pediatric
Dentistry, general anesthesia is a controlled state of unconsciousness
that eliminates awareness, movement
and discomfort during dental treatment. Drs. Herer and Patenio do not perform general anesthesia or
sedations for dental procedures in the office. All general anesthesia procedures are done at the Hawthorn Surgery Center in Libertyville,
IL. At this accredited facility, the highly trained out-patient surgical team work under the supervision of a pediatric anesthesiologist, in addition to Drs. Herer and Patenio, so the child's dental treatment
can be completed safely and efficiently. 

 
There are a variety of reasons why a child may need to receive
general anesthesia for a dental procedure. The child may be very uncooperative, fearful, or anxious, making it impossible to perform
any dental work in the office. Some children are too young to under-
stand how to cope with receiving dental work. Many of these patients need a significant amount of dental work, which makes procedures
done in the office even more difficult. Patients with special needs
may also benefit from general anesthesia. We want our patients to
have a very positive dental experience, so in special cases general anesthesia procedures are the answer. By using properly trained individuals in a secure setting, general anesthesia procedures allow
us to complete quality care in a safe and controlled environment. 
Drs. Herer and Patenio at the Hawthorn Surgery Center with the Pediatric Anesthesiologist
 
  Sterilization and Infection Control
   
 
At Children's Dentistry Group, we use the highest quality disinfecting and sterilizing products. Instruments, equipment, and surroundings
need to be cleaned,
disinfected, and sterilized after each patient use, along with decontaminating all surfaces of the examination room. In
our sterilization room, we use an ultrasonic machine that removes
any debris from dental instruments and sanitizes them before getting sterilized. The ultrasonic vigorously shakes the debris off instruments using ultra sonic waves. After this process is complete, the
instruments either go into a cold sterile or an autoclave machine.
These two procedures sterilize the instruments. The cold sterile is
a bath of low-temperature chemical germicides that sterilize and disinfect instruments after a certain length of time. This is used
mainly for heat-sensitive instruments. The autoclave sterilizes instruments using a high-temperature steam under pressure. The
high-pressure heat penetrates into pouches and cassettes where
the instruments are stored. Every single instrument and tool is
cleaned and sterilized after each patient use using one of the above methods.

 

We implement infection control procedures to ensure precautions
are taken to prevent the spread of disease. At Children's Dentistry
Group we follow The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the American Dental Association's guidelines. All exam room surfaces, such as chairs, lights, and countertops are cleaned after
every patient use. Protective barriers are also used on things such
as chairs, lights, computers, and instruments to ensure even further protection. Disposable items are thrown out after each patient use. Sharp and biohazardous materials get placed in special containers
and are disposed of properly by a licensed biomedical waste
handler. Each staff member washes their hands after every patient
and wears a new mask and pair of gloves for each new patient. They also wear protective eyewear to further enhance infection control procedures. We also follow OSHA regulations that ensure our
workplace is a safe place. All team members have annual training
and certifications through Stericycle. Our office is beyond compliant
and undergoes yearly voluntary inspections by a Stericycle representative to assist us in maintaining high quality standards. 

Why did the germ cross the microscope?
(To get to the other slide.)
3 germs

Insurance Networks and Navigating the Maze
 Maze
We are now preferred providers of many
different insurance networks; Aetna PPO,
Delta Premier/PPO, Cigna PPO - Radius
Network, Humana PPO, Guardian PPO,
MetLife PPO, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO,
United Healthcare PPO, and Principal PPO,
in addition to accepting most traditional
insurance policies. As a network provider of
these insurance carriers, you will be provided with high quality,
pediatric dental care at a preferred rate.
 
We do our best to act as advocates for our patients. We want to
help our patients maximize their insurance benefits as well as trying
to prevent "financial surprises". Once we receive your complete
insurance information, (I.D. numbers, group numbers, claims
address, phone number and sometimes social security numbers, etc.) we can contact your dental carrier to find out what your benefits
are under your specific policy. Deductibles, maximums, coverage percentages, frequencies and even exclusions will vary from policy
to policy. When treatment is needed, we determine an estimated
"out-of-pocket" expense and write up a treatment plan for our
patients ahead of time. If payment arrangements need to be made,
our Practice Administrator, Amy, is always available to discuss the possibilities and help in any way she can.
 
There are times when both dental and medical insurance benefits
can be involved. For example, traumatic injuries to the mouth or oral cavity could be covered by one or both types of insurance. We will contact both medical and dental carriers, write letters of medical necessity, coordinate care with pediatricians or other specialists
and assist in any way we can to help navigate the insurance /
financial maze.
 
If there are ever questions regarding insurance, treatment plans, statements, payment arrangements, in-network vs. out-of-network benefits, etc., Amy can be reached by phone, (847) 726-0300,
by e-mail, [email protected] or in person at our
office, 5 -6 days a week, to provide assistance.
Please Don't Be Bashful                                      
 
If you have any questions regarding pediatric dental health, please
feel free to contact us by phone: 847-726-0300 or by email: [email protected]. If you have a family member or
friend with a child, please feel free to forward this newsletter to them. Thank you.
Sincerely, 
fall leaves
 

Dr. Paul Herer, Dr. Melissa Patenio & the entire CDG Team
 

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