Author: Tyler Kerr, Business Manager

Coming this November the TRICARE Retiree policy will no longer exist. Current and future Subscribers will be given options for new dental plans. In this blog I will outline which plans may be the best option for you. The new dental plans are called FEDVIP plans. These are dental and vision plans that are offered to federal employees. In the past retired military members and their families were covered under a separate TRICARE policy administered by Delta Dental of California. This is the plan that will no longer exist at the end of this year. All retirees are being grouped in with all federal employees (does not affect active duty, reserve, guard or dependent coverage for active and guard). 
So what are your new options? Aetna, BCBS FEP, GEHA, Delta Federal, MetLife and United Concordia. My recommendation of what plans to pick is based on my experiences with these plans and our participation status as well as the participation status of the other specialty offices we work closely with. I will give my opinion with each of these plans below. Note my opinion is not based on our reimbursement but what is best for you. The plans I do not recommend actually pay us more. 


Aetna: Small network of participating doctors. Higher out of pocket costs and less options for care in the area. NOT Recommended.


GEHA: Little to no in network participation with providers. Lower premium. Substantially higher out of pocket. No participating specialists. NOT Recommended.


BCBS FEP: Basically a medical plan with limited dental coverage. Higher out of pocket. Larger participating provider base. I only recommend these FEP plans for individuals who have had no dental issues and only receive 1 to 2 routine cleanings per year.  LIMITED Recommendation.


Delta Federal: This plan is most like the current TRICARE plan that you are use to. This plan has the highest premiums, but will have the lowest out of pocket for services that are not covered at 100%, like fillings, crowns, extractions and root canals. Preventative services (routine cleanings) are usually covered at 100%. This plan has the largest pool of participating providers, general and specialty. HIGHLY Recommend.


Met Life: This plan will have a lower premium than Delta with similar coverage levels, minus fluoride. Routine cleanings and x-rays are usually covered at 100%. Restorative work is covered between 50 and 80 percent, same as Delta. The provider base is smaller. We are a participating provider but most specialists in the area are not. Be prepared to travel to the east side of the state for an oral surgeon or endodontist (root canal). RECOMMEND if you want a good dental plan at a descent premium and do not have extensive dental issues.


United Concordia: This plan will have a lower premium than Delta, and about on par with the Met Life policy. Routine cleanings and x-rays are usually covered at 100%. Restorative work is covered between 50 and 80 percent, same as Delta. The provider base is smaller than even Met Life. We are a participating provider but most specialists in the area are not. Be prepared to travel to the east side of the state for an oral surgeon or endodontist (root canal). RECOMMEND if you want a good dental plan at a descent premium and do not have extensive dental issues.


In conclusion here is my recommendation order from Most Recommended to Least.


Delta Federal (MOST)
Met Life FEDVIP
United Concordia FEDVIP
BCBS FEP
GEHA
AETNA (LEAST)

Estimated prices for each plan is attached below. This is for the 49014 zip code. You can compare plans on Benefeds.com

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me (269-964-755). I am happy to work any of our veterans and their families through this transition. 

Views and opinions of Tyler Kerr, not the official views of Charles H. Palumbo DDS, PC. 
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While technology, thus far, is no replacement for the human brain or our abilities, it can be a useful tool to help enlighten our talents. We have not yet reached the point in the dental field where a robot can clean your teeth or perform a filling, but we do have technologies that help us perform those tasks. Anyone who has had a cleaning and exam at our office has been both physically and visually expected for cavities (or what we call them, Caries). The human eye is an amazing part of the body. Only recently has technology progressed enough to replicate human sight in devices such as film and digital cameras. Recently our office invested in a new type of dental intraoral camera. Since 2002 our office has had a digital camera, however, resolutions have greatly improved, along with other types of features, including “caries detection”. Our new camera is called a SoPro Life manufactured by Acteon. This camera allows us to see clear, crisp images from 30mm to 0 (Macro Mode). Paired with our new Apple iMac computers, our team can clearly see any defects or issues with a patients teeth. The “caries detection” mode is what we are most excited about. While x-rays, visual, and physical exams can give us a pretty good idea if a tooth has decay, the intraoral camera in caries mode helps us further by highlighting suspected decay. While this is by no means a replacement for years of experience or x-rays it is a tool to help us better diagnose a cavity. Furthermore, for the first time we can show you what we are seeing. We do our best to never under or over diagnose a patient, and we hope that this camera will further help us to continue this practice.  Another reason for the camera has to do with your insurance. Insurance companies are increasingly looking for reasons not to pay for your dental procedures. With this camera and our Viive Mac dental software, we can submit the photos we take as proof to the insurance company with your dental claims. We are always looking for ways to provide the best dental care for our patients. Thank you for following our blog posts and keeping connected with us. Our next blog post will be on Apple products in our office!

   Yup.  The sneeze, sniffly, drippy, cough inducing cold season has arrived.  And, as always, researchers are still trying to find the causes.  Time and chicken soup seem to work the best at treating the symptoms.  I have sen hints that Vitamin C helps, but have no proof that it cures.  A word of caution to those of you trying Zinc containing compounds, that serious side effects can occur from taking too much of them.  Evidence of that was the recent removal of Zinc from denture adhesives due to toxicity concerns.  Vitamin d deficiency is being identified with a number of disease processes and it would not surprise me to one day see it linked to colds as well.  Health food friends advocate taking a tablespoon of honey mixed with a small amount of powdered cinnamon in a hot tea mixture for relief of symptoms too.
   But, before you try self medications, especially beyond the recommended doses, please consult with your health care provider, or at least Google search your plans to find out what any costly side effects might be.  Try to keep your diet inclusive of lots of fruits and vegetables to avoid vitamin deficiencies.  That being said, here's hoping for a healthy winter for us all.  Dr. P

Today marked a golden anniversary for Dan Livingston, and he was gracious enough to allow us to publicize that fact.  Dan became a patient of Dr. Mohlman in 1963 when he was attending W. K. Kellogg Junior High School.  A relative of his was the dental hygienist for Dr. Mohlman.  At that time the office was located on North Avenue near the hospitals.  When I joined Dr. Mohlman in 1989, and he semi retired, Dan started to see me, and has been faithfully with us now for a total of fifty years.  Thank you for the trust and confidence, Dan.  Your dedication speaks volumes.  Dr P

Yesterday afternoon the Centers for Disease Control issued a warning linking Oxyelite Pro to a number of cases of Hepatitis and Liver Failure. This supplement is marketed as a weight loss and muscle building aid. Please discontinue using it if you have any, and consider turning it in to the Michigan Department of Community Health. If you have any health issues, flu like symptoms, or noticing a yellowing of your skin or of the whites of your eyes, please see your primary care doctor ASAP.

I get requests for this recipe so I wanted to pass it along. Enjoy!

1. 1 cup pine nuts. These have to be carefully browned in olive oil (1 tablespoon EVOO) on a low heat, stirring often. Set aside to cool.
2. 1/2 cup of diced sweet onion and 1 full garlic clove minced. These have to be "sweated" clean on low heat in olive oil. Set aside to cool.
3. Mix together 3 lbs of ground chuck and 1 lb of mild ground sausage.
4. Add two raw eggs and 2 cups of fine bread crumbs.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of Italian Seasoning. 1/2 teaspoon Adolf's meat tenderizer. 1 teaspoon of black pepper. 1 teaspoon salt.
6. Add in pine nuts, seated onions and 1 cup dark raisins.
7. Make into meatballs. Bake on tin foil at 375 for 40 minutes.
8. After cooling shrink wrap and freeze. Or eat them all!

     I Just wanted to pass along some of the natural sources of antibiotics to you all along with a few thoughts on same.  First, do you really need them?   Well, if you have a bacterial infection the answer is yes, but are you getting the right one for the infection you  have or are you just guessing?  Then why would you want to know natural sources of them?  
    If you follow the news, from time to time you will see blurbs about what is included in the processed and fast foods we have been served, with strong concerns about how healthy they are or not for us, and questions about whether or not they have appropriate vitamins and minerals.  I won't go into detail about that topic except to mention that these are more often than not legitimate concerns.
    I wanted to share with you one vivid fact from my being a health care provided for nearly twenty five years.   Most of the healthy older patients I have seen over the years do a great deal of at home cooking, making meals from scratch, adding their own spices and ingredients. In general, these folks have been presenting much healthier bodies and mouths than the younger folks and seem to have fewer colds and short term illnesses.  The restorations and repairs in my older patient population seems to last longer, too, and very few use carbonated beverages either.
    So I am theorizing that there seems to be a connection to lower pop intake, which is a treat for our older patients, cooking healthy meals for oneself rather than trips for fast food, and the natural healing ingredients found in spices and home prepared meals.  And, the bonus of trying to switch is a lower food expense.  If you do not believe me, keep a diary of every single pop, energy drink, fast food stop, and snack you purchase over a month.
    Here's hoping for a healthier life for us all.

A lot of people watch Dr. Oz and rely soley on him for their medical information. Just thought we would pass this along. The full article can be found on the American Dental Associations website. Dr. P

"June 10, 2013
ADA and Sharecare part waysBy Kelly Soderlund, ADA News staff
The ADA has terminated its relationship with Sharecare.

The Association decided to end its connection with the consumer website, which was co-founded by Mehmet Oz, M.D., otherwise known as Dr. Oz, after a March 28 episode of "The Dr. Oz Show" provided misleading information on dental amalgam. Producers refused to interview an ADA spokesperson for the segment, but Dr. Oz, who remains closely tied to Sharecare, did read a brief statement about dental amalgam attributed to the ADA.

"As a science-based organization, we should always welcome inquiry, but we should not be seen as supporting the promotion of misleading information unsupported by the best science," said ADA President Robert A. Faiella.

Users who click on an ADA answer for more information will soon be directed to a notice on Sharecare.com indicating that the ADA is no longer affiliated with Sharecare. The notice will direct users to the ADA's consumer website for more information on oral health."

Upper wisdom teeth can erupt later in life than our teen years. If a tooth in front of an unerupted is lost sometimes this triggers the wisdom tooth to start moving downward and forward. This may or not result in a replacement for the missing tooth in front of that wisdom tooth. If this happens to you, see your dentist for guidance as to what treatment is needed. For the discomfort, use warm salt water rinses several times a day and take an over the counter pain medicine such as aspirin or Ibuprofen appropriate for your system and not more than recommended doses. Avoid over use of teething lotions as their effect is short lived. Ice packs and chewing on cold baby teething rings sometimes helps as well. DrP