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December 2023 Newsletter
What´s New at Savon
Quote Of The Month: “There are some people who want to throw their arms round you simply because it is Christmas; there are other people who want to strangle you simply because it is Christmas.” (Robert Staughton Lynd – 1892-1970 – American sociologist and professor)
Congratulations To:
B. Connors of Peoria, Arizona and C. Stephan of Tucson, Arizona Winners of our November early payment drawings for 1 free additional year of membership.
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone that entered the drawing.
To Your Health With Jourdin Hendershot:
Contact Lens Hygiene Mistakes
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Contact lenses are great for some people and in most cases extremely suitable for those with active lifestyles. They work much the same as eyeglasses, but since they don‘t have frames they stay in place during activities and if you ask any contact lens wearer, they will come up with other advantages over eyeglasses.
There are many different brands, colors and materials used for contact lenses so chances are pretty good you will be able to find the best fit and color for you.
Contact lenses are one of the safest forms of vision correction if you follow the proper care and wearing instructions provided by your eye doctor.
When you don‘t follow the instructions you were given the consequences may be dangerous. If you are not following proper hygiene while caring for your contacts you could be damaging your eyes.
Below are some of the mistakes you could be making with your contact hygiene. These may sound harmless but have serious consequences.
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- Cleaning your lenses or case with water: Cleaning your contacts with water can cause the lens to change shape, swell and stick to your eye. This can lead to scratching the cornea, which can cause infections. Wash your case with contact solution, wipe it out and let it air dry completely.
- Topping off the old solution with new solution: When you do this you are causing the solution to lose its effectiveness. ALWAYS use new solution every day.
- Not cleaning out your contact case after every use: A layer of film will start to build up on the bottom and this could put your eyes at risk for infections. After every use rinse out your case, wipe it and let it dry.
- Using the same case over and over: Cases should be replaced every 3 months.
- Not washing your hands before handling the lenses: When you don‘t wash your hands before touching your lens you are placing bacteria in your eye.
I have worn contacts for many years and I never knew you were not supposed to clean your lenses with water. I also found out the hard way that filling your contact case with water ( I didn‘t have any solution on hand so I thought water was the next best thing) can cause your contacts to stick to your eyes like a suction cup making them almost impossible to get out.
Now that I‘m a little wiser, I have corrected my errors concerning my contact lens hygiene and I hope this article helps you too!
Until next year… Have a safe, healthy and happy holiday!
If you have questions you would like to discuss with Jourdin, feel free to drop her an email by clicking here.
The above health material is provided as an information service. It should not be used for diagnostic purposes nor is it intended to take the place of the important relationship between you and your doctor.
Grandma´s Kitchen With Grandma C.:
Cranberry Honey Whipped Butter
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Ingredients
- ½ cup salted Butter (slightly chilled)
- 3 tbsp whole Cranberry sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
Put all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until mixture is blended and smooth.
Scrape bowl and beat again until you achieve a light, fluffy texture. Put into a serving ramekin and serve with dinner rolls.
This is best if served at room temperature, but you can store it in the refrigerator and keep it fresh for several days before serving.
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Enjoy! And remember, if it looks and smells good, eat it!!
Until next year… I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
If you have a recipe that you would like to share with Grandma C., drop her an email by clicking here.
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All Savon Providers |
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Our spotlight for December shines on our network of providers.
As we close the book on this year, we would like to shine our Spotlight on ALL of our superb providers.
A special heartfelt thank you to those who were able to withstand the hardships that inflation and rising costs have caused and continued to provide excellent care for our members throughout this year.
It is because of these wonderful, hard working and dedicated people that we are able to keep moving forward and continue to provide our members with quality dental coverage and care.
We offer our sincerest best wishes going forward and hope and pray that both our members and providers achieve health and prosperity in the New Year and beyond.
Thank you from the Staff at Savon Dental Plan
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Fun Facts:
Interesting Facts About Christmas You May Not Know
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- Christmas supposedly marks the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25. But there is no mention of Dec. 25 in the Bible and most historians actually believe he was born in the spring.
- Dec. 25 was likely chosen because it coincided with the ancient pagan festival Saturnalia, which celebrated the agricultural god Saturn with partying, gambling and gift–giving.
- The Christmas tree made its way to America in the 1830s but wasn‘t popular until 1846, after Germany‘s Prince Albert brought it to England when he married Queen Victoria. The two were sketched in front of a Christmas tree and the tradition instantly became popular. Royal fever was real even back then.
- Because of its roots in pagan festivals, Christmas was not immediately accepted by the religious. In fact, from 1659 to 1681, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston, of all places. You were fined if you were caught celebrating.
- Santa Claus comes from St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop living in (what is now) Turkey in the fourth century A.D. St. Nicholas had inherited a great deal of wealth and was known for giving it away to help the needy. When sainted, he became the protector of children.
- Santa Claus delivering presents comes from Holland‘s celebration of St. Nicholas‘ feast day on Dec. 6. Children would leave shoes out the night before and, in the morning, would find little gifts that St. Nicholas would leave them.
- Rudolph was actually conceived by a department store, Montgomery Ward, as a marketing gimmick to get kids to buy holiday coloring books.
- Rudolph almost didn‘t have a red nose either. At the time, a red nose was a sign of chronic alcoholism and Montgomery Ward thought he would look like a drunkard.
- The first batch of eggnog in America was crafted at Captain John Smith‘s Jamestown settlement in 1607, and the name eggnog comes from the word “grog,” which refers to any drink made with rum.
- How‘s this for romantic? Mistletoe –– that special sprig we all swap smooches under –– is actually a parasite, sucking nutrients from its host tree in order to stay festively green all winter long. If enough mistletoe attaches to a tree, it will eventually kill it.
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Come back for more in next months issue!
Dental Talk - A Member Blog Forum:
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Come blog with us! Dental Talk with Savon is a fun forum to post your interesting topics! Your comments are welcome, it´s free to use and no membership is required.
Some of the topics include;
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These are just a few of the topics. Our blog site contains many other interesting topics. Please join us!!
Here´s Your Answer
Questions From Our Members
Robert G. of San Francisco, California asks:
“I called a dentist and asked if they accept Savon. When I got there they quoted me a price that was a lot higher than the Savon fee schedule showed. If they accept Savon, why are they allowed to charge more than your allowed fees?”
Savon’s Answer
NEVER ask a dental office if they take Savon Dental Plan! ALWAYS ask them if they are in Savon‘s network. This is something we encounter frequently.
Typically, the dentist office will say that they do accept Savon. But if they are not in our network, they are not required to abide by our Schedule of Fees and Benefits and that is a huge difference that could wind up costing you a small fortune and Savon will not be able to assist you in recovering any overcharges.
Again… ALWAYS make sure that you are going to a dental facility that is in Savon‘s network.
Tooth Talk With Tommy The Wisdom Tooth
U.S. Adults Would Choose A Root Canal Over What?
(A direct reprint of an article by Melissa Busch, DrBicuspid.com)
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More than half of adults in the U.S. reported that they would rather undergo a root canal versus receive scam text, email, and social media messages for a year, according to study results from the 2023 scam study from antivirus software company McAfee.
The volume of fake messages received daily coupled with a rash of increasingly believable scams amid a rising artificial intelligence scam surge have left adults overwhelmed, according to a press release dated November 8 from McAfee.
“It‘s truly a sign of the times that most Americans would rather subject themselves to the pain and distress of a root canal than be subjected to scam texts and messages throughout the year,” Roma Majumder, McAfee‘s senior vice president of product, said in the release.
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On average, people receive about a dozen fake or scam email, text, or social messages daily. Additionally, they spend an average of about 94 minutes weekly reading, verifying, and deciding whether messages are credible, which is equal to more than two 40–hour workweeks per year.
Meanwhile, 65% of people in the U.S. reported having clicked or fallen victim to a scam, resulting in nearly half losing money, with 15% getting cheated out of more than $1,000, according to the survey of 7,000 adults.
When it came to choosing between dealing with fake messages and other stressful or scary experiences, the top answer was filing taxes monthly, with 57% of respondents choosing this option.
Of the respondents, 55% reported that they would rather sleep in a haunted house for one night than handle scam messages. This finding followed closely with getting a one–time root canal, which was chosen by 54% of respondents.
Only 40% of adults would rather have food poisoning for 24 hours than deal with phony texts, emails, and posts, according to the release.
“This onslaught of scam messages is a drain on people‘s time, energy, and finances,” Majumder said.
Until next time; brush, floss and keep smiling!
The above material is provided as an information service and is not intended as medical advice.
A Message To You!
A Year End Message From Our C.E.O. Clayton Parker Jr.
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Out with 2023 and in with 2024!
Thanksgiving is over, the holiday season is officially here and in the blink of an eye it will be 2024.
As I reflect on the past year I am overcome with many emotions. I have seen some people have a very successful year but I have seen many more (too many) struggle just to get by and make ends meet.
Savon has not been immune from the trickle down effects of insurance companies and Medicare® and dental plans such as Savon have felt the pinch in a major way; some have even gone out of business. In years past (2009 and earlier), no health insurance company offered individual dental coverage. Between 2013 and now, virtually every health insurance company and even Medicare® offers it.
Insurance companies have the resourses to make what they are offering seem attractive, however in the end people are finding that it is a far inferior product to what Savon offers.
The good news is that many members are realizing this and returning to Savon and it is because of and for you, our loyal members, that we have made it for 32 years and plan on being here to serve you for a long time to come!
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We pride ourselves in our customer service and we will go to any reasonable extreme to work with our members and make them happy. Our phones are monitored by a customer service representative 7 days a week, (and yes… I personally helped one of our members on Thanksgiving Day while I was watching football at home). If you do need to contact us after our normal business hours, simply leave a voice message and, if necessary, we will respond immediately, otherwise the next working day.
For those of you that may be facing financial challenges, we encourage you to give us a call and let us help you as we can offer a variety of payment options.
Our early renewal option has also been a great success. It has cut our cost for printing and postage. We have been able to pass those savings along to the members that take advantage of the offer and to the membership in general by holding the line on our membership rates. If you are nearing renewal time, keep an eye out for your early renewal offer… I promise it will be well worth your while.
Our Nominate Your Dentist program is going great and with your help we have been able to recognize, in our monthly newsletter, a provider that you have recommended for their outstanding job of taking care of your oral health.
I personally invite, (beg, grovel, implore, request or whatever word best describes it) you to visit our page on the Better Business Bureau and give us a review. Please note: This review is for the dental plan, not the dentists.
The Better Business Bureau is a strong marketing tool for us and we have had an A+ rating since they started their rating system. In the past, the only thing the BBB allowed consumers to do was file a complaint against a business. They now allow you to give reviews and express your feelings (good or bad) about a business. Please take a few minutes and give us a review. It will be greatly appreciated.
This has been a snapshot of Savon for 2023 and in closing, I would like to wish each and every one of our members and their families the happiest of holidays and a fantastic and prosperous 2024.
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay with Savon, “your dental plan every step of the way!®
News You Need To Know
Savon‘s Holiday Office Closing Dates
Listed below are the days that Savon Dental Plan‘s office will be closed to observe the holidays for the balance of 2023 and January 2024.
December
- Monday — 12/25 — Christmas Day
- Tuesday — 12/26 — Day after Christmas
January 2024
- Monday — 1/1/24 — New Years Day
- Tuesday — 1/2/24 — Day after New Years
- Monday — 1/15/24 — Martin Luther King Day
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