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January 2019 Newsletter
What´s New at Savon
Quote Of The Month: “Now there are more overweight people in America than average–weight people. So overweight people are now average… which means, you have met your New Year´s resolution.” (Jay Leno -1950-Present, Comedian, Actor)
Congratulations To:
G. Rohr of Henderson, Nevada and C, Stober of Phoenix, Arizona Winners of our December early payment drawings for 1 free additional year of membership.
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone that entered the drawings.
To Your Health With Jourdin Hendershot:
Osteoporosis
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Did you know that our skeleton is one large organ that is constantly changing? One of these changes includes diminishing of bone density, which means bones become more fragile and likely to break. The professional medical term used for this disease is Osteoporosis.
According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF), about 44 Million Americans age 50 and older suffer from osteoporosis or low bone mass.
This bone-thinning disease can creep up, slowly draining the bones of calcium over the decades, making them so brittle that even mild stresses, like bending over to pick up something, vacuuming or even coughing can cause a fracture.
Fractures are often the first signs of trouble. Osteoporosis fractures usually occur in bones that directly support the weight of the body, like the spine and hips. Another common fracture is the wrist. This type of fracture is often caused by falls.
Everyone is at risk for Osteoporosis. Luckily, it can be prevented or slowed down if detected early by:
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- Not smoking – Smoking increases bone loss.
- Estrogen replacement – Women, this is the most important way to reduce the risk of osteoporosis during or after menopause. It can prevent bone loss and reduce the risk of spine and hip fractures by 50%.
- Calcium and Vitamin D – These nutrients are critical for building peak bone mass in the younger years and prevents bone loss during aging.
- Exercise – Weight-bearing exercise (walking, jogging, and stair-climbing) can help build strong bones and slow down bone loss.
It´s never too late to protect our bones! We don´t have to wait for fractures to let us know there may be a problem. Armed with the strategies listed above, we can make our bones last a lifetime!
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.:
Holiday Brunch Casserole
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| Ingredients |
| 1 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces |
1 tbsp butter |
| 1 large yellow onion, chopped |
1 cup celery, sliced |
| 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped |
1 tsp salt |
| 4 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed |
½ tsp garlic salt |
| 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms |
1 tsp pepper |
| 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese |
1½ cups milk |
| ½ tsp dried parsley |
5 eggs |
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Fry bacon together with onions in a large skillet. Drain the grease, put bacon into a small bowl and set aside. Using the same skillet, melt butter and saute mushrooms and celery until tender.
Place thawed potatoes in bottom of a greased 9 X 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Top with the bacon mixture, then the mushroom mixture.
In a large bowl, beat eggs, milk and parsley. Stir in chopped spinach. Pour over casserole. Top with grated cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes or until set.
Serve it with a fresh fruit bowl or breakfast rolls!
Recipe serves approximately 8 people.
Enjoy! And remember, if it looks and smells good, eat it!!
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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Majestic Dentistry |
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Our spotlight for January goes to the city of Anthem, Arizona and shines on Dr. Jacob Holly at Majestic Dentistry
Dr. Holly was born and raised here in Phoenix, Arizona and went to Sandra Day O´Connor High School. He attended The University of Arizona where he earned a B.S. in Physiology. He then moved back to the Valley, where he attended Midwestern University in Glendale to complete his dental education. Following graduation, Dr. Holly worked as a general dentist in the Phoenix area until taking over Majestic Dentistry.
Dr. Holly loves meeting new families and giving them more reasons to smile! The friendly and compassionate team is always looking forward to getting to know thier patients on a personal level and providing the service and treatment they deserve. Your oral health is important to them, so be assured that they will always work toward finding the best dental solution for you!
The practice is located at 42104 N. Venture Dr Ste B134 Anthem, AZ 85086. The phone number is 623-551-6300. We also invite you to visit them on the web.
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Say thank you to your dental office for the excellent manner in which you are treated by nominating your dentist!
Fun Facts:
Top New Years Resolutions That I Will And I Will No Longer Do
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This Year I will No Longer:
- Drink paint thinner while smoking a cigarette
- Pillow fight with a bag of spare change
- Talk with my mouth full of nails
- Drink and drive, as I'm sick of running over speed bumps and spilling my beer in the car
- Shower while making toast on the edge of my bathtub
This Year I will
- Come up with new excuses for not doing work rather than boring my boss with the same old ones that I have been using for years
- Find that damn manual and actually read it, just as soon as I press this button…
- Use a lot more deodorant and wash my clothes much less often
- Sit in my room all day in my nightshirt rather than doing so in the living room
- Exercise more self-control, like not drinking anything stronger than gin before breakfast
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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
Initial Examination And Treatment Plans
This is a verbatim copy of a member's email, (name and City withheld at members request).
“I just went for my first dental visit under this plan. The dentist was very nice and very professional. They did a lot of x-rays, explained
everything to me and hit me with a treatment plan for just over $3500.00. I made sure that I had my fee schedule with me and they had no problem
comparing the Savon prices and the treatment plan prices for me. The charges on the treatment plan were strictly in line with the Savon fee schedule.
They even showed me what the treatment plan would have cost me if I didn't have Savon, $6500.00, so I knew I was saving $3000.00. Not quite 50%, but
still a significant savings. My problem is that I am a single person living on $16.00 per hour raising a kid. Even with Savon there is no way that
I can afford to do everything that the dentist wants to do. Although I know I am saving money with your plan, at this point in time it doesn't seem
that your plan is going to be able to help me. Am I the only person that has experienced this problem or there others and do you have any suggestions
as to what I or we can do?”
Savon’s Answer
First: I am happy to see that you were charged according to the fee schedule. Second: No you are not alone. In fact we find that a large number of members are in the same situation that you are. Third: Yes I do have an explanation and some suggestions.
The first thing to understand is that a treatment plan is a "road map to optimum dental health". It IS NOT carved in stone. The fact of the matter is, if you go to 10 or 15 different dentists, you will get 10 or 15 completely different treatment plans. There are a few things that determine the way a dentist will diagnosis a treatment plan:
- Where he or she went to dental school.
- How long he or she has been in practice.
- The age of the patient.
- The ability of the dentist to perform certain procedures
You will notice that I did not include COST OF THE PROCEDURE in the above list. The doctor is there to diagnose a dental condition NOT your wallet. We have found that most dentists actually don't know what their fee is for any given procedure, this is usually left up to the treatment coordinator or the check out person.
If we look at the treatment plan like a road map, then almost every procedure can be seen as a city on the map. The starting point is where you are now and the final destination is optimum dental health. With the exception of a couple of things, you should be able to pick and choose what cities you want to visit:
- Initial Exam: Not negotiable, done at 1st visit. Find out what's in the car - X-RAYS, how old it is - FORMS, how many dents - VISUAL EXAM
- Full Mouth Debridement: Not negotiable for most people, usually done on 1st or 2nd visit. Clean the old grease and gunk (tarter, plaque, etc) off the motor and bottom of the car to look for hidden leaks and dents.
- Cleaning: Not negotiable and most people want it. Cleans the car and makes it sparkle.
- Periodontal Probing and Charting: Not negotiable usually done on 1st or 2nd visit. This is a very important step. They check the looks of the tires - COLOR AND CONDITION, and the depth of the tread - PERIO POCKETS. If the tires are worn out, you MUST replace them - PERIODONTAL TREATMENT, BEFORE you leave on your trip.
- Remainder of Treatment; Now you are ready to safely proceed on your trip. FROM THIS POINT ON, with the exception of pain (minor break downs) you should be able to pick and choose what cities you want to visit.
PLEASE keep in mind that at some point you should see every city on the map. If you don't, somewhere down the road you will find out what you are missing (more dental problems, possible pain and more expense).
Tooth Talk With Tommy The Wisdom Tooth
Understanding The Fee Schedule And Using It To Your Advantage
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One of the most common issues we have to resolve is the misunderstanding of our Fee Schedule. We truly believe that knowledge is power.
We have dedicated this article to educating you as a member on how to read, understand, and use your fee schedule to avoid misunderstandings, over-charging, or
any other confusion you may have regarding your dental bill.
You may or may not be aware that Savon's Fee Schedule is 'a la carte'. This means that we break EVERYTHING down so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Unfortunately, not all dental offices do this when they make up your bill. It is very common for providers to "bundle" your bill into one lump sum, leaving you without an explanation of charges. To avoid this, we suggest that you follow these 2 easy steps:
- Ask the treatment coordinator to break down your bill by procedure.
- Ask them for the ADA (American Dental Association) codes for every procedure.
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Once you have those, you can look up each procedure by code and see exactly what you should be charged.
Another common issue we run into is the charging of lab fee's. Anytime you are having a procedure done that involves something being sent to a lab to be made, there is a lab fee involved.
Although Savon's fee schedule does not have a specific section dedicated to the explanation of lab fees, we do include that information in the code number for all procedures involving lab fees, (it will look something like this: bc2752). There may be up to 3 different letters in FRONT of the procedure code. The explanations and associated procedures for these letters are:
- a. First cleaning may be a difficult cleaning - (if you haven't had your teeth cleaned in a long time)
- b. Plus Gold/Metal Charges - (crowns, inlays and onlays - in addition to lab fee)
- c. Plus Lab Fee not to exceed $150.00 - (crowns)
- d. Plus Actual Lab Fee - (pure porcelain crowns, dentures)
- f. Plus Lab Fee not to exceed $160.00 per tooth - (fixed bridge work)
These explanations can also be found on the back side, bottom left hand area of your fee schedule (with the exception of the online fee schedule where the lab fees are listed directly underneath the procedure). Keep in mind that we can not quote you for a "gold/metal charge" or for an "actual lab fee," as these charges vary depending upon a multitude of factors.
Finally, as always, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND taking a copy of your fee schedule to EVERY dentist appointment. If you don't have a current fee schedule, you may print a copy from the web or contact our Customer Care Center at 800-809-3494 and we will mail one to you. Of course, should you have any problems or concerns regarding your dental bill, contact our Customer Care Center during regular business hours and a representative will be available to assist you.
Here are more tips to help you have a better dental experience:
- It sounds repetitive, but ALWAYS bring your fee schedule with you!
- Study your fee schedule and become familiar with it!
- Don't be afraid to ask questions, you'll never know until you ask!
- Don't be afraid to question your bill if you feel your charges are incorrect! It's your money, and you have a right to know exactly where it's going!
- Give us feedback! You, your opinions, comments, and concerns DO matter to us and we resolve 99.9% of our customer's issues.
Until next time; brush, floss and keep smiling!
The above material is provided as an information service and is not intended as medical advice.
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