Minneapolis Dentistry : Dr. Tim Clavin » Uncategorized

Is Sedation Dentistry Affordable?

Dr.Tim Clavin — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:43:04 +0000

Do we make Sedation Affordable?

There is a small cost involved with it. We do make arrangements to have a doctor come in and that cost is a little bit more. But many of times, what we do is ask patients just to make payments. There are different vehicles for patients to make payments: interest-free payment plans, the can prepay, all types of things are available to our patients.

Patients sometimes have the concept that they can’t afford it. It always comes up. I am really interested in explaining to patients that we have very successful patients, patients who are very wealthy, and we have those patients who are not and we work with them. We want to offer our Sedation services to them and we can phase these things and make it very affordable for them.

Using Your Dental Benefits and Flex Spending Before End of Year

Dr.Tim Clavin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:40:09 +0000

If your employer has provided the benefit of a Flex Spending Account you are eligible to up to 40% of the cost of you and your family’s dental work by using pre-tax dollars.

By the end of the year, your Flex Spending Accounts may not be available for you to use due to new legislation.

Here are some ways for you to use your FSA before the end of the year:

Plan major expenses ahead of time. You can prevent the hit of a major expense by spreading the cost throughout the year.
If you have Orthodontia Insurance, you can pair it with your FSA to save a substantial amount of money on your orthodontia. The only approved FSA expense that can be reimbursed during the course of treatment and payments are made, is orthodontia.
You must claim your services provided by the end of the period determined by your plan.
Look over coverage from your insurance and expenses that you have to pay thoroughly before you determine how much to put into your FSA. This will help you prevent losing left-over money at the end of your plan’s year and make sure to receive your eligible savings.
Cosmetic procedures are not covered expense for your FSA. Things like Veneers (unless it is a health issue), whitening, won’t be re-imbursed.

Every time you arrive for a dental appointment, show your dental insurance ID card. Make sure you understand your benefits before you being to pay for dental expenses. Be diligent and use your FSA to pay only your

Invisalign vs Traditional Orthodontics | Cosmetic Dentist Minneapolis

Dr.Tim Clavin — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:24:53 +0000

Traditional braces have been long been the requirement in orthodontics until recent developments brought about retainers and invisalign braces. Today we will compare Invisalign braces versus traditional orthodontics or braces.

Invisalign isn’t appropriate for complex bite problems or different cases of misalignment. Traditional wire and bracket braces are typically used for those complex problems.

Invisalign is commonly used to correct the following dental problems:
- Overly crowded teeth. When there is not enough room in the jaw for all of the teeth to fit comfortably or normally (one to five millimeters).
- Widely spaced teeth. When there is too much space between the teeth due to abnormal growth of the jaw or shifting of the teeth due to missing teeth (one millimeter to five millimeters).
- Overbite/overjet. When the upper teeth bite over the lower teeth.
- Crossbite. When the upper and lower jaws are misaligned, causing one or more upper teeth to bite on the inside of the lower teeth, on either the front and/or sides of the mouth.
- Mild relapse. After traditional braces have been removed, when some relapsing tooth movement has occurred.
- Invisalign may also be a treatment alternative for certain simple malocclusions (bite irregularities)

Invisalign aligners are removable, which allows great freedom for eating, drinking certain beverages, brushing and flossing. You should only drink water with them on, in order to avoid staining the aligners. Even though they come off, they still must be worn for at least 20 hours a day in order to reposition the teeth successfully. So yes that means you will still have to sleep with them in, unless it’s a cat nap. Typically you will use about twenty to thirty aligners for the upper and lower teeth to complete the treatment, which lasts on average about a year. Different alignment problems take different times. Each aligner moves the teeth in increments as small as .25 millimeters to .33 millimeters.

You might wonder, how do they create something so precise? They use computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing processes at the Align Technologies dental lab. These are based off of teeth impressions and are always custom made.

Don’t get too excited, traditional braces will still be used for things such as
- Crowding and spacing greater than five millimeters.
- Skeletal malocclusions.
- Discrepancies involving centric-relation/centric-occlusion (how the upper and lower jaw joints and jaw muscles close together).
- Teeth that are severely rotated.
- Open bites in the front and back of the mouth that need to be closed.
- Teeth that are severely tipped.
- Upper or lower jaws with multiple missing teeth.

Indonesia Song | Cosmetic Dentist Minneapolis

Dr.Tim Clavin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:00:06 +0000

A video from my trip to Indonesia
http://www.sedationandgeneraldentistry.com/

Indonesia Ants | Cosmetic Dentist Minneapolis

Dr.Tim Clavin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:56:03 +0000

A video from my trip to Indonesia
http://www.sedationandgeneraldentistry.com/

Indonesia Classroom | Cosmetic Dentist Minneapolis

Dr.Tim Clavin — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:54:23 +0000

A video from my trip to Indonesia

http://www.sedationandgeneraldentistry.com/

Dentistry From The Heart – Spreading Free Smiles Across America

Dr.Tim Clavin — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:16:56 +0000

Some footage from our Dentistry From The Heart Event

Orlando Orthodontist | Winter Park | Maitland

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 15:06:18 +0000

Here is an overview video for an outstanding Orlando Orthodontist, Dr. McIntosh.

Dental Photography: Why It’s Used | Twin Cities Cosmetic Dentist

Dr.Tim Clavin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:29:28 +0000

“Dental Photography, photography is very important.. I use it for many reasons, the primary reason is for patient education.” Dr. Tim Clavin
“I felt very comfortable with the Dental Photography he’s does a great job, he’s taken pictures of a variety of different areas of my mouth for different reasons, and issues he’s had to address.” Lenaya Peterson
“A second reason is quite obviously for documentation and submitting it to their third party insurances. By doing so we actually get a better return for the patient themselves using this. It’s been very helpful in todays climate, and its a service thats not always offered in other clinics.” Dr. Tim Clavin
“He let me know that whatever you need, we will make you comfortable and he did.” Lenaya Peterson
“I like it when patients see their teeth and take an interest in it. We start talking about it, and they value the dentistry we deliver here.” Dr. Tim Clavin

If your looking for a great Minneapolis Dentist contact Dr. Tim Clavin.

KKMS Interview with Lee and Ted

Dr.Tim Clavin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:29:21 +0000

Today’s interview with Lee and Ted on 980AM KKMS Radio was an absolute blast!! These two fellows were the nicest of men, with a genuine interest in our upcoming event. They started the interview with an audio cut from “Little Shop of Horrors” that was truly funny. It really made me at ease. They asked some pointed questions about serving patients in these economic times and we even had a gentleman call in to the show requesting some information. They concluded with a sincere wish for a successful day. Very professional young men, If you get a chance go to their web site, “KKMS 980 AM Radio” and look for “Dr. Tim Clavin, Dentistry from the Heart“, on December 16th, 2009.