Navigating dental care costs can be challenging, but Endres Dental Care & Orthodontics in Burtonsville, MD, offers flexible dental financing plans to make top-quality care accessible for everyone. Understanding your financial options can alleviate stress and allow you to focus on maintaining a healthy smile.

What Are Dental Financing Plans?

Dental financing plans are designed to help patients manage the cost of dental treatments by breaking down payments into manageable monthly installments. These plans can cover various services, including routine check-ups, emergency procedures, and orthodontic treatments.

Benefits of Dental Financing Plans

1. Affordability: Financing plans make dental care more affordable by spreading the cost over several months, reducing the immediate financial burden.
2. Access to Comprehensive Care: With financing options, patients can access a wider range of treatments without worrying about upfront costs.
3. Flexibility: Many plans offer flexible terms, allowing you to choose a payment schedule that fits your budget.

Financing Options at Endres Dental Care

At Endres Dental Care & Orthodontics, we believe that financial constraints should never prevent you from receiving the dental care you need. Here are the financing options available to our patients:

CareCredit®

CareCredit® is a popular healthcare credit card that offers special financing options for medical and dental expenses. Benefits of CareCredit® include:

– No Interest Financing: If paid in full within the promotional period (typically 6, 12, or 18 months), there is no interest.
– Extended Payment Plans: For larger expenses, CareCredit® offers extended plans with fixed monthly payments and competitive interest rates.
– Wide Acceptance: CareCredit® is widely accepted across various healthcare providers, making it a versatile choice for ongoing care.

Smile Savings Plan

Endres Dental Care also offers an in-house dental payment plan known as the Smile Savings Plan. This plan is specifically designed to provide affordable dental care for individuals and families without traditional dental insurance. Key features of the Smile Savings Plan include:

– Annual Membership Fee: Patients pay a low annual membership fee to join the plan.
– Included Services: Membership includes routine preventive care such as exams, cleanings, and X-rays.
– Discounted Rates: Members receive significant discounts on additional dental treatments, including fillings, crowns, and orthodontics.
– No Waiting Periods: Unlike traditional insurance, there are no waiting periods, so you can start using your benefits immediately.
– No Annual Maximums: Enjoy unlimited benefits without worrying about annual caps.

Why Choose Endres Dental Care?

At Endres Dental Care & Orthodontics, our commitment to patient care extends beyond the dental chair. We strive to provide accessible, high-quality care by offering various financial solutions tailored to our patients’ needs. Our team is dedicated to helping you understand and utilize these financing options to achieve optimal dental health.

Dental financing plans are an excellent way to ensure you and your family receive the dental care you need without the stress of immediate costs. Endres Dental Care & Orthodontics in Burtonsville, MD, offers financing options through CareCredit® and our in-house Smile Savings Plan, making high-quality dental treatments accessible and affordable. Contact us today to learn more about how our financing plans can benefit you and schedule your consultation.

The idea of billions of microbes and bacteria living in your mouth may seem like a scary thought. In reality, these microscopic entities work hard to create a symbiotic environment for both them and you. Around 300 different species of microbes live in your mouth, all working in harmony to create communities called biofilms. Depending on your eating habits and oral care, this may or may not be a good thing. Biofilms left to develop with little oral care and poor eating habits can lead to an excess of bad bacteria, throwing off the balance of your entire oral microbiome. Various health conditions can be traced back to an upset microbiome, from infected gums to Irritable Bowel Syndrome, you never know what could be affected by a dirty mouth.

If you’ve been dealing with unexplained ailments, you might have your mouth to blame. So how do you fix it? Research shows that your oral microbiome is most affected by your oral care regimen and your eating habits. Just like us, microbes need to eat, making the mouth the perfect home. This also means that whatever you eat, your microbes eat too. According to an article by the Genomic Medicine Group, when we eat foods with high amounts of added sugar and refined flour, certain microbes in the mouth convert those sugars to acid. The newly created acid then erodes tooth enamel and overwhelms the mouth with bad bacteria. Via your saliva, this bad bacteria can easily travel to your gut, enter your bloodstream, and affect other areas of the body.

To prevent the build-up of bad bacteria and ensure a healthy microbiome, doctors recommend controlling the amount of sugary/processed foods you consume and insist on a daily oral care regimen that includes brushing twice a day, flossing, and drinking plenty of water. Fluoride treatments can be used for advanced cases but it does run the risk of inhibiting good bacteria along with the bad. At the end of the day, a healthy microbiome does not depend on getting rid of all of the bad and only having healthy bacteria. The truth is that your oral microbiome needs a ton of diversity to perform how it’s supposed to. As long as you manage your sugar intake and take daily care of your oral health, your microbiome will flourish and your mouth will be better for it!

Learn how regular checkups help maintain a healthy microbiome Call Endres Dental Care

How to Fix an Overbite

Overbites are very common in both children and adults, with many having at least a tiny overbite. While not typically the most serious dental problem, a significant overbite can lead to several dental health problems. There are a number of ways to prevent or treat an overbite, and here at Endres Dental Care, we can help find the right treatment for you or your child. 

What is an Overbite?

An overbite is when a person’s upper teeth extend beyond their bottom front teeth. The most frequent cause of this is the size of the jaw or teeth – there may not be enough space in the jaw to fit one’s teeth. 

Other causes can include frequent nail biting, teeth grinding, and for children thumbsucking and using a pacifier after age three. Read more about the causes of an overbite.

Is an Overbite Bad?

An overbite can cause a number of problems, such as tooth decay, gum disease, and jaw discomfort. Since the upper and lower teeth are misaligned, an overbite can also cause enamel to be worn down or teeth to be chipped or cracked due to friction between teeth. An overbite can also make it more difficult to chew and bite since the teeth are misaligned.

How to Fix it

There are different ways to treat children and adults for an overbite. For children, braces can be used to slowly shift the teeth into a proper alignment. This is followed by a retainer to keep the teeth in place. Another treatment option for children is to use palate expanders, a type of growth modification device, to reposition the jaw during growth spurts. Another option is to extract baby teeth or permanent teeth to create room for adult teeth.

For adults, extracting teeth to create room for the remaining ones is also an option. Another treatment option is to use clear aligners, such as Invisalign®, to reposition teeth impacted by the overbite. This is an excellent option for many adults, as they are discreet and can be removed when eating. 

If you or your child is experiencing an overbite, don’t wait for serious issues to develop. Call our office today at 301-989-0088. We’re here to help you get the best possible treatment in a safe and comfortable environment!

Dental implants have become many dentists’ go-to procedure for replacing missing teeth. Dental implant surgery replaces tooth roots with metal, screwlike posts and replaces damaged or missing teeth with artificial teeth that look and function much like real ones. Endres Dental Care in Burtonsville, MD offers implants as a great alternative to dentures when a lack of natural teeth roots don’t allow building denture or bridgework tooth replacements.

What are the risks?

Like any type of surgery, there are a few risks to getting dental implants. However, the problems that come with dental implant surgery are rare and typically minor and very treatable. Risks include: 

• Sinus problems, when dental implants placed in the upper jaw protrude into one of your sinus cavities
• Injury or damage to surrounding structures, such as other teeth or blood vessels
• Nerve damage, which can cause pain, numbness or tingling in your natural teeth, gums, lips or chin
• Infection at the implant site

The advantages of using dental implants. 

Dental implants are one of the most reliable dental procedures with a 95% success. They also offer advantages that other missing teeth solutions do not, such as:

• Appearance – Implants look and feel like your natural teeth.
• Speech – No need to worry about slipping dentures or loose bridges that can cause slurred speech.
• Comfort – Implants are permanent and stable, so no chaffing or discomfort will happen like with dentures.
• Oral health – Implant placement does not require modifying surrounding teeth as a bridge does. Also, implants stop bone deterioration and stimulate healthy bone tissue growth.

Dental Implant Procedure

When considering having a dental implant procedure, a patient will typically go through the following steps: 

1. First, the patient will go through a thorough exam and consultation with the dentist. The dentist will then make an individualized treatment plan. 
2. At the next appointment, the team will place your implant, which acts as a substitute tooth root. 
3. Then, the tooth is given time (about 2-3 months) to heal and integrate with the bone tissue. 
4. Once the implant has bonded to the bone tissue, a small connector called an abutment is attached to the implant.
5. Impressions are taken of your teeth to create either a custom crown to replace one tooth or an implant-supported bridge or denture for multiple missing teeth. Crown restorations are custom tinted, so they blend in beautifully with your natural teeth.
6. The finished crown, bridge, or denture is attached to the implant(s).

Once you get the finished implant, your new teeth are ready to use! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our Burtonsville, MD office at (301) 989-0088. We want your implants to look and feel like real teeth and you smile looking its best!

From Endres Dental Care in Burtonsville, MD

Braces can feel like a bit of a contradiction. You want a clean, straight smile, but you first have to wear a highly visible device on your teeth for months on end. You want a well-aligned bite, but for a while braces make some day-to-day tasks, such as brushing teeth and eating some foods, more difficult. Fortunately, for those who want to show off their pretty pearly whites as they go AND show off the results of their realignment as soon as possible, one option is clear plastic removable aligners such as Invisalign® aligner systems.

The Benefits of Clear Aligners

Clear aligners, as their name suggests, are clear plastic devices intended to straighten your teeth over time. They are nearly undetectable by observers. Not only are they more difficult to see (getting you closer to being able to show off that perfect smile), but they can be taken out temporarily when needed, allowing you to brush your teeth or eat without distraction.

The Clear Aligner Fitting Process

For most clear aligners, including Invisalign® systems, your dentist will take a mold of your teeth and send it in. From there, orthodontic experts will determine the difference in positions between where your teeth are and where you want them to be and will create several stages of aligners to gradually move your teeth into the desired position. You’ll have to wear the aligners most of the time—about 22 hours a day. At certain points in the process as your teeth change position, you’ll move on to the next device, switching them out until your teeth are right where you want them to be.

Alternatively, there are kits you can order to take a mold of your teeth at home. This is an overall less expensive process, but you aren’t likely to achieve the same results and you lose the benefit of your dentist’s expertise. Clear aligners may not be the best solution for you, so it’s best to consult your dentist beforehand even if you decide to go this route.

How to Pay for Clear Aligners

Depending on the degree of work your teeth need, an Invisalign® clear aligner treatment can cost between $3,000 and $7,000. According to Invisalign’s® website, your insurance may be able to pay as much as $3,000 of the cost. For the amount your insurance doesn’t cover, you have some options.

Endres Dental Care offers affordable savings plans and external payment plans, which allows you to split a large bill into smaller payments over time. This makes payment much more manageable for some people and can be useful in emergency situations when you don’t have time to save money for the treatment before you begin.

Of course, if you can save the money ahead of time, that’s probably the better option. If you’re planning to save up for an Invisalign® clear aligner treatment or something similar, you may want to consider opening a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA). Accounts such as these allow you to take a certain amount of money out of your paycheck, pretax, to pay for some expenses—including, in some cases, clear aligners. The types of accounts you’re allowed to open and the amount of money you can put into them will vary depending on your situation, so talk to your bank or another financial professional about your options.

For those who can use them, clear aligners such as Invisalign® systems can be the least intrusive solution for straightening teeth. It’s nice not to have to worry about the looks and inconveniences of traditional braces! The initial cost of clear aligners may seem daunting, but options are available to help pay for them. If you have any questions about clear aligners or other methods of straightening your teeth, please contact us in Burtonsville, MD. We’ll be happy to walk you through your options and help you find the best possible solution for your smile.