Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays everyone! Just a short post to wish everyone well over the holidays and best of luck in the new year. We will be out of the office December 24 and will return January 5. We are periodically checking messages. If you are a patient of Dr. Goyer or Dr. Coe and experiencing a dental emergency, please call 529-5929 and one of the doctors will return your call as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing everyone in the new year. Remember, the new year also brings insurance changes, so please keep us updated as benefits may change in the new year. We do our best to research your coverage prior to your appointment.

Safe travels. Be merry!

DDS vs DMD

We hear this question quite frequently—What is the difference between DDS and DMD? As you walk in the front door to Inland Family Dentistry, Dr. Goyer is listed as Nannette Goyer, DDS while Dr. Coe is listed as Doug Coe, DMD. Unfortunately, the answer is fairly anticlimactic. There is no difference. The Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) and Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) are the same degrees. It depends on which university the dentist attended. Dr. Goyer attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and Dr. Coe attended the University of Oregon Health Science Center in Portland. Since I like my job, I’ll omit their graduation dates! Hope that helps solve one the great mysteries of dentistry!

Read more at http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/d/dds-dmd

Pediatric Dental Policies & the Affordable Care Act

To say there have been a number of changes with regard to health/ dental insurance would be an understatement. While dental insurance policies were less impacted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) than medical insurance policies, there are a few changes to note. The ACA mandated that insurers cover dental care for children—in fact, it is one of ten essential health benefits for health insurance policies to include. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule; however, Washington is one of three states that require parents to buy pediatric dental benefits, even if they are sold separately, when buying medical insurance.

After three months of helping patients research and interpret their new insurance policies, we’ve noticed that each pediatric dental policy is different and the options out there are seemingly endless: Some dental plans are embedded into the medical plan while others are stand-alone plans, some are associated with a group plan while others are individual policies, and for some we are considered preferred providers  and for others (even though we are preferred providers with the insurance company) we are considered out-of-network. What does this all mean? Don’t worry, we are here for you! We are happy to help you understand your dental insurance benefits. Patients are always welcome to give us a call or send us an email and we will do a little research for you! 

Access to care is so important. We recommend that kids start seeing the dentist around one year of age. Need a little help with home care? Check out our website for a few tips!