Week in Review: Oral health Black Friday deals | Coding & reimbursement | Dentists & Medicare

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

One of the newer traditions in the U.S. during the week of Thanksgiving is Black Friday. When you think of Black Friday, you probably think of deals on televisions, appliances, and the latest tech gadgets. But did you know you can score some big discounts on oral healthcare products, too? We're here to help you navigate the best deals for you, your office, and your patients. Read more here.

If your practice accepts insurance, you've probably been faced with a situation in which the provider implements contractual changes. And sometimes, despite everyone's best efforts, you find yourself unprepared for the effect of this change to your reimbursement projections. Dental benefits analyst Cindy Hartwell with the California Dental Association's CDA Practice Support illustrates a case study of one such occurrence. Learn more here.

A majority of 20,000 U.S. dentists surveyed support adding dental coverage to Medicare, according to research from the ADA's Health Policy Institute and Oral Health America. The survey findings were presented at the recent American Public Health Association annual meeting. Read more here.

Finally this week, people who smoke have an increased risk of oral disease but use dental healthcare at lower rates than nonsmokers. Researchers wanted to understand the factors affecting dental care use in low-income smokers. They found that the issues involved went beyond the cost to characteristics such as motivation and self-efficacy. Learn more here.

We want to wish you and yours a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back with new content on Monday.