Delta Dental Celebrates $1 Million Investment in Dental Education Loan Repayment Program
Delta Dental of Iowa’s Dental Education Loan Repayment Program and Fulfilling Iowa’s Need for Dentists (FIND) project are pleased to announce the investment milestone of $1 million to help improve access to oral health care in critical need areas of Iowa.

Established in 2002, the Delta Dental of Iowa Dental Education Loan Repayment Program was created to recruit private practice dentists to underserved areas of Iowa. This program annually offers a $50,000 award over a three-year grant period for the repayment of dental education debt. In return, the participating dentist agrees to practice in one of Iowa’s designated dental shortage areas and to allocate 35 percent of patient services to underserved Iowans.

In 2008, Delta Dental of Iowa secured federal funding to establish the FIND project through the Iowa Rural Dental Health Initiative. The FIND program offers participating dentists up to $100,000 for dental education loan repayment while stimulating additional investments through community funds in critical access counties. The Iowa Rural Dental Health Initiative’s FIND partners include the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, Delta Dental of Iowa, Iowa Area Development Group, Iowa Department of Public Health, Ripple Effect and the University of Iowa College of Dentistry.

Since the program began in 2002, Delta Dental has awarded 18 dentists education loan repayment grants ranging from $50,000 up to $100,000. To date, these dentists have performed more than 123,495 services for 37,968 underserved Iowa patients.

In 2011, the Iowa State legislature, with support from the Iowa Department of Public Health and Delta Dental of Iowa, appropriated $50,000 for the FIND project funding. This funding will be part of a public-private partnership that will extend the FIND project’s reach to assist two rural communities in recruiting a dentist with up to $100,000 for dental education loan repayment.

For more information on the Delta Dental Loan Repayment Program and the FIND project, go to www.IowaFINDProject.com.

Back to top | Print article

Finding a Dentist on the Go Just Got Easier
Delta Dental has introduced a faster, simpler way for members to find a dentist nationwide. Now patients can access a mobile version of the Delta Dental Dentist Search feature to quickly locate a nearby in-network dentist.

Mobile device users can navigate to www.deltadental.com/dentistsearch to access the mobile-enabled dentist search tool. The site will automatically recognize whether the user is on a mobile device and display the appropriate version for that user. Once there, patients enter their location and select their dental plan, and a list of nearby in-network dentists is generated.

If you have any changes to your practice address, phone number or other office information that is displayed on the Delta Dental Dentist Search, please contact provrelations@deltadentalia.com.

Back to top | Print article

Delta Dental Challenge Grant Helps Support Iowa Mission of Mercy

As an organization that supports improving access to care, the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation is again supporting the fourth annual Iowa Mission of Mercy (Iowa MOM) that will be held in Sioux City on November 18–19, 2011.

This year, the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation initiated a challenge matching grant to help raise funds for the Iowa MOM event. For every dollar donated by dentists for the Iowa MOM event, the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation will match these contributions up to $25,000. In addition, Delta Dental staff will also be volunteering during the event.

The goal of Iowa MOM ties directly with Delta Dental’s mission to support and improve the oral health of Iowans. We look forward to seeing you in Sioux City!

Back to top | Print article

Claim Reporting Tips
When your office submits a claim for a crown or onlay to Delta Dental, whether for payment or for a predetermination of benefit, a radiograph and narrative are required for review. Delta Dental requires this information to establish if the clinical condition of the tooth meets the criteria for the benefit. In situations where an intra-oral photo is not available, the two dimensional view provided by a radiograph occasionally may not clearly indicate why the procedure was necessary. Therefore, the narrative is critical for Delta Dental’s review. The staff at Delta Dental wants to clearly understand the clinical condition of your patient, and the key is establishing definitions for the clinical descriptions often sent with a claim.

There are numerous terms used to describe fractures in teeth. For the purpose of claim narratives submitted to Delta Dental, the following definitions¹ should be used for their review:

• Craze line: cracks in the enamel that stop at the dentoenamel junction.
• Cracked tooth: there is incomplete tooth fracture and tooth remains grossly intact. The crack extends into the dentin and the coronal segment is not missing.
• Fractured cusp: when a cuspal or coronal segment is missing.
• Split tooth: the tooth segments are entirely separate and the tooth is often non-restorable.

In cases of a cracked tooth, a radiograph will not show the crack and would only indicate the probable presence of a large coronal restoration or whether pulpal necrosis has occurred. If there are symptoms associated with a cracked tooth, Delta Dental requires a detailed narrative or a copy of the chronological record of treatment indicating the testing that was performed for the completion of the differential diagnosis.

¹ Dr. Steve Armstrong, Chair, Department of Operative Dentistry, the University of Iowa College of Dentistry; and “Cracking the Cracked Tooth Code,” American Association of Endodontists Newsletter, Summer 2008, Drs. Eric Rivera and Richard Walton.

Back to top | Print article

Delta Dental of Iowa Value-Added Services Program
Delta Dental has developed a Value-Added Services Program in appreciation of participating dentists. This program includes exclusive product discounts, educational materials and other business services.

Part of Delta Dental’s Value-Added Services Program includes a partnership with Professional Solutions to provide special discount rates for malpractice, business and personal insurance. Professional Solutions also provides reduced pricing on credit card processing, business credit cards and equipment financing.

If you would like additional information tailored to your individual or group practice needs, please contact Dawna Holowell at Professional Solutions. You may reach her at 800-864-8026 ext. 4716 or email dholowell@profsolutions.com. Please be sure to mention that you are a Delta Dental participating dentist.

Back to top | Print article

Free Registration for Participating Dentists with NEA
Save on mail expenses and time by sending claim attachments electronically. Delta Dental of Iowa and National Electronic Attachment, Inc. (NEA) FastAttach™ have partnered to offer participating network dentists a special discount through December 31, 2011.

Delta Dental participating dentists will receive FREE registration through NEA, that is a $200 savings! Contact NEA at 800-782-5150, ext. 2 for more information, or visit www.nea-fast.com and enter DDIAZ in the promotion code box.

If you have questions please contact Professional Relations at provrelations@deltadentalia.com or 800-544-0718.

Back to top | Print article

Consider Joining the hawk-i Orthodontic Network Panel
The State of Iowa’s hawk-i dental program added an orthodontic benefit as part of their dental benefits effective March 1, 2010. The benefits have been expanded to cover “medically necessary” orthodontic cases, as directed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

If you are interested in participating in the hawk-i orthodontic provider panel, or if you have any questions please contact Donna Glanz at 515-261-5533.

Back to top | Print article

Small Business Plans Offer Additional Benefits
As the oral health leader, Delta Dental understands that oral health plays a vital role in maintaining general health and overall well-being. As a part of Delta Dental’s standard Premier and PPO plus Premier plans for small businesses, the following wellness benefits are included:

• Enhanced Benefits Program — integrates medical and dental care. This benefit is customized at the individual level by offering additional benefits such as fluoride treatments and extra cleanings to persons who have specific health conditions (pregnancy, diabetes, advanced periodontal disease, high-risk cardiac, suppressed immune system, kidney failure or dialysis, and cancer related chemotherapy and/or radiation).
• To Go^SM — allows enrollees to have the ability to carryover unused portions of their annual maximum in a given year and apply it to their To Go bank, increasing their total dollars for more extensive and costly dental treatment.

Not all Delta Dental employers offer the Enhanced Benefits Program or To Go so it is important to review each patient’s benefits prior to their visit. With the Enhanced Benefits Program, patients must be signed up to receive the extra benefits. Fortunately, it is easy for the patient or their dentist to enroll in the program. Once enrolled, the patient is immediately eligible for the extra benefits.

How to Sign Up Your Patients for the Enhanced Benefits Program

1. Go to www.deltadentalia.com.
2. Sign into the Dentist Connection. (If you are not already a registered user of Delta Dental’s Dentist Connection services, you will need to establish a username and password.)
3. Click on the link “Enhanced Benefits History” from the left navigation.
4. Enter the member’s ID number, last name and birth date. If the member is eligible, you will be able to enter or update the small amount of health information required to qualify for extra benefits for that plan member or his/her spouse or covered dependents. The patient will be immediately eligible for those benefits.

Back to top | Print article

Donated Dental Services Program — Helping Iowans in Need

Catherine, a 58-year-old woman battling tongue cancer, was unable to afford the dentures she desperately needed after undergoing numerous radiation treatments. Iowa DDS volunteer, Dr. Michael Moffitt, with donations from Cornerstone Dental Laboratory and Dentsply International, was able to provide the care that Catherine needed to restore her oral health.

Catherine is just one of the many deserving patients that have received treatment through the Iowa Donated Dental Services (Iowa DDS) program, a program of Dental Lifeline Network — Iowa, in partnership with the Iowa Dental Association and Delta Dental of Iowa. Over the last seven years, Iowa DDS has provided $1.9 million in donated dental care to 817 people who had no other way to get help. Dental Lifeline Network is profoundly grateful for the 226 volunteer dentists and 54 volunteer dental labs which have devoted their time and resources to the Iowa DDS cause.

Back to top | Print article

Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation Funds Oral Health Programs
The Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation has awarded $88,082 to 15 Iowa agencies to improve the oral health of Iowans.

The oral health grants are part of the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation’s ongoing mini-grants program. Mini-grants are intended to support one-time oral health projects, such as workshops or conferences, or short-term projects up to one-year in duration, such as a survey, data collection or research study.

The agencies awarded mini-grants by the Delta Dental of Iowa Foundation in May 2011 included:

Back to top | Print article

Let’s Reclaim Smiles — Scrap Metal Donation Program
Dental Lifeline Network, formerly the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped, is co-sponsoring a program with Jensen Dental called Let’s Reclaim Smiles. The program raises funds to support the Donated Dental Services (DDS) program. When you send your scrap metal to Jensen, you can choose to donate all or part of the proceeds to DDS. Jensen will forward your donated proceeds to DDS and provide you with certification of your charitable contribution. To support the effort, Jensen reduces its customary refining fee for qualifying scrap metal by 30 percent.

If you would like to donate the proceeds of your scrap metal to DDS, please contact a Jensen Sales Consultant at 800-243-2000 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday – Friday to request a free scrap box kit. The kit will provide simple and straight-forward instructions for donating your scrap metal and pledging your contribution to DDS.

To learn more about the Let’s Reclaim Smiles campaign or DDS, you may contact Dental Lifeline Network toll free at 888-471-6334.

Back to top | Print article