Tag: Health Insurance

Dental Assistant Pay

Becoming a Dental Assistant not only prepares you for a wonderful career working in the dental field, is also pays very well. Since this area of employment is anticipated to be one of the most in demand over the next six years, your chances of securing a great job with great pay and benefits is very likely.

The Median hourly rate of pay for Dental Assistants is $13.62. This is well above the minimum wage established in most states. In addition to a great hourly wage, many Dental Assistants will receive bonuses if the dental office is doing well, health insurance, and discounted dental procedures. Almost all Dental Assistants receive paid vacation days, sick days, and paid Holidays.

However, earning such a high hourly wage comes with a great level of responsibility. Dental Assistants perform duties relating to patient care, office sanitation, lab duties, and assisting the dentist and hygienist with a variety of procedures. Dental Assistants need to be alert, pay attention to detail, and have effective communication skills. They must also be able to provide patients with comfort measures both before and after procedures are completed.

Dental Assistants are easily confused with Dental Hygienists. Compared to hygienists, who have a median rate of pay of $23.65 per hour, a Dental Assistant is not making a very good hourly wage. However, they are very different professions. A Dental Assistant does just that, assists the dentist and hygienist with providing the best quality care for all patients. A hygienist takes care of cleaning teeth and generally has a steady stream of patients who come in every six months for routine cleaning procedures.

The amount of pay a Dental Assistant earns depends on many factors. The cost of living in your area will be the greatest influence. The amount of revenue the dental office you work for generates will also be a deciding factor. New dentists might have to pay less than established dentists will clientele because they dont have the traffic coming into the office. However, it is very possible your pay will increase as more patients are drawn to that dental office.

Your level of experience will also be a consideration. You may have to accept a position that pays less than average to get your foot in the door and gain some hands on experience. However, with the demand for Dental Assistants, you should have no problem securing employment. Many dental offices want to keep quality Dental Assistants. They may offer to start you at a lower entry level pay, with the understanding that your performance will be reviewed in 90 days or other time frame. Based on your performance, you pay will be adjusted at that time.

It is important to understand that certified and uncertified Dental Assistants complete the same types of tasks. However, those who are certified earn several dollars more per hour than those who arent certified. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to take the certification exam early on in your career as a Dental Assistant.

What to Expect at a Sleep Disorder Overnight Sleep Center

What to Expect at a Sleep Disorder Overnight Sleep Center

I f you think you may have a sleep disorder, your primary doctor or a doctor that specializes in sleep disorders may send you to a sleep center for diagnosis. There are a large number of sleep centers located across the United States and their numbers are increasing. Sleep centers in the United States must be accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

When a person goes to a sleep center, it is usually for an overnight stay. Costs involved for most sleep study tests range from one to three thousand dollars and many need to be repeated twice. The first visit to diagnose the sleep disorder and the second to get accurate settings for any PAP machines that may be needed. Health insurance generally pays all or most of the cost of the tests needed to diagnose a sleep disorder.

Once an appointment has been made, many sleep centers send a sleep diary to the patient. The information from the sleep diary is used by the doctors to understand general sleeping patterns.
It is also recommended that no caffeine or alcohol be consumed after 12:00 p.m. on the day of the scheduled test.

Generally the patient packs an overnight bag just as if they were going to stay at a hotel overnight. During the sleep study you wear your own nightclothes and you can use a favorite pillow from home. You can bring a book or magazine if you like to read before falling to sleep. Most sleep centers resemble a hotel room and have a television to watch if that is what the patient usually does before going to sleep at home. Once you are relaxed the sleep center technician starts preparation for the equipment needed to record your patterns of sleep.

Diagnosis from a sleep center study is made using polysomnography which records a continual record of your sleep. In order to take a specific reading slightly more than two dozen small thin electrodes are pasted to specific parts of your body. They are placed under your chin, on your scalp, near your eyes and nose, on your finger, chest and legs, and also over the rib muscles and on the abdomen. These electrodes then record various types of readings during the night. Often an audio and video tape are also made to monitor sleep noises and movement.

Once all the equipment is in place the sleep technician leaves you alone to fall asleep. Even with all the equipment it is not uncomfortable. It is easy to move or turn onto your side. Each bedroom in a sleep center also has an automatic intercom so it is easy to call the technician if needed for such things as a bathroom break. When the sleep study is completed, the technician may wake you. Most studies that are used to diagnose a sleep disorder take seven to eight hours.

The reading are collected on a computer file called a polysonagram and are monitored and analyzed by the sleep technician during the night. The results are then sent for further readings to determine if there is a sleep disorder.

Although a sleep study may not sound comfortable, it is very important to determine and treat any sleep disorder.

How To Pay For Expensive Acne Treatments

With all of the doctor visits, possible procedures and medications, acne treatments can be very expensive. For those who have health insurance, it may or may not be covered in your policy.

Because acne treatments may be considered as cosmetic, some health insurance companies may not cover the costs associated with its treatment. The best way to find out, however, is to review your health insurance policy or call your local agent for more information.

Many individuals, for various reasons, do not have health insurance and they are often the ones who are most concerns with the related costs. Whether you do or do not have health insurance, there are ways to pay for expensive acne treatments if you find yourself carrying the full financial responsibility.

An increasing number of hospitals and/or private practice physicians offer a convenient payment plan, which allows their patients to set up a scheduled payment system for their high-cost acne treatments.

This doesnt usually require a credit check and is not a line of credit, but is rather a way of offering patients a convenience of gradually payment for services after they have been rendered. This is a privilege that is not available everywhere, but is rapidly catching on.

In order to find out if your physician offers this type of plan for acne treatments, check with the billing office. There will typically be a schedule set up for payments and it is important not to miss it. The reason is because, if payments are missed, the physician or medical care facility may revoke your plan and demand payment in full. In addition, it isnt likely that you would be granted this same privilege if payments for acne treatments are late or collection efforts must be pursued.

If acne is extreme and neither of the above mentioned financial scenarios are possible, consider selling some of your unwanted items around the house at online auctions, yard sales, flea markets, etc. These are all terrific ways to earn some extra money, which can quickly add up and help you to pay for expensive acne treatments.

This article is to be used for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice regarding the use of acne treatments. Prior to beginning any treatment regimen, the patient must consult a licensed medical doctor or dermatologist for advice and/or to determine the best course of action for his/her individual situation.

IPL Acne Scars-Laser Treatments Are Popular

Laser treatments for acne have become more popular in recent years, but many people are not able to take advantage of them for any number of reasons. The good news is that there is another possible treatment. With IPL acne scars can be reduced or completely eliminated. IPL is short for Intense Pulse Light and while not an actual laser treatment, both methods rely on beams of light to eradicate acne scars.

When it comes to acne scars, IPL is often more affordable than laser treatments. One of the big reasons for this is that the IPL machine is less expensive than a laser machine. Of course the dermatologist or aesthetician can still charge you as much as they want, but all other things being equal, IPL acne scars treatment could save you quite a bit of money.

The cost of the treatment may not matter to some people, but some of us prefer methods that will save us money. This becomes even more of a factor because health insurance rarely covers IPL or laser treatments for acne. It is normally considered a cosmetic procedure, but be sure to check your insurance policy to see if the treatment is covered in certain circumstances.

Notice that either a dermatologist or an aesthetician can use an IPL device (in most jurisdictions, be sure to check where you live). Therefore, you may not have to go to a doctor’s office to get the treatment done. However, you do have a chance, no matter how small, that an office visit would be covered by your insurance, but a visit to an aesthetician won’t be.

Whether you go to a dermatologist or an aesthetician, what you really need to watch out for is how experienced they are with giving IPL acne scars treatments. As long as the person operating the machine is knowledgeable in its use, then you should see the results you are looking for. While IPL devices are relatively simple, it can be reassuring to know that you are being treated with skilled hands.

It doesn’t matter who’s using the device if the device itself doesn’t work; so does IPL work for reducing the scars caused by acne. At least one medical journal published a report that showed a noticeable improvement on inflamed and raised scars, though it was deemed to be more effective on smaller scars. Some studies have led researchers to believe that IPL acne treatments increase collagen production which makes the skin look smoother and helps to reduce scarring. However, IPL treatments can be applied to scars of just about any size, though you should discuss any concerns you have with the person doing your treatment.

While there may be a few minor drawbacks with IPL acne scars treatments, it appears as though the potential benefits are far greater. What it comes down to is this: you do not have to live with acne scars any longer, and IPL treatments are one of the viable options that you can use.