You Asked, We Answered!
Learn more about Coastal Pediatric Dental and Anesthesia in Hampton Roads, VA.
Thank you for considering us for your child’s dental services. Below are our most frequently asked questions.
Insurance / Billing
- We accept all insurances, out-of-network. Most dental insurances (except HMO and EPO) have out-of-network coverage.
- We accept and will file claims with all insurances. However, we are not contracted with your insurance. Most insurances other than HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) and so-called EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) will pay for a significant portion of our fees. Our fees are so fair and competitive we find that many insurances cover the entire cost if they cover the service at 100%. We are so confident in our prices that we even post them on our website. You can even compare them to others with this handy tool – https://www.fairhealthconsumer.org/dental/zip
Because we are awesome! But we know that just saying so isn’t going to convince you of that. But honestly, it allows us to provide the care that the dentist recommends instead of what the insurance contract says we can provide. A few examples include: anesthesia for dental care other than wisdom teeth and especially by a separate doctor, white colored crowns on kids’ front teeth, silver diamine to stop cavities in young children, or sealants on the remaining areas of a tooth that has gotten a cavity – because who wants to get another cavity on a tooth that is filled. In addition, it allows us to lower our fees, because we don’t make our fees ridiculous in hopes that insurance will cover a higher amount just because they reimburse a portion of our fees.
A cleaning, doctor exam, and fluoride application costs ($150-$160) if a patient does not have any insurance coverage. There will be an additional cost if x-rays are indicated during the appointment. (You will find that our fees are very competitive with and often, lower than, other offices in the area.)
We accept United Concordia, out-of-network. We also offer a 10% military discount for all active duty and retired military families. The average out-of-pocket fee for a cleaning/exam/fluoride is approximately $50 and may be a little more if x-rays are indicated.
No, we do not participate in North Carolina or Virginia Medicaid plans.
Services
We see kids under 13. Yes, even babies!
At about the age of 12, we transition from having baby or primary teeth to having a full set of adult teeth. Adult teeth have different treatment needs than baby teeth, which are best handled by general dentists – the specialists in adult teeth!
Braces and Invisalign can be a very important part of your child’s dental care. Our pediatric dentists will refer you to an orthodontist for braces and / or Invisalign. It is important to remember that your orthodontist manages appliances such as braces or retainers, but does not provide routine dental care or function as a dental home, so make sure you have both a dentist and an orthodontist for your kids smile.
Of course! In fact, our pediatric dentists prefer it! Nothing would make our doctors happier than if every child was cavity free because of perfect hygiene and good diets so Dr. Wong wouldn’t need to work anymore and could instead become a Jedi.
Nope.
Yes, when indicated. Our dentists will determine if and when, and what type of x-rays are needed. Despite our super hero powers, we weren’t blessed with X-ray vision to find those tooth bugs hiding in between teeth or to be able to see how those permanent teeth are developing underneath the gums.
Yes, we do.
That’s the “Cavity Free Club” Bell! The mermaid bell with the old Naval style woven pull is rung by new members and continued honorees of the “Cavity Free Club.” We know it can be loud, but our goal is that this bell rings all throughout the day. Hence the reason you hear all the applause every time it rings!
We get where you are coming from, and honestly this question gets asked a lot – so don’t feel bad about asking it. It usually goes one of two ways:
1) We haven’t been to the dentist, or haven’t been back to the dentist because it was a difficult experience for my child, or
2) The dentist wasn’t able to actually do anything, or even worse, wasn’t comfortable seeing my child. Either way, neither of these issues should be a barrier to needed medical or dental care. We have the dental side covered!
Anesthesia
Well, not really, because unless you consider sleep to be like “Sleeping Beauty”, anesthesia really isn’t sleep. But yes, your child will not feel anything, remember anything, or experience anything from the surgery while under anesthesia.
Yes, at Coastal all anesthetics are provided by our anesthesiologist whom will be with your child one on one the entire time. Our anesthesiologists do not use nurse anesthetists or anesthesia assistants.
Anesthesia and sedation, when done appropriately by a trained anesthesia provider whom is not also performing the surgery, is very safe. An analogy might be to compare it to flying in a commercial airline. There are risks, but with proper training, preparation, and systems it is exceedingly safe – in fact, commercial airlines are the safest way to travel. Similarly, after seeing our anesthesiologist and being deemed appropriate for anesthesia for dental care at our facility, the most dangerous thing you will do on your child’s day of surgery is to drive back and forth from your home to see us.
Yes. Sometimes, circumstances call for general anesthesia for dental treatment. Circumstances include the age and cooperation ability of the patient, extent of treatment, the amount of dental need, and patients with special needs who would otherwise not tolerate dental treatment.
No, although this may be the norm in dentistry and oral surgery, we follow the medical model of care where there is a separate surgeon and anesthesia provider.
No, not only does this go against what we believe here at Coastal, it is actually against the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologist’s Parameters of Care, which require that there be a separate surgeon and anesthesiologist.
We follow the American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines for monitoring, which is typically just called standard monitoring because it is the gold standard in medicine for monitoring patients undergoing sedation or anesthesia.
Even though Dr. Wong always jokes that this process is harder on Momma and Pappa Bear than for Baby Bear, we need you to be a responsible chaperone for you child. So no, we can’t put parents to sleep for their kids’ dental work. Oh, you meant you want to be asleep for your dental work? Sorry, but Coastal is all about those tiny teeth.
Dental
By one year of age or at the time of getting their first tooth! The old guidelines used to say 3 years of age, but the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry stresses this new timeline so that dentists can prevent cavities instead of just fixing them
Please see a dentist. Although the toothache may come and go, the underlying problem still remains. In fact, when a bad toothache suddenly goes away, it means the nerve inside the tooth has given up, and the next step of the process is getting an abscess.
No! Please don’t do this. The FDA has recommended against the use of Orajel in babies and young children due to the risk of methemoglobinemia. Long story short, the medication if overused, can cause a young child’s blood cells to not be able to absorb oxygen, effectively suffocating them even though they are still breathing – not unlike carbon monoxide poisoning.
Usually, the first baby tooth comes in around 6 months. Most commonly, the lower incisors (bottom front teeth) erupt first.
Usually, the first baby tooth falls out around 5-6 years old. However, some of the baby molars may not fall out until 12-13 years old! Some patients are developmentally early and some are late, so understand these ages are just averages.”
Space maintenance is not always needed, and for certain patients might actually cause more problems than it prevents. This is why our dentists will make a recommendation based on each child’s individual needs. We will recommend one if it will help maintain space for erupting permanent teeth, but we may not if it may harm other teeth, cause additional cavities, pose a risk for infection, or if there is little to no benefit of having one.
Silver crowns are actually stainless steel, and like Superman himself steel is especially strong, flexible, and thin. If a back tooth has large cavities or cavities over several “surfaces” of the tooth, the steel crowns are the gold standard for treatment because they hold up well over time. Although there are white crowns, like what we do for front teeth, these glass and porcelain white crowns easily shatter with the biting forces that kids can exert because the material is not thick enough to withstand the pressure. Parents often ask, “Why can they be done on front teeth then?” Well, like a nut cracker, the strongest pressure is near the hinge, just like back teeth – that’s why we chew hard foods with those teeth.
If we can do a white filling that will last, we will. Esthetics are important, but never at the expense of function. Certainly, most dentists can “just do it,” but you won’t be happy with us when it needs to be replaced or even worse, fail and result in a toothache. We always recommend the same treatment we would do for our own family.
At least twice a day, morning and night before bed. You may need extra brushing sessions, especially if you get a bedtime snack before hitting the sack.
Yes – some kids are blessed with spacing between their teeth, but more and more frequently we don’t. If the bristles of the toothbrush can’t get in between the teeth, then floss is needed once a day. We know it can be like a rodeo trick to get that floss around those teeth, even for us dentists, but flossers can definitely make it much easier.
Any toothpaste with fluoride will work best. Most other extra ingredients such as whitening, peroxide, baking soda, etc. just help justify the higher price. A smear of fluoride toothpaste is safe and recommended for children under age 2. From age 2-6, a pea sized amount with each brushing is recommended. 6 and older we can start using the “usual” amount that we use as adults.
This is completely normal. Permanent teeth have a larger pulp (blood supply) and more dentin (middle layer of the tooth), which makes them look relatively less white.
Yes, HPV or the human papilloma virus is the leading cause of cervical cancer and oropharyngeal (throat cancer). The HPV vaccine prevents this virus and stops the virus from creating cancers.
HPV is transmitted through sexual contact. It spreads among all humans, thus the name human papilloma virus. HPV causes numerous types of cancers, not just cervical cancer. One of the fastest growing cancers in the United States is oropharyngeal cancer. In fact, there has been a 5-fold increase in oropharyngeal cancer in the past 20 years. Currently there are more yearly oropharyngeal cancers diagnosed in America than cervical cancer, and more than 70% are caused by HPV.