Using Tricare for Dental
Reading the title you might be like, but wait Bre, we have United Concordia for dental. You are correct. We do. BUT a little known secret is that you can use Tricare…which pays very well… for dental procedures when they’re also medical procedures. Genius right.
I personally used Tricare to pay for my Cone Beam CT, Frenectomy, and TMJ treatment. I am currently in the process of using an ALF device to create upper palate space and fix my bite. You betcha I will be billing Tricare, and I’ll let you know how that goes.
First, some intro on what these dental procedures are and how they have helped me. A Cone Beam CT was used to evaluate my TMJ, resting tongue placement, and airway in a way that had not been done yet. I had seen so many providers of all types of credentialing desperately trying to get headache relief. My neck, to jaw, to head/face muscles were in constant spasm. I couldn’t hold my head up, make facial expressions, or talk without significant pain, that quickly turned excruciating, and then I would hit muscle failure and have to completely rest. I also had terrible insomnia. I was only sleeping 4-7 non restorative hours a night, with a 2-6 hour waking period starting at 2-3am every night.
As you can imagine, the jaw pain was extremely isolating. I never could have imagined loneliness like not being able to talk. I desperately looked for the cause. I had worked with numerous cranial sacral therapists, physical therapists, Osteopathic Doctors who specialized in the cranium. No one could figure out what was wrong. Then my amazing physical therapist, Tricia Athans of Classical Physio, said she thought I should see this really amazing dentist who specializes in craniofascial pain. I didn’t think a dentist could help me but figured why not give it a shot. So I headed to Charlotte to meet Dr. Forest Norman of Queens Road Dentistry.
Dr. Norman did the Cone Beam CT where he discovered what no one had thus far; my TMJ discs were completely out of place which resulted in the constant muscle spasms trying to create stability. I also have a very tethered tongue which prevented me from resting my tongue on the rough of my mouth which has something to do with the airway. He recommended a frenectomy (tongue tie release) then a jaw decompression program that involved a day device to decompress the jaw via bite and a night device that pulled my jaw forward.
I have always struggled with headaches, and neck and shoulder issues. I always felt so tight, like I couldn’t relax that area. After Dr. Norman released my tongue I felt my shoulders drop for the first time. I gained incredible neck mobility. I felt like my neck was and shoulders were free to finally relax. It was incredible. Two months later I started wearing then mouth devices. After a few months my muscle spasms started to melt away. I could talk again, make fascial expressions, and hold my head up without excruciating pain. I could drive my car longer, I could talk to people, I could stop bringing my neck pillow with me everywhere to support my head. It was an incredible new freedom.
My mouth opening went from 21mm to 47mm. I went from not being able to slide my jaw to the side to being able to go both directions with ease. Most surprising my airway more than doubled in size and I sleep through the night most nights. My deep sleep tripled and REM increased too. Fixing my sleep has had huge impacts on my health and quality of life. I never could have imagined that a dentist could solve the problems I was having but he did. And for that reason I recommend him to everyone I know who struggles with headaches, neck mobility, and shoulder tightness.
Now on to Tricare coverage …. subscribe and find the rest of this article with all of the Tricare coverage details and exact treatment costs under ‘Blogs”. The article is titled “Using Tricare for Dental…Yes it’s possible”