WORKERS' COMPENSATION DENTIST IN CHICAGO
What exactly is Workers' Compensation Insurance?
Workers’ compensation insurance is used to provide coverage when an employee has been injured at work or develops an illness due to work. The employee need to be able to prove that the unjustly or illness is work relates, in order to qualify for coverage by workers’ compensation insurance. According to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the claim is considered work-related if the injury or illness was caused by exposure to the work environment. Here are a couple of important points to know about workers’ compensation insurace.
-
In order for injury to be covered by workers’ compensation, it does not have to be an accident or occur suddenly. The injury could be a result of repetitive stress or strain that presents as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and back pain.
-
Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system. It does not matter if the workers’ actions contributed to the injury. If an injury occured at work, it will be covered. There are multiple exceptions, which include: self-inflicted injuries, committing a crime, being intoxicated/high or violating company policy.
-
While the medical professionals recognize correlation between stress and a range of illnesses, it may be difficult to get workers’ compensation benefits for illnesses caused by on-the-job-stress.
Workers’ Compensation for dental injury
You would be surprised to find out how common are work-related dental injuries! With a wide variety of restorative and surgical dental treatments offered at Archer Dental Chicago dental practice – including Workers Compensation dentistry – there’s no reason to keep living with a dental injury. We are experienced in emergency dentistry, we know how to provide immediate dental care when you need it the most and how to get your work compensation claims resolved without any problem.
There is only one major difference between a workers’ compensation claim and standard dental treatment plans: workers’ compensation covers clinical care exclusively for work-related injury. Teeth are essential to a person’s well being and perform 3 main functions: they allow humans to speak and eat, and they support facial structure. When someone is injured on the job and any of these capabilities become compromised, the employer or workers’ compensation insurance is tasked with restoring that functionality to pre-injury status if possible. Archer Dental in Archer Heights, Chicago, frequently sees patients with work compensation cases.
Your Chicago dentist Dr. Anton Zhadovich will evaluate your situation, and our manager will review your case and file the claim to get maximum coverage for your dental work.
How to maximize your Workers' Compensation for dental treatment?
Most trauma from the neck up is likely to result in a dental injury. Dental trauma may occur as a result of violence at workplace, construction or manufacturing accidents, car accidents, falling objects, slips and falls. In order to receive compensation for your trauma, your claim needs to be correctly managed, otherwise it can result in a delay or unnecessary costs.
It is well known that dental injuries are be less frequent than other types of workers compensation cases. That’s why these claims present additional challenges, they are more complicated and can drive up costs. Given the infrequency with which these injuries occur, many dental clinics have limited knowledge of how to deal with these kind of cases.
Here is how you can maximize dental treatment compensation for your dental injuries:
1. Finding a work Compensation Dentist
Locating a dental clinic that is willing to work within the workers comp system and has experience with it can be challenging. The ideal dental office will know about the work compensation system, appropriate procedures and paperwork involved. It is important to know if you dentist accepts work compensation patients. Call Archer Dental in Chicago to know about work-related injury and work compensation coverage.
2. Appropriate Dental Treatment
Dental clinics that participate in these workers compensation programs will conduct a preliminary oral evaluation to determine what can be billed in relation to the work-related injury. Your Chicago dentist Dr. Anton Zhadovich will evaluate your situation, and our manager will review your case and file the claim to get maximum coverage for your dental work.
3. Dental Specialists Coordination
There are many types of dental specialists, including periodontists, prosthodontists, TMJ Specialists, endodontists and oral maxillofacial surgeons. Your Chicago dentist Dr. Anton Zhadovich in Archer Heights has extensive in-house clinical expertise to help make appropriate dental referrals and coordinate dental care so injured workers receive the right treatment from the right specialist at the right time.
What should you do if you get a dental injury at work?
Dental injury that occurred in the workplace is like any other dental injury, but there are a couple of differences. For example, if your regular dentistry does not participate as a provider in the Worker’s Compensation program, you will have to find a dental clinic that does, like your Archer Heights dentistry Archer Dental.
You may need to first go to a hospital to have your medical problems treated first. Most hospitals are not equipped to take care of dental injuries. We recommend that you ask hospital staff to document your dental condition, if you suspect a dental problem. Your future dental treatment will move more quickly if Archer Dental does not have to ask Worker’s Compensation Insurance to allow an additional condition.
Some dental problems may show up days, weeks, months or even years later after the accident. The most common injury is a chipped or broken tooth. Other possible problems are loose teeth, knocked-out teeth, and TemporoMandibular Joint (TMJ) symptoms. Additionally to this article, we have a blog post on how to save a loose or knocked out tooth, check it out!
1. Chipped teeth
Chips on teeth can vary in size. In some cases a tooth can be broken off at or below your gum line. However, even a tiny chip can be painful and lead to tooth decay. Small tooth breaks can be easily treated with a tooth colored filling. Crowns or veneers are also a possibility if the damage is more extensive. A root canal is required if the nerve is exposed. Occasionally, a root canal is not indicated immediately, but it is possible that you will need one in the future due to the trauma to your tooth.
2. Loose tooth
If trauma results in a loose tooth, it can mean that the root has broken in an area under the gum or it could just be a result of the impact. Loose tooth can range from very slight to being able to see your tooth shifting. Your dentist can determine whether the loose tooth is the result of trauma or a cracked root. Even if the root is not broken, loose teeth can be painful and make it difficult to eat.
3. Knocked out tooth
If your tooth is out of place, visit your dentist immediately. If you are at the medical clinic or hospital, see if there is a dentist who place put your tooth back in it’s place. Afterwards you still will need to see a dentist to have your tooth evaluated. You may require a root canal treatment or tooth extraction if the root is broken. When multiple teeth are impacted or if you feel like your bite has changed, you might need orthodontic treatment to move them back into alignment.
If the entire tooth is knocked out (with the root), pick up the tooth by the crown of the tooth. Avoid touching the root portion and do not rinse the tooth with tap water. When possible, put the tooth back into the tooth socket. If you are not able to put it back, place the tooth or into glass with cold milk. If you want to try to save your knocked out tooth, see your dentist immediately.
4. Jaw problems
Even though tooth injuries are more common, your jaw can also be affected by the impact. Extreme pain or difficulty opening your mouth after impact can be a sign of a broken jaw and should be immediately evaluated. In case there is no fracture, you may have TemporoMandibular Joint syndrome (TMD). In case of mild pain, take anti-inflammatories (like ibuprofen), relax your jaw and eat only soft foods that don’t require chewing. Often the symptoms of TMD will disappear without additional treatment. If the pain persists, your dentist can make you a occlusal guard appliance. Other treatment options include PT for your jaw or specialized massage of your TMJ.
All of these principles should be take into account, no matter how the dental injury occurred. What is important, is that if the injury happened in your workplace or is related to your occupation, there are a few additional steps to take to ensure that Worker’s Comp will cover your dental treatment. Because most workplace injuries are non dental injuries, it can be difficult to find a dentist that is familiar with Worker’s Compensation Insurance. If you are having trouble location an office to help you with your dental injury, we invite you to speak to Archer Dental insurance coordinator.
Dr. Anton Zhadovich is a recognized dentist for workman compensation services and Archer Dental in Chicago is a preferred provider by many workman compensation insurance companies. Dr. Anton Zhadovich has helped many patients with workman compensation injuries providing the following services:
To learn more, call Archer Dental in Archer Height at 773-581-1345 to schedule a consultation today!
Need an appointment? Contact us today!
Dental Glossary
Workers' Compensation Dentist
Is a dental professional who has experience dealing with workers' compensation insurance. Because of complexity, it's important to have experienced team that will get your compensation in a shorter time.
Dental Injury
Most common dental injuries are broken teeth, fractured teeth, knocked out or loose teeth. Swelling of the gum is also common with dental injuries.
TMJ
Stands for Temporomandibular Joint syndrome is a disorder of muscles and nerves near temporomandibular join, caused by injury of inflammation.
Dentin Hypersensistivity
A condition which causes the inner (dentin) layer of tooth to become exposed. This condition can develop as a result of receding gums. Patients experience sharp pain due to pressure or hot/cold beverages.
Peri-implantitis
Inflammatory process that affects soft and hard tissues around dental implants. The soft tissues become inflamed, while the hard tissue (alveolar bone), is lost over time.
Frenectomy
Frenulum is a small fold of tissue that prevents an organ in the body from moving too far. In dentistry, frenulum is referred to lingual or labial frenulum. Frenectomy is a process of removing or modifying that tissue.