I want to let everyone know about some of the changes coming to the entire state of Indiana in the dental world. At the last session of the Indiana general assembly there were some changes made to the dental practice act which I’m sure you can find in whole online somewhere at <a http://www.indiana.gov>www.indiana.gov</a> if you’re interested. I think the most visible will be the approval of administration of local anesthetic by Registered Dental Hygienists. This is already a common practice in several other states, and it is good for Indiana to be moving forward in this regard. Exactly how this will change things in our office remains to be seen, but I know that both my Hygienists will be taking the continuing education.

One issue that has been on the agenda for a few years but has been defeated or tabled is the issue of assignment of benefits. What this deals with is the common practice of allowing the insurance company to pay me directly the amount they owe you based on your employer’s contract with them. This effectively lessens your amount of out-of-pocket dollars, keeps billing costs down and generally improves the communication between the insurance provider and the dental office. What some companies, most notably Delta Dental (insurer for most GM employees) are doing is refusing to honor what you, the patient, have asked them to do. They will not send us the payments, rather sending them to the patients which has created lots of confusion and frustration. They are doing this in an attempt to force local dentists to join their “preferred” provider network, which is an obvious abuse of power. It is precisely this type of behavior by the insurance companies that has kept me from participating in their program, and while I don’t have the room to fully discuss it now I would welcome any questions about this. At any rate, please know that, contrary to whatever they may have written to you, we will continue to accept your insurance, file your claims for you at no additional cost, and work with them to the best of our ability, JUST AS WE ALWAYS HAVE. The ONLY difference is that they will be sending the check, along with the explanation of benefits, directly to the patient. This means that we have absolutely no idea if the claims have been paid appropriately, timely, or at all. We get no communication with the insurance company at all. For these and lots of other reasons the State Legislature will again address the issue of requiring the insurance companies to accept assignment of benefits IF the patient directs them to do so, REGARDLESS of whether the dentist is in their “preferred” network. The Indiana Dental Association has prepared official petition forms to take and present to the legislature this next session, and I ask that you would join with concerned patients and citizens across the state to sign the petitions in our office and contact your senators and representatives to tell them that you want this abusive practice by the insurance companies stopped.

Welcome to our web site! As this is a new venture for me it is a work very much in progress, but I hope you will find even this initial form informative and useful. We are designing some elements to be updated regularly, so please check back from time to time to see what’s new.

Let me start with a word of introduction. My name is Scott E Trout, DDS. I am a Muncie native, graduating from Muncie Northside High School in 1975, back when it was still a High School. I attended both Indiana University and Ball State University for undergraduate studies, pausing midway to marry Barbara Kim Tippenhauer, also a Muncie native and Burris graduate.

We moved to Indianapolis where I earned my DDS degree at Indiana University Dental School in 1983. We returned to Muncie where I have been practicing ever since. My practice is located at 610 South Tillotson Avenue at present; however we are eagerly anticipating relocation to my newly remodeled building at 4017 West Jackson Street. For those who don’t know where that is, check out the map link.

I wanted to include a few words about the type of Dentistry we do. The hallmark of my practice is the CEREC system by Sirona. It allows me to design and fabricate permanent restorations, full crowns or partial crowns, or true porcelain in just one visit. This not only saves you time, but it also eliminates the messy impressions and irritating temporary crowns that we were forced to use with the earlier technology commonly used in most other dental offices.

I have also conventional recently added other technologies in order to diagnose and deliver the highest quality dentistry possible. We have digital x-rays, which can reduce your exposure up to 10 fold over film-based exams. It also allows me to project the images on a large TV screen and more effectively involve you in decisions about your health care. I have also recently introduced a 980nm wavelength soft-tissue laser which heals quicker and better than treatment in most cases.

I am using the MDI system of mini-implants for both denture stabilization and single tooth replacement. I will be adding the Vel scope soon, which is a way of detecting oral cancer much sooner than we can now with just the naked eye. I believe that this could well be the most important technology in terms of helping us save lives in addition to improving the quality of life. I don’t want to leave the impression that I am a techno-geek. Something must drastically improve the quality of care in order to find its way into my office.

My various office policies can be found in other places on the site, as well as registration forms and the like, but I want to emphasize here my personal goal for relating to patients. I strive to NEVER surprise anyone in terms of either treatment or fees.

We work very hard to thoroughly discuss both elements with everybody who comes to see us. I have directed that everyone leave with a printed treatment plan complete with estimated fees. I have also directed that we NOT schedule any appointments until the patient knows what they are coming in for, how long we think it will take, and how the fees will be taken care of. I believe that if we are clear on these items we can eliminate any obstacles to you receiving the excellent care you deserve.

Well, thanks for visiting our site. I hope you return because you’ve found it useful, and I look forward to meeting you in person!