Appointments
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Do I stay with my child during the
visit? |
Payments
and Fees
Payment Options |
Dental Insurance
Office Hours
Monday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday thru Thursday: 8:00 a.m.
- 5:00 p.m.
Our staff will attempt to schedule
your child's appointment at your convenience as time
permits. Please keep in mind that in our practice
we cannot schedule all appointments after school.
Dental appointments are an excused absence. Young
children should be seen in the morning because they are
”fresh.” This will allow us to spend more time with
them. School-aged children who require treatment
should also be seen in the morning for the same reason.
Remember that regular preventive dental care will keep
dental visits to a minimum. Efficient scheduling
is an important part of the dental office experience.
Please click on the following link to print out and read
our appointment policy:
Appointment Policy
At your child's first visit we
welcome parents to join us in our treatment areas.
Studies, and our experience, have shown that this is an
important time for building trust between your child and
our staff. At future visits we ask that you allow our
staff to accompany your child. Most children over the
age of three react positively when allowed to experience
their dental visit on their own.
Our fees are in keeping with those
in our area and we feel more than fair in relation to
the services and the facility we provide for our
patients. We believe in prevention of dental disease,
which is not costly. We will give total estimates in
advance whenever possible.
We offer the following methods of
payment: credit card, cash, check or short term
payment plans.
Our primary objective is to
complete your child's treatment as quickly as possible
and in as few appointments as possible. We will do
this regardless of the payment method you select.
Our primary objective is to
complete your child’s treatment comfortably and in as
few appointments as possible. We will do this
regardless of the payment method you select. Total
estimates will be provided whenever possible. Because
we offer a variety of payment options, our staff can
assist you in finding a convenient method of payment.
Total Fee - Total fees paid
in cash on or before first appointment will receive a 5%
discount.
Half and Half - First half of the
total fee payable on or before first. Second half
balance due on or before final appointment.
90 days same as cash - First
payment is 1/3 of the total payable on or before first
appointment. Second payment of 1/3 of the total is due
on or before final appointment. Final 1/3 is divided
into three equal payments payable over 90 days. (Bank
card imprint required.)
Delayed Start - Monthly
payments are made until 50% of the treatment cost has
accrued. Treatment is then started and monthly payments
continue. (Bank card imprint required.) Bank Cards We
currently offer service for: Master Card, VISA and
Discover.
Interest Free with CareCredit
- You may choose 3, 6 or 12 month interest free payment
plan for transactions over $300. A 24 month payment
plan is available with a low fixed interest rate. Click
the following link to download and print the payment
options: Payment Options
If we have received all of your insurance information
on the day of the appointment, we will be happy to file
your claim for you. You must be familiar with your
insurance benefits, as we will collect from you the
estimated amount insurance is not expected to pay. By
law your insurance company is required to pay each claim
within 30 days of receipt. We file all insurance
electronically, so your insurance company will receive
each claim within days of the treatment. You are
responsible for any balance on your account after 30
days, whether insurance has paid or not. If you have not
paid your balance within 60 days a re-billing fee of
1.5% will be added to your account each month until
paid. We will be glad to send a refund to you if your
insurance pays us.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND that we file dental insurance as a
courtesy to our patients. We do not have a contract with
your insurance company, only you do. We are not
responsible for how your insurance company handles its
claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We can
only assist you in estimating your portion of the cost
of treatment. We at no time guarantee what your
insurance will or will not do with each claim. We also
can not be responsible for any errors in filing your
insurance. Once again, we file claims as a courtesy to
you.
Fact 1 - NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL PROCEDURES
Dental insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving
dental care. Many patients think that their insurance
pays 90%-100% of all dental fees. This is not true! Most
plans only pay between 50%-80% of the average total fee.
Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage paid is
usually determined by how much you or your employer has
paid for coverage, or the type of contract your employer
has set up with the insurance company.
Fact 2 - BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR OFFICE
You may have noticed that sometimes your dental insurer
reimburses you or the dentist at a lower rate than the
dentist's actual fee. Frequently, insurance companies
state that the reimbursement was reduced because your
dentist's fee has exceeded the usual, customary, or
reasonable fee ("UCR") used by the company.
A statement such as this gives the impression that
any fee greater than the amount paid by the insurance
company is unreasonable, or well above what most
dentists in the area charge for a certain service. This
can be very misleading and simply is not accurate.
Insurance companies set their own schedules, and each
company uses a different set of fees they consider
allowable. These allowable fees may vary widely, because
each company collects fee information from claims it
processes. The insurance company then takes this data
and arbitrarily chooses a level they call the
"allowable" UCR Fee. Frequently, this data can be three
to five years old and these "allowable" fees are set by
the insurance company so they can make a net 20%-30%
profit.
Unfortunately, insurance companies imply that your
dentist is "overcharging", rather than say that they are
"underpaying", or that their benefits are low. In
general, the less expensive insurance policy will use a
lower usual, customary, or reasonable (UCR) figure.
Fact 3 - DEDUCTIBLES & CO-PAYMENTS MUST BE
CONSIDERED
When estimating dental benefits, deductibles and
percentages must be considered. To illustrate, assume
the fee for service is $150.00. Assuming that the
insurance company allows $150.00 as its usual and
customary (UCR) fee, we can figure out what benefits
will be paid. First a deductible (paid by you), on
average $50, is subtracted, leaving $100.00. The plan
then pays 80% for this particular procedure. The
insurance company will then pay 80% of $100.00, or
$80.00. Out of a $150.00 fee they will pay an estimated
$80.00 leaving a remaining portion of $70.00 (to be paid
by the patient). Of course, if the UCR is less than
$150.00 or your plan pays only at 50% then the insurance
benefits will also be significantly less.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep us informed of any
insurance changes such as policy name, insurance company
address, or a change of employment.
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