Hours
| Appointments | Do
I Stay With My Child? Finances
| Insurance Hours
|
Mon. &
Wed: |
9:00am-12:30pm |
2:00pm-6:00pm |
|
Tues. &
Thurs: |
8:00am-12:30pm |
2:00pm-5:00pm |
|
Friday: |
TBD |
|
Scheduling
Appointments Treatment
appointments for young children and those who require sedation will be
scheduled in the morning hours. (We have found treatment
appointments are easier when your child, the doctor, and the staff are
fresh.) Recall
appointments are made six months in advance, at the time of the visit, for
your convenience. We highly recommend setting up the recall
appointment at the time of service since appointments are scheduled six
months in advance. If
you are unable to keep your appointment or will be late, please call the
office. If we are not available to take your call, please leave a
message with our exchange. There may be an additional charge for
appointments broken without a 24 hour notice. We make every effort
to stay on schedule. Please help us by being prompt for your
appointment. If you are over 10 minutes late, you may be asked to
reschedule your appointment. If you have to wait more than 15
minutes, please ask our staff the reason for the delay. There
are occasions when more time is required for a child than we have
scheduled. We make every effort to be on time but please remember we
run on children's time, not adult time. We ask for your patience and
understanding. We
ask parents with children under the age of 18 remain on the premises
during their treatment time or provide a contact number. Back
to Top Do
I Stay with My Child During the Visit? You
are always welcome to stay with your child during his/her visits.
What
About Finances?
Payment
for professional services is due at the time dental treatment is provided.
Every effort will be made to provide a treatment plan which fits your
timetable and budget, and gives your child the best possible care. We
accept cash, personal checks, debit cards and most major credit cards.
Our
Office Policy Regarding Dental Insurance
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 finance charge of 1.5% will be added to
your account each month until paid. We will be glad to send a refund to
you once insurance has paid 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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