Office Policies
Mission Statement
We are committed to treating all children with compassion and respect as we feel it is a privilege to treat the dental needs of children. We strive to have a positive impact in the lives of our patients and their families. Our team will provide specialized and comprehensive care for infants, children and adolescents in a friendly, fun and state-of-the-art environment. We encourage parental participation in regard to their child’s dental health and will stress education and prevention.
Appointments
Please understand we schedule all new patients and children under age six in the morning, as we try to reserve afternoon appointments for established, school-aged children.
We reserve a specific time just for you in order to allow the best possible care for your child. We will make every effort to be on time for your child’s appointment and ask that you arrive promptly at your scheduled time. Occasionally, an emergency may occur which may cause a slight delay. New patients and children under age 6 are scheduled in the morning. We try to reserve afternoon appointments for established, school-aged children. No charge will be made for rescheduling your appointment, provided 24 hour notice is given so that your child’s time can be given to another patient. If an appointment is missed without prior notification, our office reserves the right to charge a missed appointment fee.
Do I Stay with My Child During the Visit?
Parents are invited back during the initial exam. This allows Dr. Stephanie and Dr. Krissy to meet you and also discuss her findings and any treatment that may be necessary. For future check- ups and during treatment appointments, we do encourage parents to allow their child to come back alone. This is meant to establish trust in our team and confidence in your child. If for any reason your child asks for you or needs your, please know you would be escorted to the treatment area promptly. During a treatment appointment, if elected, one parent is allowed to accompany their child. We ask that you remain a “silent observer” so that Dr. Stephanie, Dr. Krissy and their team are able to effectively communicate with your child. Research has shown that children over the age of 3 tend to behave better when the parent is not present. As your child matures, we hope they will feel comfortable coming back by themselves. This helps to better establish your child’s trust and independence. During sedation appointments, we do NOT allow parents in the treatment area for several reasons, which would be discussed with you in detail if recommended for your child. Finally, if you expect your child to do well and enjoy their visit, chances are they will do just that!
What About Finances?
Payment is due at each visit for services rendered. We accept cash, Debit Card, VISA, Discover and MasterCard. We no longer accept personal checks. For our patients with dental insurance, we are happy to submit your claims and file to most dental insurance companies. Our office is out of network with all insurance companies; this means you are responsible for any portion that your insurance does not cover. Please be familiar with your insurance benefits so that you may receive the maximum benefit. We ask that you pay for the non-covered portion at the time of service.
Our Office Policy Regarding Dental Insurance
Payment is due at each visit for services rendered. We accept cash, Debit Card, VISA and MasterCard. We no longer accept personal checks. For our patients with dental insurance, we are happy to submit your claims and file to most dental insurance companies. Our office is out of network with all insurance companies; this means you are responsible for any portion that your insurance does not cover. Please be familiar with your insurance benefits so that you may receive the maximum benefit. We ask that you pay for the non-covered portion at the time of service.
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 cannot be responsible for any errors in filing your insurance; once again we file claims as a courtesy to you. In the event that your insurance has not paid on a claim within 30 days of the date of service, we reserve the right to directly bill the responsible party.
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.
There are some insurance companies that will only pay to YOU as the subscriber. If this is the case with your insurance, we do expect that you pay for services in full. We will still file the claim for you as a courtesy, and you can expect a check from the insurance company to be sent to you within a few weeks.
Referrals
Our practice grows through referrals from our patients. We sincerely appreciate your recommendation of our office to your friends and neighbors. We thank you for your trust.
