Office Policies

Office Hours
How are appointments scheduled?
Do I stay with my child during the visit?
What about Payment?
Our Office Policy Regarding Dental Insurance
Insurance Facts

Office Hours

Monday - Friday: 8:00am to 5:00pm

How are appointments scheduled?

The office attempts to schedule appointments at your convenience and when time is available. We attempt to schedule young children in the morning because they are more prepared and typically do better in the start of their day. For the same reason, we suggest older children with a lot treatment to be completed scheduled in the morning. We strive to see all patients on time for their scheduled appointment, please plan to arrive 10 minutes or more before your appointment to allow time to complete any additional paperwork.

Since appointment times are reserved exclusively for each patient we ask that you please notify our office 48 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment time if a cancellation is unavoidable. Another patient who needs our care could be scheduled if we have sufficient time to notify them. We realize that unexpected things can happen, but we ask for your assistance in this regard. We reserve the right to charge a $25 cancellation fee if you do not cancel at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled appointment. If two (2) or more broken/missed appointments occur or two (2) cancellations without a 48-hour notice, our office reserves the right to not schedule any subsequent appointments.

Do I stay with my child during the visit?

We invite you to stay with your child during the initial examination. This gives you the opportunity to see our team in action and allows Dr. Amy to discuss dental findings and treatment needs directly with you. During future appointments, we encourage children over 3 to come back to the treatment area by themselves as this builds autonomy and trust. Older children who are very apprehensive may look for an “escape” by going to their parents. Our purpose is to gain your child's confidence and overcome apprehension. However, if you choose, you are more than welcome to accompany your child to the treatment room. For the safety and privacy of all patients, other children who are not being treated should remain in the reception room with a supervising adult.

What about payment?

Payment in due in full at the time dental treatment is provided. Patients with dental insurance must provide accurate and complete insurance information, as we are happy to file your insurance benefits for you. Any amount not covered by your insurance company is payable a time services are rendered. Please be aware that the parent bringing the child to our office is legally responsible for payment of all charges, we cannot send statements to other persons. For your convenience we accept cash, Mastercard/Visa and Care Credit.

Our Office Policy Regarding Dental Insurance

As a courtesy to you, our patient, we will file your Primary dental insurance claim for you if we have received all of your insurance information on the day of the appointment. We will also accept assignment of benefits. We will file your insurance claim for you and you will be expected to pay your estimated uncovered portion at the time of service. You must be familiar with your insurance benefits, as we will collect from you on the day of treatment the estimated amount insurance is not expected to pay. Once the insurance company reimburses our office, if there is still a balance, you will be billed for the remaining portion. If there is a credit, you will be sent a refund check. Please be aware our office does not file secondary insurance.

We file all insurance electronically, so your insurance company will receive each claim within days of the treatment. You are responsible for the entire account balance. If for some reason your insurance company does not pay on your claim, you will be expected to pay it in full within 30 days of the date of treatment. Please note that some insurance carriers will not reimburse our office directly. In such instances, you are will be responsible for the full cost of each visit at the time services are provided and your insurance company will send you the reimbursement check directly.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND that we file dental insurance as a courtesy to our patients. There is no direct relationship with your insurance company and our office. 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 and we will verify your benefits prior to treatment whenever possible. If you have any questions we will be happy to assist you. Please do not hesitate to call.

Insurance Facts

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.