The office attempts to schedule appointments at your convenience and when time is available. Preschool children should be seen in the morning because they are fresher and we can work more slowly with them for their comfort. School children with a lot of work to be done should be seen in the morning for the same reason. Dental appointments are an excused absence. Missing school can be kept to a minimum when regular dental care is continued.

Payment for professional services is due at the time dental treatment is provided. We accept cash, checks, money orders and Visa or MasterCard.

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 are responsible for knowing the terms of your plan, as we will collect the estimated portion due at the time services are rendered. Your responsibilities may include deductibles, rejected charges and additional co-payments. By law, your insurance carrier is required to pay each claim within 30 days of receipt. We file a majority of claims electronically, so your insurance company will receive each claim within days of the treatment. Although we will do everything possible to see that you receive your maximum benefit, please be aware that we will expect payment in full from you if we have not received insurance payment within 45 days of treatment.

We are in-network providers with United Concordia and Delta Dental Premier, but will file all of your claims regardless of your insurance plan. We are not responsible for how your insurance company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We are happy to assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment. We cannot guarantee any estimate of benefits provided to you from our office. Payment is determined by your insurance company upon receipt of a claim.

Does insurance pay 100% of all procedures?

Insurance companies often lead patients to think that their coverage pays 90% - 100% of all dental fees. However, most plans only pay between 50% - 80% of the average total fee. Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage 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.

Does your office determine my benefits?

Our office does not determine your dental benefits. 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.

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