Finances in Dentistry

Our practice philosophy is that we would rather do less work well, than more work of lesser quality. Nothing is more disheartening in dentistry than to meet a new patient who has had extensive, poor quality dental work that requires being redone. The sweetness of low fee dentistry is soon forgotten while the bitterness of poor quality remains.

For those patients who need more extensive dentistry we can usually offer treatment plans extending three to five years in order to accommodate most budgets. Patients can be confident in their knowledge that the increased cost of quality now will save them significant emotional and financial costs in the future.

We always expect payment from patients at the time of their office visit unless other arrangements have been discussed in advance. Special arrangements can be made for patients on a tight budget to see one of our staff general dentists at a reduced fee. Ask Jeff or staff at the front desk for more information, we want to keep you here.

Dental insurance - Dental insurance is misunderstood by most dental patients. Dental insurance companies are in the business of paying less in claims than they take in on premiums; that is how they make money. The health of our patients is our concern not theirs. We will not let an insurance company's fee reimbursement schedule dictate treatment.

New patients will frequently say, for example, "I have Aetna dental insurance and they pay 80% of the usual and customary fee for fillings, so why do I have to pay more than 20%?"  The answer may be understood as follows:

 1. The level of quality of care in this office is not usual and customary! The value of your treatment here will be appreciated long term.  In addition there is no such thing as a "usual and customary" fee.  Fee screens for dental procedures differ considerably among insurance contracts, according to an independent study sponsored by the American Dental Association.  Patients with different dental policies are reimbursed at different rates even within the same insurance company because determination of "usual and customary" rates varies so widely.

2.  Dental insurance reimbursement is based upon the least expensive treatment method. Cosmetic dental procedures, for example, are significantly more time-consuming (to do well) and the best materials are significantly more expensive than for non-cosmetic procedures (e.g. silver fillings vs. bonding). Insurance companies do not care about value-added services and will not pay more for them.

3.  As of January 1999 we have more than 725 different dental insurance policies in our computer. There are 54 different Aetna dental insurance policies alone. The monthly premiums paid by the employer/employee for each of these policies can vary tremendously. The level of insurance coverage an employee may receive is a function of that premium -- the higher your premium, the better your coverage. We cannot change that. If you have $50,000 fire insurance for your home and it burns, you cannot get $100,000.

4.  We accept partial payment directly from an insurance company as a courtesy to our patients. Our office manager is quite knowledgeable about dental insurance and is happy to handle all the paperwork this entails. Many insurance companies refuse, however, to tell us exactly how much they will reimburse for a given procedure.

      Therefore, we will estimate the amount of your copayment that is due at the time of your visit. If insurance payments exceed your balance your account will be credited and you may receive an overpayment refund if desired; if insurance payments are less than expected the balance is your responsibility. 

      We must keep either a preauthorized credit card voucher or post dated checks on file for any patient relying on insurance copayments to cover any potential financial discrepancy.