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How are Appointments Scheduled?
Do I Stay
with My Child During the Visit?
What About Finances?
Our Office
Policy Regarding Dental Insurance
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How are
Appointments Scheduled?
Children tend to do better
in the dental office when
they are not tired.
Therefore, we encourage
morning appointments,
especially for preschool or
nervous children. For many
children, a simple filling
at the end of a long day,
when they are tired, can
seem like a major ordeal.
Please keep in mind that one
of our goals is provide a
dental experience that is as
pleasant as possible for
your child. Dr. Franz will
determine based on your
child's age, treatment
indicated and cooperation
level when it will be best
to schedule their
appointments. Also keep in
mind that a dental
appointment is an excused
absence from school, and we
can always provide you with
a form stating your child
was seen in our office for
treatment.
When we schedule an
appointment for your child,
that time is reserved solely
for your child. We do not
double book and we take
pride in the fact that
because we value your time,
as much as we hope you value
ours, we make every effort
to see your child at the
time scheduled. For this
reason, it is very important
that you have your child in
the office at the time
scheduled. If you are late,
it may be necessary to
reschedule your visit. We
also have a policy that a
24-hour notice is required
for all cancellations. We
need this amount of time so
that we can contact another
family to offer this
appointment.
If we do not get the
necessary 24-hour notice, we
reserve the right to charge
your account for a broken
appointment.
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Do I Stay with My Child During
the Visit?
We invite you to
stay with your child during the
initial examination this allows
you to see where your child will
be treated. During future
appointments, we suggest you
allow your child to accompany
our staff through the dental
experience. We can usually
establish a closer rapport with
your child when you are not
present. We have found, and
studies substantiate this, that
children tend to do better in
the dental situation without
their parents present. We ask
that you allow your child to
accompany our staff through the
dental experience. We are all
highly experienced in helping
children overcome anxiety.
Separation anxiety is not
uncommon in children, so please
don't be concerned if your child
exhibits negative behavior.
This is normal and will soon
diminish. Our purpose is to
gain your child's confidence and
overcome apprehension. . 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.
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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.
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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 re-billing fee of 1.5% will be
added to your account each month until paid. We will be glad to send a
refund to you if your insurance pays 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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