Financial Arrangements & Insurance Policies
Our family dental practice in Gainesville and in Lilburn understand that there are many individuals who need dental care but don't have dental insurance. Some dental procedures can be costly and individuals worry about not being able to afford them, even if it is something they need. We believe that everyone deserves to have proper dental care and we will work hard to provide you with a reasonable payment and dental treatment plan that will work with your budget. Payment for our dental services is needed at the time of the dental procedure. Our family dental practice accepts personal checks, cash, debit cards, and most major credit cards. Our dental practice also offers exceptional financing options with Citi Health and Care Credit.
Dental Services
Whether you need basic dental services or more advanced dental services, we want to help you get the healthy smile you deserve even if you don't have dental insurance. We firmly believe that no individual should be turned away just because they don't have dental insurance.
Please contact us to schedule an appointment for any of the following dental procedures at our dental offices in Gainesville or Lilburn:
Dental Insurance Policies at Our Dental Office
If our dental office in Gainesville or Lilburn has received all of your insurance information on the day of your appointment with us, we will be glad to file a claim for you. You should be familiar with your dental insurance benefits, as we will collect from you the estimated amount insurance is not expected to pay. By law your dental insurance company is required to pay each claim within 30 days of receipt. At our dental offices, we file all insurance electronically, so your dental insurance company will receive each claim from us within a matter of a few days of the dental treatment you received. We try to get accurate information about dental insurance benefits and coverage before your dental treatment, but we cannot be sure what the dental insurance company will pay, if anything, until the claim is made and the insurance company actually pays on the claim. It is not unusual for dental insurance companies to give us erroneous information about coverage or benefits.This is important because 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 30 days a re-billing fee of 1.5% will be added to your account each month until paid. We will be more than willing to send a refund to you if your insurance pays us. Please understand that we file dental insurance as a courtesy to our patients at our dental practices in Gainesville and Lilburn. We do not have a contract with your dental insurance company. We are not responsible for how your dental insurance company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We can only help you with estimating your portion of the cost of dental treatment. We do not guarantee what your insurance will or will not do with each claim. We also can not be responsible for any errors in filing your dental insurance. Once again, we file claims as a courtesy to you.
NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL DENTAL PROCEDURES
Dental insurance is meant to be an aid to individuals receiving dental care. Many patients may believe that their insurance pays 90%-100% of all dental fees associated with their treatments. This is not true. Most dental plans only pay between 50%-80% of the average total fee. The percentage paid is usually determined by how much you or your employer has paid for your dental coverage, or the type of contract your employer has set up with the dental insurance company.
BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR DENTAL OFFICE
You may have noticed that sometimes your dental insurer may reimburse you or the dentist at a lower rate than the actual fee of your procedure. Often times, dental 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 may give you the impression that any fee greater than the amount paid by the dental insurance company is not reasonable. This can be very misleading and simply isn't really very accurate.
DEDUCTIBLES & CO-PAYMENTS MUST BE CONSIDERED
When estimating dental benefits, deductibles and percentages must be considered. To illustrate, assume the fee for dental service is $150.00. Assuming that the insurance company allows $150.00 as its usual and customary (UCR) fee, we can figure out what dental benefits will be paid. First a deductible on average $50, is subtracted, leaving $100.00. The plan then pays 80% for this particular dental procedure that you've had. The dental 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 in full by you, the patient.