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Children tend to do better in the dental office when they are not tired. Therefore, we encourage morning appointments, especially for pre-school or nervous children. For many children, just a simple filling at the end of a long day, when they are tired, can seem like a major ordeal. Please keep in mind, one of our goals is dentistry that is as pleasant as possible for your child. Also keep in mind that a dental appointment is an excused absence from school. 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 child’s visit. We also have a policy that a 24-hour notice is required for cancellations. We need this amount of time so that we can contact a child from our waiting list to offer the appointment. If we do not get the necessary 24-hour notice, we reserve the right to charge your account a broken appointment charge.
Long orthodontic appointments are always
scheduled in the AM. You will also be asked to alternate AM and PM
appointments for your monthly orthodontic checks. We require that payment for services to your child be made as these services are rendered. Because our parents pay in this manner, our costs, and therefore your costs, are lower. You may pay as you go with cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, or Debit Card. As a courtesy, we can hold your check or a series of check in our office to be deposited on the day or days that you designate, up to 30 days.
We will also file your insurance for you if we
are given the necessary information. If you want your insurance filed,
please read the Dental insurance section very carefully. As stated previously, payment is most often made at the time of the visit. We then help you in submitting your insurance claims for prompt reimbursement. We will be more than happy to file for you as a courtesy, but please be aware that you are responsible for whatever your insurance company does not pay. We will need an insurance form for each patient with your portion filled out completely. We will want to make a copy of your insurance card for our files. Some insurance companies pay what they call “usual and customary.” In other words, your handbook may indicate that your company pays 100% of usual and customary charges. Our office is not usual and customary; we are exceptional. You may find that in some cases this is not 100% of our charges. At each visit we will estimate the portion that your insurance will cover and you will be responsible for the balance at that time. If your insurance company does not respond to your claim within 45 days after filing, which we do electronically, you will be responsible for the total balance. By law, an insurance company is required to respond within that period of time. At this time we will ask for payment in full. Since we do not have payment plans in this office, partial payments will not be sufficient to keep accounts in our office. Once your coverage information is in our computer, you will no longer need to bring in your insurance forms unless your insurance company requires a new form for each visit. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes in your insurance prior to treatment. By electronically filing your claims we have verification that claims are received. At the end of this time period we will bill you for any portion not yet paid by your company. This portion will then be due in full by you within 30 days. Failure to pay within the time period allowed will result in the accrual of late fees. Even if your balance is $1.00, your account will be charged a late fee at the end of 30 days. Remember, this is your insurance. You are responsible for monitoring the progress of payment. If you have not received information from your company one month after your visit, you should call them and see why they have not paid. REMEMBER – We do not work with or for any insurance company. Our responsibility is to you and your child, and yours is to us and your insurance company.
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Gerald Weaver, D.M.D.
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