Dental Insurance

We work for you, not your dental insurance company. Our practice does not diagnose or provide treatment based on dental insurance allowances. Diagnosis and treatment recommendations will be based on the doctors’ judgment and experience, as well as your desires and wishes. Our team will partner with you, giving you the information needed to make the best decision for yourself regarding your dental health.

As a courtesy, our office will make certain each patient receives assistance to maximize their insurance benefits. Many patients experience both confusion and frustration when it comes to understanding and utilizing their dental insurance benefits, especially if extensive dentistry is needed to restore their smile. While dental insurance can provide a foundation for budgeting oral health care expenses, covered procedures can vary widely and the reimbursement to us is often below our actual cost. Please feel free to discuss your particular financial concerns with our office coordinator, Tina.

Some myths about insurance dispelled…

Dental insurance is rapidly playing a larger role in helping people obtain dental treatment. Since we strongly feel our patients deserve the best possible care we can provide, and in an effort to maintain the high quality of care, we would like to share some facts about dental insurance with you.

Dental Insurance is NOT meant to be a PAY-ALL. It is only meant to assist you in the payment of your dental care.
Many routine dental services are NOT covered and are excluded or limited by the policy description. These services, when recommended, are necessary for your treatment and well-being. They should NOT be interpreted as “unnecessary” because the insurance company does not provide a benefit for them.
Many plans state that you will be covered “up to 50%, 80%, or 100%”. In spite of what you are told, we have found in actuality that many plans cover less than that depending on their own established fee schedule. The benefits your plan pays are largely determined by how much your employer/union is willing to pay for the plan. The less they pay for the insurance plan, the fewer benefits you will receive.
Insurance companies establish “Usual and Customary” fee schedules that may or may not have an accurate relationship to what are the “Usual and Customary” fees where you live. Insurance companies often will tell their members that their provider’s fees are “above what is usual and customary” rather than say, “Our benefits are low”. This may be because there are various ways insurance companies establish their usual and customary fee schedules.

In fact, frequently different insurance companies in the same geographical area will have different usual and customary fees. Our fees may be within one company’s usual and customary fees and not another insurance company.