House Calls - As we continue to improve our services, we are pleased to inform you that we have a personalized appointment reminder system called Housecalls. Our appointment reminder system will call you at home two days prior to your scheduled appointment to confirm the day, date and time of your next appointment. You will be prompted to confirm this appointment by pressing the #1 on your touch tone phone. You will also have the option of leaving a message for our office staff
should you need to reschedule. If you are not available, the system
will leave a message on your answering machine.

Check In - Check in time for appointments is 15 minutes prior to the appointment time. Be sure to check in at the front desk. They will ensure that we know you have arrived.  We will make every attempt to see you on time.

Broken Appointments - We believe that your time is important, and so is ours. If you are unable to make your appoint­ment we ask that you notify us at least 24 hours in advance so that we can use that appointment time for another patient. We allow 3 broken appointments in a one year period. Failure to adhere to our broken appointment policy may limit your access to care here at Children's Dentistry.

Snow Policy - It is our policy to close our office anytime Laramie County School District #1 closes schools because of inclement weather. If our office closes because of weather we will call to reschedule your appointment once we are back in the office.
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Parents are encouraged to accompany their children into the treatment area during the exam appointment. The dentist will discuss with you preventative measures and outline any further treatment, if required. You are encouraged to ask questions, but please refrain from talking while the dentist or technician is talking to your child. This helps the dentist to establish a rapport with the child and enhances communication.
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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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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.

It is the policy of Children's Dentistry to use Composite resin fillings on anterior and posterior teeth instead of silver (amalgam) restorations in most cases. Most insurance companies will pay the amount for a silver filling on posterior teeth regardless of which restoration is done. You will be responsible for the difference in cost. If you wish for us to use silver (amalgam) restorations instead of white composite restorations please let us know before any treatment is done.

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