Financial Information

The cost of treatment may vary depending on your child’s individual needs and treatment plan. We will discuss with you the cost of treatment and each of your available payment plan options before your child begins treatment, so that you can make the best choice for your child and your family.

Affordable Payment Plans

Your child’s smile can last forever, and we want to make it as easy as possible to receive the best dental care whenever needed.

Our practice accepts most major credit cards and insurance plans.

Our office staff is always available to help you with insurance claims and paperwork. We’ll work with your insurance provider to make sure that your coverage meets your family’s needs and budget.

Please let us know if you have any questions about insurance coverage and let us know how we can help to make your entire dental experience a pleasant one.

Our Office Policy Regarding Dental Insurance

We are happy to assist you in filing insurance claims and even file the necessary paperwork for you. While we recognize that it would be nice to not have any out-of-pocket expenses, most insurance will not pay 100% of all charges. We are able to check on-line for most insurance plans to see what is covered and at what percentages.

With thousands of different insurance policies, it is hard to predict exactly what portion the insurance policy will pay and what portion the patient will pay. 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. We encourage you to be familiar with your insurance benefits, as we will collect from you the estimated amount insurance is not expected to pay. Your insurance company should 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.

Please understand that we file dental insurance as a courtesy to our patients. We technically 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. You are responsible for any balance on your account.

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.

Facts 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 company policies might 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. An insurance company has an interest in lowering its payment to make additional profit. Our dental practice has an interest in providing superior and specialized care for your children. Dr. Lide has completed years of additional education and the staff completes continuing education to stay on top of the latest practices in Pediatric Dentistry.

Fact 3 – Deductibles and 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.

We recognize how confusing dental insurance can be for parents. We are happy to assist you to the best of our ability with your insurance needs.