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Serenity Dental has partnered with
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interest-free payment and long-term
financing options. If
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Financially
speaking . . .
We've designed our financial policy to make
life a little simpler for our patients.
• We accept payment by cash, check, Visa,
Master Card and American Express
credit/debit cards.
• A 5% discount is extended to our senior
patients 65 years of age and older.
• Dental treatment plan investments
exceeding $1,000 will receive a 5% cash
discount when paid in full at the time it is
treatment planned.
What about Insurance?
The good news . . .
We are happy to receive insurance assignment
in lieu of full payment at the time of
service. The one requirement is that credit
card payment authorization be granted to
cover any outstanding balance remaining on
your account after insurance payments have
been applied, or if the insurance company
hasn't reconciled within 90 days. This
allows us to offer this service but avoid
time-consuming, costly statements.
With fast, convenient e-claim processing,
your paperwork can be on its way before you
leave our office. Each policy is different ,
but in general , the average insurance
policy usually covers about 70% of simple
care and 50% of major work .
The not-so-good news . . .
Although we think insurance is a great
incentive to maintain a vital level of
dental health, dentistry has changed
immensely over the last decade -
Unfortunately, insurance fee schedules have
not.
A given insurance policy, however, is based
on a fixed fee schedule that is established
by the individual insurance carrier.
Although defined as “usual and customary,”
it has nothing to do with fee charges in any
area. Keep in mind, insurance companies are
profitable businesses , not dental
benefactors. When your dental insurance
turns out to be less wonderful than you
thought, it can be disappointing and
frustrating. As much time as we spend trying
to maximize our patients' benefits, even
more is spent explaining that insurers don't
see dentistry the same way dentists do. We
wish this were otherwise.
Case in point
Take the patient who has a large,
deteriorating filling with little remaining
tooth structure to lend strength. In our
judgment, it may be less expensive in the
long run to place a crown. Certainly it is
better for the tooth--and the patient. Some
insurers, however, will allow coverage for a
replacement filling only. And even those
fees are based on low-priced materials such
as mercury fillings. Maybe good business,
but not good dentistry.
And, by the way - when it comes to dental
care, we realize we are dealing with your
health, and we are ethically bound to do the
best we can for you. We cannot make a better
case for ourselves than that.
The fees we charge for dental services are
the same for every patient, insured or not.
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