How fees work

You can ask for a written estimate before any treatment. If you're paying without insurance, we give you a written estimate in advance: when you call, when you sit down, or whenever you ask. It lists each step we expect and the fee for each, and you decide before we begin. If the dentist finds something else once she looks, you hear it and get a new estimate before we go on.

At checkout you get an itemized receipt with procedure codes. If your plan reimburses care from a dentist outside its network, send it in and ask to be paid back. We'll send the claim for you if you ask. The plan decides what it pays, and when.

Most patients pay at the visit, by card or check. You know the fee before we start. If a problem can wait for your regular dentist, the dentist says so and you don't pay for work you don't need today. Financing is offered by third-party lenders. Approval and terms are set by the lender.

We are out of network with every dental plan, so we don't bill plans directly. If your plan has out-of-network benefits, such as many PPO plans, our receipt lets you ask it to reimburse you.

We can't check what your plan will reimburse before your visit, because we don't bill it. If you want to know first, call the number on your card and ask what it pays a dentist outside its network. We'll give you the procedure codes by phone. If you're in pain, call us first. The reimbursement question can wait.

Plan on about an hour: a few questions, an exam by the dentist, an X-ray only if she needs one, and a written estimate before any treatment. Then we treat the problem or calm it down with a temporary repair, and tell you what comes next. Fill in your health history on our private patient portal, not by email or in the contact form.