For the convenience of our patients we accept personal checks, Discover, Master Card and Visa (besides cash) as payment for the dental treatment we provide. We also have payment plans available in the office financed through Care Credit. When we perform our services for you at a particular visit, it is your responsibility to pay your out of pocket expenses for those services at that appointment. When you contact us to set up your first visit, our office coordinator Isabel will give you a basic idea of what your out of pocket expense will be for that first appointment. For procedures that are completed in a single visit, such as cleanings or simple fillings, full payment of those expenses is expected at that appointment. For procedures that require multiple visits, such as bridgework, implants or partial denture fabrication, we can divide your payment of out of pocket expenses over the number of visits needed to complete your treatment if necessary. However, you may want to take advantage of the 5% credit available when you pay the other 95% at the time you make the appointment
for these types of procedures.

To make finances easier for you at subsequent appointments, Isabel will give you an estimate of your total out of pocket expenses projected for the treatment to be rendered at the next visit. Please remember that this is just an estimate. The treatment plan developed for you by Dr. Roden at one of your initial appointments with us after you have had your teeth cleaned by our hygienist Ilyse, is based on visual, instrument and x-ray examination of your oral cavity. It is impossible for such an examination to give Dr. Roden the same scrutiny of your condition as actually performing the planned treatment. Because of this, it is often the case that when Dr. Roden begins a procedure, he will find circumstances that the original examination did not reveal. This can and frequently does cause the final fee for a particular visit to differ from what Isabel may have quoted to you. Every effort is made to give you an accurate picture of your dental needs, but the scope of certain situations (extent of decay, depth of fractures, position of nerves, etc.) is simply not fully apparent in some instances until treatment is under way.

Even though we consider payment for your dental treatment to be your obligation and that reimbursement by any dental benefits for which you may be eligible from the dental plan carrier that your employer has retained to provide such coverage as your ultimate responsibility, we try to do all we can to help you understand and use these benefits. Unlike many other dental offices, we complete your dental benefit claim forms for you because we understand that this can be a daunting task for the lay person. Our office is computerized and all claim forms are processed through our dental software to ensure accuracy and completeness. Isabel is an expert on the dental benefit claims process.

If you supply us with the necessary personal and policy information (your social security number, dental benefits group and plan number, etc.), Isabel will be able to help you best utilize your dental coverage by contacting the carrier providing your benefits to obtain the basic details of your plan. She will ask about your policy period, yearly deductible, coverage percentiles, calendar maximum and any waiting periods for eligibility. In this
way she can give you an idea of what reimbursement can be expected from your dental benefits provider for the services we render to you.

Please remember that more and more dental plans are including "missing tooth clauses" in their policies that benefit reviewers can use to deny almost any claim for treatment to replace any teeth that you may have lost before you came to be covered under your current benefits. This state of affairs is often called a "previously existing condition". In this way, your dental carrier leaves you to deal with any shortfall in coverage. If you have any questions about missing tooth clauses, you will need to contact your benefits provider yourself as the information we have obtained from many dental plans and our subsequent claims payment experience have been contradictory.

Because Isabel is an expert on the dental claims process, she will be able to assist you in sequencing your treatment in a way that maximizes the amount of reimbursement possible from your benefits. By advising you on the details of your coverage, Isabel can help you intelligently arrange the order of your treatment so that you realize the best possible clinical result while garnering the greatest amount of benefit dollars due you. We also coordinate this information with the offices of any specialists that Dr. Roden may refer you to so that you can get a total picture of your dental plan utilization in any given benefit year. In this way you can efficiently prioritize your treatment progression for the best potential outcome. We know of no other office in the area that goes to these lengths to help you appreciate and capitalize on the dental benefits you are entitled to.

This is not to say, however, that decisions regarding your dental treatment should be based on your benefit coverage in the first place. Your treatments needs should be determined by you after consultation with your dentist, not by the restrictions of a dental plan. For this reason Dr. Roden does not participate in any managed care plans.