Financing & Insurance
DENTAL INSURANCE COVERAGE
As a courtesy to our patients, we will file your dental insurance for you, not all dental offices will file your dental coverage benefits. Dental coverage is a benefit provided by your employer to help with a patient’s dental needs. Dental insurance is very different than medical insurance. Medical insurance is a contract that states after the patient pays the annual maximum, the insurance company pays the rest in an effort to save the patient’s life if necessary. Dental insurance coverage is better defined as a dental benefit and is filed as a dental claim.
We accept all major dental insurances. Even if we’re not currently on your list of preferred providers we’ll be happy to help you make the most of your benefits. Our knowledgeable team will file your claims for you, track them electronically and help you understand your dental insurance coverage.
We ask that you bring your dental insurance information with you to each visit so we can keep your records up-to-date. Please remember that your dental insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company, and that you are responsible for the payment of all professional fees regardless of the extent of your coverage. We accept following insurances: Aetna, Aflac Dental, Altus Dental, Assurant, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBS), Careington, Cigna, Connection Dental, Delta Dental, Dental Health Alliance (DHA), Dentaquest, Dentegra, Guardian, GEHA, Humana, Marvest Dental, MetLife, Signature Dental, United Concordia, United Healthcare, and Zelis. For patients looking for dental financing, we proudly patients from Arlington, MA, and all surrounding communities, including Belmont, Cambridge, Lexington, Medford, Somerville, Waltham, Watertown, and Winchester.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
We understand that affordability and dental coverage is an important consideration in getting the dental treatment you and your family need and deserve. That’s why we work hard to maintain affordable fees and accept many forms of payment including credit cards, debit cards, personal checks and money orders. We also offer easy third-party financing programs including no-interest (0% interest), deferred payment and extended payment plans.
APPLY FOR DENTAL FINANCING
We offer flexible dental financing options through Care Credit, because we know that monthly payment plans can make it easier to fit the dental treatment you need into your schedule and budget. Care Credit, a dental financing company, lets you finance 100% of your dental treatment with $0 upfront costs, $0 annual fees, or $0 pre-payment penalties. We offer 0% interest rate financing for up to 12 months through Care Credit. Get approved today! With a full range of dental payment plans, you’re sure to find one that works well for you and your family! Call our Arlington dental office for more details on dental finance or apply online now by clicking below.
OUR POLICY REGARDING DENTAL INSURANCE
If we have received all of your insurance information on the day of the appointment, we will be happy to file your dental claim for you. You must be familiar with your dental coverage benefits, as we will collect from you the estimated amount your dental insurance is not expected to pay. We will file your dental insurance benefits electronically, so your insurance company will receive each claim within days of the treatment. You are responsible for any balance on your account, whether your dental insurance has paid or not.
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 dental coverage 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 Arlington office (but by your dental insurance)
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.
Our Office Policies Regarding Privacy Practices (HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).