Financing Information
For your benefit and peace of mind, no treatment will begin until payment arrangements have been made which are comfortable for you. All patients have the opportunity to make payment arrangements with our financial coordinator in a private, personalized setting. For your convenience, we accept the following types of payments:
- MASTERCARD
- VISA
- DISCOVER
- CHECK
- CASH
- WELLS FARGO FINANCIAL
- CARE CREDIT
Our Fees
Our fees are related to the skill, time, judgment, and experience of Dr. Sharp and the staff to provide the best care for our patients in a warm, friendly, and personalized environment. Some procedures also incur a significant cost of materials.
Our fees are not based on the patient’s insurance coverage (if any) or insurance company UCR’s. We do not believe it is in the patient’s best interest to compromise the treatment necessary to return you to optimal health in order to accommodate an insurance programs maximum benefit. Who wants to be 50% healthy?
Low and no-interest financing is available through both Care Credit and Wells Fargo Finance If you’d like to apply, you may contact our office and we can submit the estimates and paperwork for you.
Your treatment plan will include a breakdown of all applicable fees, and we will inform you of all costs before treatment is administered. Charges are payable at the time of treatment.
Please ask a member of our staff, and we will review our payment options to accommodate your financial needs prior to your procedure.
Dental Plans
Surprisingly, only 30-40% of our patients have dental insurance. Our treatment coordinator will assist you in obtaining the maximum benefits allowed under your dental plan. Unlike medical insurance, dental insurance was designed only to help defray the cost of care, not to provide comprehensive coverage. Most plans have a yearly maximum of $1,000-$1,500.
This limit has changed minimally over the last 20 years. If this limit had kept up with inflation or your premiums, it would be over $5,000 today! Your employer does not tell you that your dental benefits are being reduced every year since the maximum does not keep up with inflation.
There are hundreds of different insurance companies and it is impossible to know in advance what your benefits will be. Dealing with these companies can be difficult and time consuming. It may be helpful for you to contact your insurance company to inquire about your yearly maximum and how much of that remains. We encourage you to bring your benefits book to your first appointment so we can better assist you in understanding your coverage.
As a courtesy, we will complete all of your insurance forms in a timely manner and submit them electronically to speed the process. However, we do not have a relationship with your insurance company and it is the patient who is responsible for finances.
Please, keep us informed of any change to your insurance. It is important that all information about you and your insurance be current so that you can be reimbursed in a timely manner.
Before we begin any treatment, we will provide you with an estimate of the necessary therapy to treat your disease. While most patients prefer to schedule regardless of insurance coverage, we will, if you request, submit an estimate of treatment to your carrier electronically before scheduling treatment. They will then provide what portion of the fee they will cover if there are available funds. Unfortunately, it could take four to six weeks to receive an answer, which could result in a worsening of your disease. Insurance companies are notorious for not receiving your claims or other delaying tactics which can delay necessary treatment.
Finally, most treatment is time sensitive. This means that once started, treatment needs to be completed in a relatively short time to prevent untreated areas from re-infecting treated areas. Delaying treatment until the next calendar year can result in a poor treatment outcome.
