How fees work
Orthodontics is paid for differently from a cleaning. These are the questions families ask, in the order they ask them.
Insurance we work with
Orthodontic coverage is separate from the dental benefits that pay for cleanings. Many plans pay part of treatment up to a lifetime maximum, and some pay nothing. Your plan decides what it pays. The owner lists the plans the practice works with in the Business hub.
Dental PPO plans: we send the claim for you
Dental HMO plans: tell us your plan and we check whether we can see you
Medicaid and CHIP: we are not enrolled in either
Medicare and Medicare Advantage: check with your plan about orthodontic coverage
If you pay yourself
If your plan pays part of treatment or none of it, the rest is yours to pay. Before treatment starts you get a written estimate for the whole course, and we go over what it includes, retainers among them.
A written estimate for the whole course
What is included, and what is not, in plain words
Third-party financing, set by the lender
Receipts for reimbursement
If your plan wants the claim to come from you, we give you an itemized statement with procedure codes to send in. Whether the plan pays, and how much, is the plan’s decision.
Itemized on request
Procedure codes included
An estimate in advance
You can ask for a written estimate before any treatment. If you are paying without insurance, we give you a written estimate in advance, when you schedule or whenever you ask. It lists each stage we expect and what the fee covers.
Written, and before treatment
Each stage listed
Yours to take home and think over
Checking your benefits
Before your first visit, Tanisha contacts your plan to learn what it lists for orthodontics, including any maximum or waiting period. We tell you what she finds and say plainly that it is the plan’s estimate, not a promise of payment.
We check before your first visit
We tell you what we learn, in plain words
What the first visit includes
A first visit is a talk, an exam and, if the doctor needs them, photos, a scan or X-rays. You hear your options, a range for how long each might take and, if you ask, a written estimate. Forms are on our patient portal, not by email.
Patient formsBring a photo ID and your insurance card
Your dentist can send recent X-rays
Patient forms are on the portal
Ask for the estimate first
Tell us at your first visit that you want the fee in writing, and we will put it there before treatment starts.