Office Policies
Your First Visit/Consultation
At your first visit to our office, we will discuss your medical/dental history, take a complimentary digital panoramic X-ray and provide a complete clinical examination. Dr D will then review his preliminary diagnosis and treatment plan with you and quote a fee estimate. Teresa will then discuss your insurance coverage and work out an affordable payment plan with you. When you are comfortable with the proposed treatment plan, then complete diagnostic records will be taken or scheduled. These typically include: digital study models of your teeth, digital photos of your face and teeth, and additional digital X-rays. This information is used to develop a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan for you. After Dr D has evaluated your records, he will discuss your treatment with you, including any changes indicated after evaluating all of the above information. These records are also helpful in tracking the progress of your treatment as your teeth move under our orthodontic care.
Regular Appointments
The appointment when you get your appliances (braces, expanders, etc.) usually takes from one to two hours. You’ll then see us at regular intervals of from 1 to 10 weeks for adjustments, which take 20 to 40 minutes. Our regular office hours are Monday to Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Patients are seen by appointment only. We make every effort to be on time for our patients and ask that you extend the same courtesy to us. If you cannot keep an appointment, please notify us immediately. Cancel only if it is an emergency. It is difficult to reschedule you since most appointments are made 1 to 10 weeks in advance.
Payment & Office Policies
Cost
The cost of treatment depends on the severity of the patient’s problem. You will be able to discuss fees and payment options before treatment begins. We have payment plans to suit different budgets. We also accept assignment from most insurance plans and we will file the necessary papers to the insurance company. We work hard to make orthodontics affordable.
Fees
In an effort to keep orthodontic fees down while maintaining the highest level of professional care, we have established this financial policy:
- If full payment is made at the onset of treatment, we will offer a 5% fee discount.
- To fit your individual needs, financial arrangements can be made to extend your payments over a period of months through in-house financing or Care Credit.
- For your convenience, we accept payment by VISA, MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS, DISCOVER and automatic withdrawal.
- In cases of serious delinquency, treatment will be discontinued, although we will make every effort to accommodate patients with temporary difficulties.
Insurance
If you have insurance, we will help you to determine the amount of coverage you have available. We ask that you assign your insurance benefit to us. The balance will be arranged for you to pay (see above). Professional care is provided to you, our patient, and not to an insurance company. Thus, the insurance company is responsible to the patient and the patient is responsible to the doctor. We will help in every way we can in filing your claim and handling insurance questions from our office on your behalf. Call us at 808-244-1499 or email us at staff@mauismileworks.com.
