All new patients start with a new patient exam following insurance verification. We do so to advise you if we are in-network for your insurance and also to be able to setup your insurance plan in our system prior to your visit. A comprehensive exam ensures Dr. Viertl reviews your health history and prior records and does a thorough evaluation before commencing any treatment at our office. New patients will typically not get a cleaning at their first visit, especially if it has been over one-year since their last hygiene visit. Acceptance of new patients is at the discretion of our office.
While we do our best to provide you with information on your insurance plan, we are limited by information provided by your carrier, who does not guarantee any benefits until claims are fully processed. We are not advised of any plan or benefit changes and cannot program in all insurance limitations. Therefore, the patient is ultimately responsible for ensuring we are an in-network provider and for proactively advising us of any insurance carrier or plan changes.
We encourage patients to maintain good oral health and deter future problems by following through with prescribed treatment. In that regard, if you are only looking to come in for sporadic emergency visits, we might not be the best fit for you as a provider.
All treatments performed must be preceded by a dental exam and a diagnosis by Dr. Viertl and we cannot accept self-diagnosis to schedule a treatment. We do not do same-day treatment but we leave room on our schedule for emergency exams. Out of consideration for our established and scheduled patients, we do not take walk-ins. If you have a issue of concern, please call our office and we will schedule you for a problem-focused exam an soon as possible.
We do not do emergency exams for patients who are not established at our practice. If you are a prospective new patient, we will first have to set up a comprehensive New Patient exam (typically available 2-3 weeks out on our schedule), after which a treatment plan will be devised for you. We do not provide estimates over the phone without a treatment plan in place but can give self-pay patients estimates for their initial consult visit.
Our office will submit dental insurance claims to your carrier as a courtesy and we provide a best estimate for your (patient) portion of treatment cost. However, please be aware that the patient’s actual insurance benefits may be higher or lower. While our office will make a best faith effort in assisting the patient with successful filing and processing of insurance claims, the patient is responsible for payment in full to include any and all charges for dental services and materials not paid for by their dental plan.
Full payment (or estimated insurance co-payment) is expected at the time of dental services. For comprehensive treatments requiring multiple office visits, our office requires payment in full at the start of treatment. Since we are a small office, we cannot offer payment plans and we do not accept CareCredit.
Appointment cancellations with less than 48 hours notice (required during business hours Tues-Fri only) are subject to a minimum cancellation fee of $35 with an additional $35 assessed per half hour for the length of the appointment. Longer appointments (90 minutes or more) usually require more than 48-hour notice for cancellations and verbal appointment confirmation. We send confirmation requests a week prior to patient appointments and provide ample opportunity to request re-booking. We work hard to confirm appointments and appreciate the cooperation of our patients to make this happen as confirmed appointments and on-time arrivals mean we can provide timely and predictable care.
We respectfully ask for all payments at time of service and for resolution of any late cancellation or missed appointment fees within 21 days. Delinquent accounts will be turned over to a collection agency and collection expenses will be added to the existing balance. We must regretfully terminate our Dentist-Patient relationship with patients associated with a delinquent account or have numerous cancelled appointments.
We respectfully ask our patients to keep their accounts in good standing, cancel appointments infrequently (for any reason), and to make a good faith effort to follow-through with Dentist prescribed treatments. Failure to do so or a disregard for office staff or policies may result in termination of Dentist-Patient relationship.