One of the biggest misconceptions with Dental Insurance is that they will pay 80% to 100% of all dental fees.  This couldn’t be farther from the truth!  First you should remember that Dental Insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving dental care. Most dental plans have a maximum and a deductible.  The maximum is the amount your dental insurance will pay out each benefit year.  They will not pay benefits over this amount. 

So, for example, if your maximum is $1500 and your child has had a cleaning appointment that cost $200 and needs treatment that will costs $1200 you will now have $100 worth of dental benefits left for the remainder of your benefit year.  If your child has to come back in 6 months for a cleaning and your benefit year has not renewed you will owe the difference of the billed amount minus the amount of maximum you have left.  Therefore that cleaning appt will not be covered at 100%.

 We advise all our parents to understand your personalized insurance policy and its exclusions and limitations!

Stay tuned for Faux Pas #3- My Dental Insurance Only Charges a Deductible for Treatment!

If your child is coming into our office in the month of April we will give them a blank Easter egg to decorate.  They can decorate it while they are here or take it home and bring it back.  We will have 4 age groups 1-3, 4-7, 8-11 and 12 and up.

 We will place the eggs around the office and then choose our favorites at the end of the month and vote on a winner!  There will be one lucky winner from each age group to receive an Easter basket full of goodies! Sorry candy will not be included!

First, remember that insurance companies are a business and that’s what they do, conduct business.  Insurance companies offer a wide range of plans to employers or individuals, and it is up to those employers or individuals to choose which plan they want to pay for.  Each policy has special exclusions and limitations and that may mean that your specific policy may not pay for Bitewing X-rays 2 times a year.  They may only cover them 1 time per year.

You should not let your insurance policy dictate what you or your child should or should not have done.  You should always rely on a healthcare professional that has had extensive training to diagnose what you or your child need, not a corporation with their bottom line at stake.

If you ever have questions as to what is recommended for your child please go to www.aapd.org or ask your provider.

Next week:

Faux Pas #2- My dental insurance should cover everything except my copay – just like my medical

These days everyone has accounts that can be accessed on the internet.   So why not access your child’s dental account as well!  Anywhere, anytime, and at the touch of a button!

At Kids First Pediatric Dentistry, our patients and their parents have access to their account 24 hours a day, seven days a week—all through our interactive and helpful website. You can look up your appointments and account details at your convenience! And, because we know parents are busy and sometimes forget, you can sign up to receive appointment reminders through email or text messages!  Additionally we send out quarterly newsletters with important information regarding the fun things our office is doing!

You, too, can sign up for this convenient service on our website by clicking on the “Patient Login” button at the bottom of our homepage. Please give us a call if you have any questions about getting started!

Monday is Princess/Prince/Tutu Day-get your princess/prince bling on!

Tuesday is Pajama Day-get out of bed and come to the office!

Wednesday is Nerd Day-get down and nerdy!

Thursday is Green Out Day- how green can you get?

Feel free to have your child join in on the fun if they will be coming in for an appointment.  We love it when our patients participate with us! 

Encourage your child to be Cavity Free!

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month!  We will be giving back to our community this month by going to our local Schools, Day Care Centers, Mom’s groups and more for presentations.  Contact us for more information and to schedule your group today!

Valentines Day is coming up soon so be aware of how much candy your child is eating and be sure to brush twice a day to help fight off those sugar bugs!

We encourage you to subscribe to our blog so that you can be the first to get important updates and information regarding our office and pediatric dentistry!  We welcome your thoughts so that we can make our blog better suited to you.

Have your child wear his/her costume to any appointment in October.  If you don’t have an appointment, either call to schedule or take a picture and email it to info@kidsfirstdental.com.  We will post the pictures on the “All Star” board in our office.

We will vote on the contest winners on October 28.  The categories are “Most Original”, “Funniest”, and “Cutest”.

Spread the word to your friends and get creative.  We can’t wait to see all the wonderful costumes.

We invite our parents to continue enjoying free movies on us.  It’s very easy:  refer a friend or family to our office.  Have them bring in the referral card with your name on it.  We’ll then send you movie tickets.  Wow, that is easy!!!

Now that all of the children are back in school, be sure to pay extra attention to their snacks at lunch and after school. 

We hope all of our families had a happy Labor Day weekend and we’re all looking forward to the heat starting to break. 

We hope to see you soon.