Office Policies
Welcome to our office! We’re delighted that you’ve chosen our practice to care for your child’s dental and orthodontic needs. The following office policies are designed to assist in making your treatment as pleasant and efficient as possible. Please help us help you. Thank you!
Payments & Charges
Payment for professional services is due at the time dental treatment is provided. Every effort will be made to provide a treatment plan that fits your timetable and budget while giving your child the best possible care. We accept cash, personal checks, and most major credit cards.
Since appointments are reserved exclusively for each patient, we ask that you please notify our office 24 hours in advance of your appointment time if you are unable to keep your appointment. This allows us the opportunity to schedule other patients who need our care by giving us sufficient time to notify them. Failure to cancel 24 hours in advance may result in missed appointment charges.
Insurance
If we have received all of your insurance information before the day of the appointment, we will be happy to file your claim for you. You must be familiar with your insurance benefits, as we will collect from you the estimated amount insurance is not expected to pay. By law, your insurance company is required to pay each claim within 30 days of receipt. We file all insurance electronically so your insurance company will receive each claim within days of treatment. You are responsible for any balance on your account after 30 days, whether insurance has paid or not. If you have not paid your balance within 60 days, a finance charge of 2% will be added to your account each month until the balance is paid, as well as a delinquency fee. If there is a credit on your account, we will be glad to send a refund to you once insurance has paid us.
PLEASE UNDERSTAND that we file dental insurance claims as a courtesy to our patients. We do not have a contract with your insurance company, only you do. We are not responsible for how your insurance company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay. While we can assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment, we can at no time guarantee what your insurance will pay for each claim. We also cannot be responsible for any errors in filing your insurance.
Appointment
At Calabasas Pediatric Dentistry we make every attempt to schedule appointments at your convenience. After-school and Saturday hours are available. Allotted appointment times are designed to fit your child’s specific needs.
Infants, toddlers, and special needs children are usually scheduled in the morning, when they are alert and more cooperative. Young children with more extensive dental needs are also preferably seen in the morning. This allows parents more time during the day to make sure their child is comfortable after the session, and to follow up with any questions or concerns the same day.
For parents concerned about school absence, the California State Education Code (Article 2, Section 46010(b)3) designates medical, dental, and vision appointments as excused absences. Students missing only part of the school day are to be counted as in attendance. We will be happy to provide schools with letters explaining the necessary dental treatment.
Since appointment times are reserved exclusively for each patient, we ask that you please notify our office 24 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment time if you are unable to come in. We realize that unexpected conflicts and illnesses can arise, but we ask for your assistance whenever possible.