We would like to welcome you to our office, this page contains useful information for patients who are new to our office. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us. Our staff is looking forward to meeting you at your visit.
Payment Options
Payment is requested at the time of service. We accept cash, personal checks, credit cards and Care Credit.
Some procedures such as crowns, bridges, implant treatment and dentures which require multiple treatment visits, may be started with a 50% payment deposit for qualified patients with the remaining balance due at delivery.
Financing
Financing is available through Care Credit. We can offer you zero interest financing through CareCredit for a fixed number of months. This way patients can manage the payment of their treatment over a longer term without having to worry about interest payments. There will be no interest accrued with regular minimum monthly payments and complete account balance pay off within the promotional period.
Example: If a patient is approved for $4,000 financing with CareCredit for their dental treatment, and the promotional period is 12 months, then that patient would make interest free payments of about $334 per month over the 12 month period to pay off the balance within that time period.
To pre-qualify for credit, click on the link below and complete their on-line application form. CareCredit’s approval response is provided quickly, most often instantly.
Our office requires a minimum treatment fee to use this service. Please ask our staff for more information regarding our CareCredit policies.
*Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required.Click here to apply for Care Credit
Dental Insurance
At Rock Creek Dental Center, as a service to our patients we accept most PPO dental insurance plans, however, we are not part of any managed care network and we do not participate with HMO or DHMO plans . We are currently in-network PPO providers with Carefirst, Delta Dental, Humana and Ameritas.
At your first visit, your ID and insurance card will be photocopied and placed in your chart. Before coming in for your first appointment, please provide us with your full dental insurance information over the phone, so that our office will have time to verify your dental insurance benefits before your appointment day. This will help you make a more informed decision regarding your treatment.
Our staff will prepare and submit all necessary forms to your dental insurance for your dental benefits. However, we remind you that your specific policy is an agreement between you and your insurance company. Please keep in mind that you are responsible for your total financial obligation if your insurance benefits result in less coverage than anticipated. Our staff will gladly submit a pre-treatment estimate to your insurance company so that you will know what your benefits will be at the time of service.
Please understand that there is quite a large difference between dental insurance coverage and medical insurance coverage. With medical insurance, most patients have come to expect a fixed co-pay amount for which the patient is responsible. Dental insurance only acts as a partial supplement payment and is not intended as comprehensive payment for all of your dental treatment and treatment cost. It is for this reason that the co-pays made by the patient on the day of service are only estimates, based on limited information provided to us through you and your dental insurance carrier. The actual insurance coverage and benefit, and the patient’s remaining balance will only be known after the dental insurance company has processed the claim.
The fees charged for services rendered to those who are insured are the usual and customary fees charged to all our patients for similar services. Your policy may base its allowances on a fixed fee schedule, which may or may not coincide with our usual fees. You should be aware that different insurance companies vary greatly in the types of coverage available. Also, some companies take care of claims promptly while others delay payment for several months, sometimes up to a year.
To begin, as stated before, it is most important to understand that dental benefits vary considerably from one plan to another, and that all dental insurance benefits are not the same.
Who decides the benefits included in a dental insurance plan? That decision is made by the company purchasing the plan for its employees, such as your employer. Plans can cover anywhere from 20% to 100% of the cost of dental services, depending on the dental plan purchased by your employer. Some plans cover a full range of dental treatment, while others opt to exclude such services as dental implants and orthodontic treatment.
Plans differ in another important way. Most dental insurance plans such as PPOs allow you to choose your own dentist, while others require you to receive care from a limited number of dentists such as an HMO or DMO.
How Our Office Works With Dental Insurance:
Your treatment will be determined by your dental needs, your oral health and your overall general health, not by your dental insurance plan coverage. It is not in the best interest of your health to compromise your treatment to fit an insurance company’s benefits. We will discuss your treatment needs and options with you prior to starting dental treatment . You, not your insurance company, will decide whether you would like to proceed with treatment.
Rock Creek Dental Center accepts most major dental insurance plans, we accept most major PPO plans that allow you to visit any dentist of your choice. As a courtesy to you, our staff will prepare the insurance claim and submit the claim to your dental insurance carrier along with any other necessary documentation. That means you will pay any co-pays required by your dental insurance at the time of service, and we will have to wait up to one month or more for your insurance reimbursement to arrive for services rendered. We accept this assignment of payment from our patients as a courtesy to our patients.
If your dental benefit plan requires a “pre-estimate” or “prior authorization”, we will submit a treatment plan for review by your insurance carrier. Please remember that the financial obligation for dental treatment rests with you, the patient. . Dental benefit coverage of a specific treatment is between you, your employer and the insurance company. We will do our utmost to obtain maximum benefits, but the fee for dental services is your responsibility and payment is expected regardless of insurance coverage.
Occasionally, an insurance carrier will suggest a dental fee is higher than the usual rate for services. If this happens to you, please talk to us before accepting it as fact. The insurance carrier’s fee information may be out-of-date or may ignore considerations unique to our location and the level of experience and high quality of dental treatments provided at our office. Our staff can often be of assistance in disputing benefit denials or benefit discrepancies.
Our staff is here to help you in every way to file claims, handle insurance inquiries and ensure you receive the maximum benefits of your specific insurance plan. Let us know if you need our assistance.