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Frequently
Asked Questions
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Do you accept my insurance?We accept most Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans. If you have a PPO plan, chances are we accept it. Your insurance card should have either a PPO or HMO symbol on the front of your card. If you are unsure what plan you have, please call us and schedule your appointment. During this phone call we will take down your insurance information and attempt to gather your benefit information from your insurance company. If it is determined that you have a plan that we do not accept, we will let you know before your appointment and give you the option of canceling your appointment at no cost to you.
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Do you accept discount plans?We do honor a few discount plans, please verify that we are on your discount plans providers list.
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Do you have an in-office discount plan?Yes, we do offer an in-house Discount Dental Plan. This is only offered to patients that do not have dental insurance coverage. This is a membership discount plan, and is not insurance; please contact us for more information.
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How much will it cost?Short answer is it depends. Our teeth whitening procedures, bleaching gel, and other items we have for sale in our office, we have a set price. However, when it comes to quoting an actual procedure, there are multiple variables that need to be accounted for, including: whether or not you have insurance, whether or not you have a deductible, whether or not you have insurance benefits remaining for the year, what procedure will be performed, and much more. For example, a filling is not just a filling, the fee depends on what tooth the filling is needed and how many surfaces the filling will cover. As you can see it gets complicated quoting a price, especially when insurance is involved; this is why we offer free evaluations and we can give you a treatment plan and go over the costs with you. It is important to remember that when insurance is involved, we can only give you an estimate based on what we believe your insurance will pay, your final out of pocket expense is determined by your insurance company, not us.
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Does my insurance cover this?There are a multitude of insurance companies that we deal with, and each one has multiple plans with different benefit levels and restrictions. We do our best to get your information as accurate as possible for you; however, each insurance company has different policies regarding the information that they will give us. The best way to find out if your insurance will cover a certain procedure is for you to call your insurance company; they are required to give you all of the information that you request, whereas they are not required to give us any information other than whether or not you have active coverage.
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What insurance do you recommend?There are numerous insurance companies, each with numerous plans; it can get confusing when trying to decide which plan is best for you and your family. Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how much each company will charge you and what benefits they will provide you with at a given price; however, if you have a few plans in mind, we can give you our opinion on the company and benefit details that they have provided to you. We have implanted a Discount Dental Plan for our non-insured patients. This is a membership discount plan, and is not insurance; please contact us for more information.
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Is this going to hurt?We Cater to Cowards and do our best to make all appointments as painless as possible. We have nitrous-oxide available upon request for those that would like the added comfort.
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How long is my appointment going to take?Our basic cleaning appointments are about 40-50 minutes long. For all other procedures, the length varies depending on the procedure and if any other issues are found while performing the procedure.
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Can you bill me?We have a Pay-at-the-Desk Policy, meaning all payments for services and insurance co-pays are due at the time of service unless you have arranged a payment plan with us before having your dental work performed. This is to help us keep the cost of billing down and allows us to keep our fees lower.
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Can I make payments?If you are concerned that you will not be able to pay your part in full at the time service, please contact us before your appointment to discuss options. We accept Care Credit, which offers 0% interest options for an extended period of time. Contact our offices for more information regarding Care Credit and Germantown Park.
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Are you accepting new patients?Yes, whether you are new to the Germantown area or the Greater Memphis area, or you are looking for a new dentist for one reason or another, we would be more than happy to welcome you to the dental office of Germantown Park Family Dentistry as a new patient.
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How safe are dental X-rays?Through advancement in X-ray technology, there is only a need for low radiation levels to be emitted to get a quality image. Newer machines allow for a more focused beam to the small area being x-ray. Digital sensors are high speed and require less exposure time than traditional film or phosphorous plates. Our office has implemented a completely digital x-ray process, whether it is a bite-wing, periapical, or panorex (full mouth, where the machine rotates around your head). With the advancement in technology eliminating the majority of stray radiation, we will provide lead aprons and vests to wear upon request. Furthermore, our X-ray equipment is inspected in accordance with the state of Tennesse’s standards.
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Do I really need X-rays?Yes, X-rays are a vital diagnostic tool that is used to detect certain diseases and defects that the naked eye can’t see. We recommend having a set of bite-wing X-rays taken once per year and a Panorex X-ray taken every 3-5 years.
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