What we take, what happens when we don't take yours, and how people without any coverage still get their teeth fixed here.
Three questions come down the phone line more than any others, and none of them are about teeth. Do you take my plan. What is this going to cost me. Can I pay it off. Here are the answers, so you can stop wondering and start booking.
We work with most major dental insurance carriers and we file your claim for you, whether we're in network with your plan or not. Because carriers rename and reshuffle their plans constantly, and two people holding the same insurer's card can have very different benefits, the only answer worth having is the one about your plan.
Call 301-829-2220 with your card in front of you. We'll look it up while you're on the line — it takes a couple of minutes and there's no obligation attached to it.
We accept Maryland Healthy Smiles for children and for adults who qualify. Maryland expanded adult dental benefits under Medicaid in recent years, and a great many people are still walking around assuming they have no coverage when in fact they do.
Mount Airy sits where Frederick, Carroll, Montgomery and Howard counties meet, and the number of practices in that corner taking new Healthy Smiles patients is small. If you have a card, bring it. If you're not certain the coverage is still active, we can check that for you rather than sending you off to find out on your own.
This is where people give up unnecessarily. Most dental plans pay out-of-network benefits too, just at a somewhat lower percentage — and on routine work the difference between in and out of network is often a matter of a few dollars rather than a different order of magnitude.
Either way we submit the claim for you. You are not left to fill in forms and chase a reimbursement.
Plenty of our patients have no dental coverage at all — people between jobs, people whose employer dropped the dental rider, retirees whose plan ended with their working life. None of that is a reason to sit on a broken tooth. There are three routes:
For anything past a routine exam and cleaning, you get a written treatment plan: what we're recommending, why, what it costs, what your benefits should cover and what's left over. You take it home. You decide there, not in the chair with a bib on.
Still not sure? Call 301-829-2220 and read us what's printed on your card. We'd rather spend two minutes on the phone than have you skip a visit you were covered for. We're open Saturdays, 8am to 2pm, if weekdays are impossible.
We work with most major carriers and we file the claim for you either way. Plans change names and benefits constantly, so rather than guess from a list, call 301-829-2220 with your card in front of you and we will look up your specific plan while you are on the phone.
Yes — for children and for adults who qualify. Maryland has expanded adult dental benefits under Medicaid, and many people who assume they have no coverage actually do. Bring your card, and if you are unsure whether it is still active we can check for you.
You can still be treated here. Most plans pay out-of-network benefits at a somewhat lower percentage, and on routine care the practical difference is often small. We submit the claim on your behalf regardless, so you are not left chasing a reimbursement.
Self-pay by cash, check or card; CareCredit, which splits treatment into monthly payments and frequently has an interest-free window; or a payment plan arranged directly with the practice for larger treatment. You will always have the fee in writing before work begins.
Yes. Anything beyond a routine exam and cleaning comes with a written treatment plan setting out the recommended work, the fee, the expected insurance contribution and your remaining share. You take it home and decide in your own time.
It is worth trying. Nearly every dental plan resets its annual maximum on 1 January and unused benefit does not carry over — it simply disappears. If you have treatment that has been waiting and benefit still sitting there, call us and we will see what can be fitted in.
Yes, Saturdays from 8am to 2pm, alongside Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. It is the slot most people use when taking time off work is not realistic, so it books up first.
One call and you'll know where you stand. Then we can talk about your teeth.
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