How fees work

We file claims with the dental PPO plans the owner lists here, and we are out of network with the rest. Many dental plans pay toward orthodontics up to a set limit, so the limit matters as much as the plan name.

If you pay without insurance, or pay what insurance leaves, you get a written treatment fee before anything starts, and a plain schedule for paying it over the course of treatment. Financing is offered by third-party lenders. Approval and terms are set by the lender.

Each time you pay we give you an itemized statement with the procedure codes. If your plan reimburses out-of-network care, you can send it in; the plan decides what it pays.

You can ask for a written estimate before any treatment. If you are paying without insurance, we give you a written estimate in advance, when you book a first check or whenever you ask. It lists the stage, what we expect to do and the fee.

Kerri Farley, our treatment coordinator, reads your plan's orthodontic benefits before the first check and tells you what she finds, including any limit. Please bring your card. The plan's answer is the plan's, and we say when it differs from ours.

A first check takes about 30 minutes. Dr. Aceves looks at how the teeth are coming in and how the jaws meet, answers your questions, and tells you what she would do and what she would watch. No treatment starts that day. Fill in your forms on our private patient portal, not by email or in the contact form.