Practice Policies

Initial Consultation

The Initial New Patient exam at Halifax Dental is quite comprehensive. The dentist will do the following services for you at your initial visit:

  1. Understand your concerns and requirements
  2. Examine your oral condition
  3. Recommend the right treatment for you
  4. Suggest how treatment could be done in phases
  5. Review your insurance coverage and provide an estimate of the cost
     

Scheduling Policies

  • At Halifax Dental Group, every patient appreciates and respects the zero waiting time policy.  We request all of our patients to be punctual. This will ensure that patients are seen immediately on arrival.

  • Each Dentists notifies the patients of their pending appointment prior to their scheduled appointment date. Patients who schedule their appointments early usually can pick a date and time of their choosing.

  • The dental office does not double book appointments, which means that the dental office reserves the appointment time slot for the patient. Patients should provide at least two business day notice to cancel an appointment to avoid a missed appointment fee.

Treating emergency patients is an important part of our responsibility towards our community. Our staff does everything possible to get the patient out of pain as soon as possible. Patients with an emergency can request an appointment at short notice by calling our office.

Consent Policy

No treatment is ever provided to a patient without their consent. Patients have the option to decline the recommended treatment plan.

Privacy

Each individual dentist is committed to protecting the privacy of their patient's personal information and to utilizing all personal information in a responsible and professional manner. Any information collected by your dentist is used only for the purpose of diagnosing dental conditions, providing and consulting about dental treatment, billing and correspondence with your insurance company.

Financial Policies

The Dentists at Halifax Dental Group have similar financial policies. It is important to consult with the staff off your specific dentist for more details.

  • Halifax Dental Group does direct bill to insurance, which means that the dental office submits the primary and secondary insurance claims on behalf of the patients and requests their insurance company to pay the dental office directly. Patients are required to leave a credit card on file with us along with authorization to process any outstanding balances after the insurance cheque has been received in our office.
  • Patients can also choose to pay at the time of treatment and collect reimbursement from their insurance company. We can submit the claim to your insurance company on your behalf and they will pay you directly. We can often submit the claim electronically which speeds up the payment to you.

 

Know Your Dental Insurance Policy

Many people are lucky to have dental insurance to help them with the cost of treatment. However, many find it doesn’t cover as much as it use to. The cost of insurance continues to increase and insurance companies are looking for ways to make insurance more affordable. This means less coverage, or not expanding coverage as costs increase.

One thing that is often misunderstood is that insurance coverage varies greatly from patient to patient and that dental offices often do not have access to coverage information. Some plans will not communicate directly with dental clinics and others require written requests for confirmation of coverage which can take 6 to 8 weeks. By that time, many people have become busy with other things and don’t think to rebook for treatment. Unfortunately, we have seen delays in treatment lead to the need for more involved procedures often at a higher cost.

Before coming to your dental appointment, contact your insurance provider and determine your dental benefits. Below id a list of vital information you should know about your insurance coverage. We can help interpret the benefits with you. Being informed can help save you from costly delays in treatment.

  • Name of insurance carrier and phone number

  • Policy number, Certificate (ID) number and Division number, if any

  • The anniversary date of the policy, for example is it January 1st, rolling calendar, from date of initial employment etc.

  • The annual maximum benefit per patient

  • The annual fee guide covered by their insurance policy, example 2016, 2017 etc.

  • Percentage of coverage allowed for diagnostic services, preventative services, restorative services, endodontic services, periodontal services and all other major treatments, such as crowns, bridges and dentures

  • The per person and family annual deductible amount and annual maximum amount.