Paying Upfront for Dental Appt???

At the time of service is reasonable, up front is not in my opinion. If they are running that close to the wire I would find another dentist.

It sounds like they have had some really bad patients in the past. Ones that don't pay their bills and don't show up for the appointments.

I have heard of paying up front but not paying to schedule.

Ran into the same thing when my oldest needed surgery for an impacted tooth. They didn't ask when I made the appointment because our orthodontist made it for us but when we signed in they asked for my credit card. We had not even decided to do the surgery yet. They told me it was common place because people were beginning to sneek out the back door before paying. Apparently there are enough dentists that people can float from one to another without paying their bills.

As our healthcare continues to change and doctors are becoming more nervous, we may see more and more of this...

M.

First, look for reviews on Angieslist about this dentist. There is a dentist right down the street from me that I had considered using, but opted not to because of LOTS of complaints about their billing practices.

If they have a lot of complaints, report them to your insurance carrier and find another dentist.

I've never heard of a policy like that.

I understand and agree that a copay should be paid at the time of the visit but not in order to book an appt. What if you got sick or needed to reschedule?

They are basically just using your (and other patients who fall for it) money.

Never heard of this. Seems weird to me too.

It sounds like they either have a lot of people cancel or they show up and after the work is done can't pay. So I can see why they might have a policy like that in place. It just seems weird that they make you pay the whole amount prior to the scheduling of the appt. I could see maybe $20.

Or it could be that they are strapped for cash and need you to pay up front so that they can pay their bills.

We pay at time of service. We get reimbursed when the dentist gets the insurance check. We have not had a problem with this, but I can see how it can be startling and/or disconcerting, especially if the whole family goes in. Not everybody can float the several hundred per patient at once. One reason to pay when you are done is then the dentist can bill you for what he/she actually did vs a guess. If the kids need updated xrays, then that will be on the bill at the end. Or if SD needed a bigger filling or whatever. Paying by credit card before you've even been in, in order to even schedule? I personally wouldn't like that. I would find another dentist.

I've never heard of this except if you needed a crown or some other type of dental work besides a cleaning. I wonder if maybe a lot of people don't pay their bills or cancel all the time. What if you don't have a credit card and can't make it to the office before they close.
I honestly don't like the sounds of it and would find another dentist. If you had been going there for years and they changed their policy to have payment up front, then yes that would be ok.

My husband is a dentist and they don't have this particular policy. However, they do have a ridiculous amount of broken appointments, cancellations, and no-shows that they have discussed having some sort of deposit policy (the entire amount secured on the card seems extreme to me, but that's exactly the policy my spa has, and I've never broken an appointment, so I guess it works!). My husband and his partner are very old-fashioned, trusting, and even a bit naive, so even asking for a deposit has rubbed them the wrong way. Lots and lots of practices at the very least require you to pay at the time of service.
One question I would have for them, though, would be their cancellation policy. If you pay up front, and then are disappointed with the work, what happens? What if you get in a car wreck on the way to the office? Can you reschedule without losing what you've paid? Okay, so that's more than one question, but I would like for it to be clear what you're getting into.
Good luck!

I have been having the same experience this week. Our regular dentist now requires a deposit be put down of $30 when you make your appointment. If you show for your appointment the money is applied to your bill, if you don't show for your appointment they keep your $30. Also this week I have been trying to schedule a root canal with an endodontist. Our regular dentist does not do root canals. We have dental insurance, no endodontist will accept our insurance and wants payment for the root canal up front. The cost of the procedure is $800 to $1100 depending on the tooth. They say it is up to me to submit the bill to my insurance and let the insurance reimburse me. I have called 5 different endodontists in my area and one two hours away from me, this is their policy with each one. I asked why, they claim that it is because the dental insurance doesn't always pay the amount that is quoted to the dentist initially.

Kind of a different issue, yet similar for us. We've been to the same dermatologist off and on for years because she is one of the best in the city. Last year our then 20 year old son went to her to confirm a mild case of psoriasis. Cash or Check only. No credit cards, not even debit/HSA.

OK, I understand how maybe small offices don't want to pay the credit card fees, but I now may be considering other options because it's an inconvenience for ME. We have a HSA so we pay almost all visits up front to meet a high deductible and therefore use a cc for that account alone.
Our son does not have that cc, but could pay with his debit, save the receipt, then we reimburse him from that health savings account.

Since they won't take any plastic that means mommy has to meet him at the office for every appointment so I can write a check. No he doesn't have a checkbook, and I love him dearly but I'm not sure that's a good thing! Plus, the world is getting away from checks for the most part.

They must really be hurting to do this. Or maybe they have a small billing department.

I guess it should be a matter of whether or not you really like this dentist.

Dawn

I would find another dentist. Also, check your insurance policy. Mine specifically states that we don't even pay at time of service, since they never know how much it's actually going to be. Instead I get billed, then I call them up to pay with my flexible spending card. Sometimes when the insurance goes through, they call me for payment, which I'm cool with, too. No paper waste that way, either.

I notice a lot more dentists doing this. I can only guess that they are not getting paid by some or most of their other patience’s. Dentists don't have a big mark up on the work they do. Mine will ask for lab work payments up front, like for a crown. If I don't pay it comes out of his pocket so I can't blame them for an early charge. I figure it is easier for them to ask everyone to pay ahead then to single out anyone.

I found this to be true at several dentists I went to when I was going to get my teeth fixed. They want time to make sure the payment goes through. They are getting turned down more and more so they are needing to make sure the payments are good when they get one in advance like that.

That seems a bit strange. I don't really know if I would do it. I think I would really have to know the office well and really, really like the dentist. Before you do anything, though, I would find out about the cancellation policy. For instance, say you wake up that day ill, are they going to keep the entire $70 and call it a missed appointment fee? I've NEVER heard of paying for any sort of medical or dental appointment before an appointment can/will be scheduled. Also, if you know the office, and haven't had any problems with paying in the past. why wouldn't they set the appointment given your history with them? Really strange.

I would check the policies of other dentists in your area.

Be glad you have dental insurance.... I had a filling last week... had to charge $254 to a credit card.

We always paid upfront.

I would find another one also. I recently went because of a tooth ache and when I went all of it should of been covered until I got to the front. They charged me 42 dollars for a saliva sample. What!! I was pissed. Its like they were searching for something to charge me for
Im interested in getting this one tooth pulled and then they came up with I needed to get pulled and a deep tissue cleaning, man! I was so irritated. Guess they have to try and make money somehow! Im with you though, not gonna get it out of me!!

ive never been to a dr like that but with the way the economy is it doesnt surprise me. i would be a bit uncomfortable paying before hand ESP with a credit card...