Office Policies

We strive to schedule appointments at your convenience and when time is available. Very young children and preschoolers should be seen in the morning because they are well rested and refreshed during the early part of the day. Likewise, school-aged children who have extensive dental treatment to be completed should also be seen in the morning or in the early afternoon because they are better rested earlier in the day, which allows their dental work to be completed in the most comfortable manner possible. Although excused absence from school may be obtained for dental appointments, your child’s missing school can be kept to a minimum when regularly scheduled dental visits and oral hygiene care at home are continuous.

If you are unable to keep your appointment, please notify our office 24 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment time. This allows us to notify another patient who also needs our care to schedule an appointment. We understand that life can be unpredictable, but we ask for your assistance with this matter as we have many patients in need of dental care. 

    1. Please note that we are a fee-for service office. Payment is due at each visit for services rendered. We accept cash, check, and credit cards. Although we are an out-of-network provider, we are happy to submit claims for you. We ask that you pay at the time of service for treatment rendered.

    2. Should you have dental insurance and it is part of a “Network Plan,” (a plan where you must use one of the Doctors within the Network), the insurance company will not pay for children’s dental or orthodontic treatment performed by our office because Dr. Doherty and Dr. King are not “Network Providers.”

    3. If your Dental Plan allows you to go to any Dentist of your choice, most likely you will be able to recover that benefit for the services performed by this office. Please keep in mind that this concept is contingent on the insurance company providing an Orthodontic benefit for patients seeking orthodontic treatment and that pre-approval has been obtained for either your child’s dental treatment needs or your/your child’s orthodontic treatment plan.

    4. Should you have Dental Insurance that pays out-of-network, please note that Orthodontic Treatment must be pre-approved prior to the on-set of treatment and that some plans require that certain children’s dental services be pre-approved prior to starting treatment as well. Therefore, it is imperative that you provide us with at least two completed, signed and undated insurance forms before treatment begins. These forms will enable us to have the benefit verified and the treatment pre-approved in writing. Some insurance companies will not pay if the pre-approval has not been obtained. We need the forms one month, or more, in advance of starting treatment. 

    5. If you are unsure as to whether or not your insurance company requires pre-approval for your child’s dental services or for orthodontic treatment or if you are unsure whether or not your insurance company covers Orthodontic Treatment, you can call your plan “Member Services Department" or your plan “Administrator” and inquire.  

    6. If your address or Insurance information changes at anytime during treatment it is important that the office is informed.

    7. Our office does not accept direct payment from insurance companies. We are happy to submit claims for your insurance company, which will directly reimburse you or the member as the services are rendered.

    8. Our office will provide a “Payment Plan,” if needed. The Payment Plan usually extends throughout the duration of the treatment period (approximately 18-24 months for full orthodontic treatment).

    9. Should you have a “Flex Spending Account,” you will need to speak with our Account Manager. You may need a different receipt for your Flex Spending account.

    10. Please understand that we are not responsible for how your dental insurance company handles its claims nor are we responsible for their reimbursement for a claim. We do not know for certain how your dental insurance will handle each claim. Please keep in mind that we submit insurance claims as a courtesy.