Dr. Vanstrom recently sat down and reviewed his fee schedule at Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta. He took random samplings of patient insurance coverages from a variety of our most common procedures that we perform while caring for the overall health of our patients. He reviewed indemnity insured patients as well and those with PPO insurance plans.
Bitewing X-rays:
We take up to four bitewing X-ray Films on our patients once a year based upon the health of our patients’ teeth and gums. These radiographs allow us to thoroughly review the health of our patients. By taking bitewing x-rays, we can complete a cavity detection examination and an evaluation of bone health for tooth support. They also serve as a guide for any further necessary x-rays.
Our current fee for one bitewing, or one peri-apical x-ray, is $25.00. That fee is not simply selected by throwing darts at a board. Dr. Vanstrom spends hours reviewing national averages and fee schedules from several reputable sources. He also lectures to other dental offices all across the country. When he lectures, he reviews fees with his clients in order to further confirm the fairness of all of the dental fees at Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta.
Finally, he reviews insurance estimates of benefits (EOBs). Recently he reviewed the amounts paid by a variety of dental insurance companies for our patients who had a bitewing. Out of 40 patients, he found that $20.00 was the average amount paid by the dental insurance companies.
If we look closer at the fee we see that the mean for our bitewing fees is actually closer to $24.00. That is because there were a few patients who comparatively had very poor insurance coverage for a single film. The low insurance coverages were as low as $6.30 and $12.50. The high insurance coverage amounts were $25.00, which was 100% full coverage of our 2014 old fees.
Remember, our fee is $25.00. We actually just rolled back fees to our 2013 prices as a benefit to our patients. We did not increase that fee in 2014. The vast majority of our patients in our insurance coverage review had nearly 100% coverage for the bitewing at $25.00.
We here at Artistic Dentistry of Atlanta appreciate greatly our patients who entrust us with their dental health. Dr. Vanstrom hopes that our patients appreciate in turn our efforts to continually be fair with our dental fees for all of our patients, insured and uninsured alike.
