Appointment Policy
Pediatric Dental Specialists reserves appointments for your child according to their needs and level of cooperation. Our office communicates with patients using telephone equipment capable of automatic dialing, and electronically, via e-mail and text messaging. As a courtesy, our office will attempt to contact you 1-2 days before your appointment for confirmation. However, we do ask that patients assume responsibility for their appointment time. You may confirm your appointments at 706-863-7351 or by email at info@pdssmiles.com. After hours, you may leave a message. Please contact our office during regular business hours to cancel or reschedule appointments.
We hope to be able to serve you better by establishing the following guidelines:
- Broken appointments or short-notice cancellations (within 24 hours) without proper notification can be costly and unfair to patients who need appointments. Please note: Repeated broken appointments and short–notice cancellations may be subject to dismissal from the practice.
- Late arrivals cause schedule delays for those patients who arrive promptly at their appointment time. Late arrivals will be worked into the schedule if time allows, or re-appointed to another day.
- During the school months, late afternoon appointments are in high demand. We try to honor after school requests and ask that you help us by understanding when we need to appoint during school hours. We will gladly provide you with a school excuse for your child.
- Depending on differing treatment needs, and the dentist providing the treatment, patients may not be seen in the order they arrive to our office.
Financial Policy
Your payment for dental services is due on the day of your appointment prior to treatment being rendered. Other services such as sedation visits may require payment 1 week prior to your appointment. We accept cash, checks, and most major credit cards. Additionally, we offer payment plan options through Care Credit, third party financing. All returned checks will be handled by an out sourced collection company. All account balances which have not been paid within a 30 day period, including insurance payments, become due by the patient’s responsible party.
Dental Insurance
As a courtesy, we will file dental insurance benefits for you. However, any deductibles, co-payments, or balances not covered by your insurance are due before treatment is rendered. We are considered “in network” for patients with United Concordia.
When planning your appointment, please keep in mind that dental insurance is only meant to be a payment aid in receiving dental care. Please check with your insurance company so you will have a better understanding of what services are covered by your plan. Many patients think that their insurance pays 90%-100% of all dental fees. This is not true. Most plans only pay between 50%-80% of the average total fee. Some pay more, some pay less. Insurance companies set their own fee schedules and each company uses a different set of fees they consider “reasonable”. The percentage paid is usually determined by how much you or your employer has paid for coverage, or the type of contract your employer has with the insurance company. We are not responsible for what your insurance pays on a claim. We can only assist you by estimating your portion for the cost of the treatment.
We are a participating provider with Georgia Medicaid, Peach State.
HIPAA Patient Privacy Policy
Click here to download our HIPAA Policy
Notice of Non-discrimination Policy
Pediatric Dental Specialist (PDS) does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, or age in admission, treatment or participation in programs, services and activities, or employment.
