Payment/Insurance
Payment:
 Payment is expected at time of service. If you have insurance, you will be expected to make an estimated payment for that portion not covered by your insurance plan. For that portion of costs not covered by insurance, we offer several payment options:
Insurance:
 Dental
insurance is intended to cover some, but not all of the cost
of your dental care. Most plans include coinsurance provisions,
a deductible, and certain other expenses which must be paid by the
patient at the time of services. Reimbursement amounts are not,
and never have been, a guideline for quality care.
We expect payment in full at time of service, but we will be happy to file most insurance claims for you with the reimbursement going directly to you. Please bring your insurance plan information with you on your first visit. We will work with you to ensure that you receive the maximum benefits to which you are entitled.
If you have any questions about your insurance plan or payment
options, please call our staff
at(330) 364-2011
or e-mail us at info@doctorhuff.net.
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Fees and how they are set
To understand fees in dentistry, it is important first to understand
the difference between goods and services. Goods are things like
clothing, sinks and automobiles. Services are the human labor involved
in their production, installation or alteration. The sink is the
good. The plumber provides a service by installing it. Goods can
be mass-produced and distributed all over the world. A service may
depend upon the labor and intelligence of a single person.
The price for a good depends on its availability as much as on
its quality. A pair of penny loafers produced by a factory in Taiwan
sold in two different stores widely separated may be identical,
but priced differently depending on the location where they are
purchased. The same pair of shoes may be much more expensive if
purchase in an upscale boutique under a fashionable brand name than
if purchased at Wal-Mart under another name. In this case, the relative
wealth of the local population determines what the price will be.
On the other hand, a different brand of penny loafer may be handsewn
and could be expected to be of superior quality, and yet be sold
at Wal-Mart for less than the Taiwanese shoes sold at the upscale
mall. Again, the price is set by "what the local market will
bear". Comparison shopping makes a great deal of sense when
shopping for goods.
Services are a very different story, and since dentistry is a service
(and not a "good") there is a great deal of confusion
in the public mind about its relative value. The value of dental
services is not measured in the size of a filling, or the physical
value of the gold, silver or plastic used in its production. The
time it takes to perform the service is certainly a factor and so
is the technical excellence of the finished product, but they are
not the only factors that count. For example, a dentist may produce
a perfectly made crown to correct your smile but may lack chairside
mannerism. On the other hand, sometimes very "nice" dentists
are very poor clinicians. Selecting a dentist should never be based
on fees, but should be based on the care received for the financial
investment.
A dentist has a tremendous financial investment in his or her profession,
practice, and education. Dental school costs more than $100,000.
Dental equipment is very costly, and there is a great deal done
behind the scenes to make patient appointments run smoothly that
cost a great deal of money. In fact, it has been estimated that
it costs about $45 just to sit a patient in a chair without providing
any treatment. Most practices employ several assistants, an office
manager, and at least one hygienist. These people depend on the
dentist for their living, and the dentist needs to provide a lifestyle
and living for his or her own family. Furthermore, dentists spend
several thousands of dollars a year in continuing education to sharpen
their skills. Dentists must also hire a dental laboratory to fabricate
dentures, crowns, etc., that charge varying fees depending on the
quality that the dentist demands. Therefore, dental fees reflect
the investment that the dentist has made in the practice, the practice
employees, and the patients he or she serves.
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