- Preventive Dentistry — Instead of going to the dentist every few years for “Drill, Fill and Bill,” our Clinic strives to promote preventative dentistry. You can prevent most or all disease if you spend 4 minutes in the morning and 4 minutes in the evening brushing, flossing and doing any other home care treatments your dentist and hygienist recommend. Plus you need to have your dentist or hygienist professionally clean your teeth, check for decay, apply a fluoride treatment, or apply sealants on a regular basis.
- The warranties below are null and void if the patient does not maintain his/her 6-month continuing care cleaning appointments which allow us to monitor your oral health and the work we have provided.
- ‘’‘Poor hygiene, lack of regular care and health problems can cause a perfectly healthy mouth, teeth and restorations to fall apart in less than two years. Just ask your local meth heads…
FILLINGS
- People frequently ask us, “How long should this last?” In our office, we strive for perfection and satisfaction, which is why we are happy to provide you these warranties, something few other offices offer. Let us remember in today’s technology almost everything we have learned is on the preventive side.
- Our warranties must be null and void if we don’t see you for your regular 6 month check-ups. With 6 month check-ups your teeth and gums are winners!
- When a tooth has a cavity, the dentist removes the decay and fills the hole with a silver filling. The tooth is what supports the filling.
- The ideal filling is no more than 50% of the tooth. This allows half the tooth to support the filling. **When you get a cavity that takes up 60% or more of the tooth, a crown is indicated. A crown covers the entire tooth and holds the tooth together.
- Sometimes we place a filling thinking there is enough tooth to hold the filling when actually there is not. The tooth then starts to break away because it can no longer support the filling. In this case, we will credit the cost of the filling toward the cost of a crown and build up.
- In addition, for a period of 5 years from the date of service, we will replace a filling due to breakage, misfit or decay at no cost to the patient. This does not include replacement due to breakage of a chunk of tooth.
Crowns, Onlays and Bridges
- For a period of 5 years from the date of service, we will refund the cost of a crown or bridge due to breakage, misfit, or decay at no cost to the patient. This does NOT include breakage of the tooth supporting the tooth. Only God (and a life time of good home care) can warranty your tooth structure…
- This warranty is null and void if the patient does not maintain his/her 6-month continuing care cleaning appointments.
- Gold and porcelain crowns are the same for practically all cases except that porcelain can chip. Approximately one (1) out of every 100 porcelain crowns chip and need replacement. This will never happen with gold crowns. If your porcelain crown chips in the first five (5) years, we will replace it free. However, if it chips after the five-year period, you will be charged the regular fee for a new crown. This should be taken into consideration when choosing between a porcelain or a gold crown.
Root Canals
- Do root canals always work? No! A root canal is a therapy not a cure. It has a high success rate but 5% fail — one in twenty.
- If your root canal fails, we may retreat one or more canals of the tooth or send you to an endodontist who specializes in root canals. There may be additional charges for these services.
- This warranty is null and void if the patient does not maintain his/her 6-month continuing care cleaning appointments.
Refunds and Warranty Work
- In the rare case that a warranty refund or procedure is indicated, generally, it is in the best interests of the patient to have any warranty work provided by the Clinic rather than refunded to be done elsewhere.
- Typically, there is no charge for warranty work, except perhaps if there are mitigating circumstances requiring additional related work.
- If the warranted care was paid for by insurance and is to be refunded, the portion of care provided by insurance will be refunded to the insurance carrier, not the patient. Refunding insurance paid for care to the patient is generally considered fraud.
- The refund will only be for the cost of care provided by the Clinic. Additional costs for warranty care done at another clinic are the responsibility of the patient.
- Should a refund be issued, the Clinic is released from additional liability for such care and it’s followup.
- In over 20 years, to our best recollection, less than $1000 of care has had to be refunded or replaced by warranty. This is less than 0.1% of the care provided by the Clinic. Stuff happens, but not that often…
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