Our Philosophy
We have a talented and experienced staff, and it is our philosophy to help our patients achieve and maintain exceptional dental health. We work hard to make sure that our level of care is deserving of our patients’ respect and confidence. Our tradition of preventive dentistry is the basis for all service and care in our practice.

Continuing education – As a group, we are committed to excellence in education. Our entire staff (doctors & staff) has participated in programs from LVI (Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies), a dental teaching facility with a worldwide reputation for excellence. We frequently are participating in other courses to stay current in the rapidly changing world of dentistry!

New Patients
New patients are the lifeblood of a dental practice, so if you are pleased with us, tell a friend. If not, please tell us. Your satisfaction is important to us. We have found that this direct referral by our own patients brings people who appreciate exceptional dental care and customer service in the private practice setting.

We recommend that new patients enter our practice with a comprehensive examination by the doctor. This allows us to envision your complete dental situation and diagnose your needs.

We listen to you, and to what you have to say. We want to know what your treatment goals are, what types of dental experiences that you have had in the past and how we can make your experience with us the best dental experience that you and your family have ever had.

Office Hours and Appointments
We treat patients Monday through Thursday, 7 AM until 4 PM. If you have an after hours emergency, please call the office phone number, and if necessary, the answering service will help you contact the doctor on call. We will return your call as quickly as possible.

An appointment is an agreement between our office and you; our part calls for us to reserve office time for you. If you must re-schedule an appointment, please extend us the courtesy of 24 hours notice, since changes in appointments affect other patients and our staff.

Please keep us informed of any change in your name, address, telephone number, insurance coverage or employment. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes in your medical history or any medication you are taking, since this may affect your treatment.

Financial Policy
Time, skill, care, judgment, professional education and experience determine professional fees. We are proud of our fees and know that they represent fair compensation for the quality of the services provided to our patients. However, when it comes to costs of any sort, none of us likes surprises. We feel that it is important for our patients to understand our financial policies before initiating any treatment. Our policy is to tell you, in advance of any treatment, what your investment in your dental health will be and to make definite financial arrangements before we begin treatment. Payment for any services is due and payable at the time the services are provided.

After your initial comprehensive examination, diagnosis and consultation, we will review with you our recommended treatment plan and estimated cost. We will offer alternatives and their costs. To make payment as convenient as possible, we offer several payment methods. We accept cash, check or major credit cards. We also have customized, outside financing available to help make ideal dental care more affordable.

Dental Benefits
Many of our patients have dental benefits. We encourage each of our patients to become familiar with the coverage they have. To simplify the process for all of us, we have adopted the following policies. First, we expect our patients to take full responsibility for the payment of our fees. Our contract is with you, not with your insurance company, and we will happily document all your needs and care received in our office, but we do not accept assignment of dental insurance benefits. We will gladly help you with the process of claims submission. We provide all the necessary information, send any required documentation that is requested by insurers, we respond to any information requests, both writing letters of explanation and even having conversations with insurer consultants to try to help you get all the coverage that you deserve. If insurance coverage is in doubt, we will be happy to submit a "pre-treatment estimate of benefits" to the insurance company.

Second, you should be aware that most insurance plans do not cover certain types of dental treatment. The common examples of these are cosmetic procedures; restoration need due to excessive wear on teeth, and procedures where the insurance companies feel a cheaper (not better) option is available. For example, an insurance company may substitute the benefit for a silver filling when a superior tooth colored filling is placed. Coverages are arbitrarily downgraded by insurance companies so that they can pay fewer benefits on your behalf. Our office cannot predict when this will happen.

Why Can't I Find Your Name On My List?
We are occasionally asked why we don't participate in a particular insurance plan, or if we would begin to participate in a plan that is cheaper for the patient to purchase.

As you are probably aware, the health care field is undergoing a period of change in the manner in which care is provided to the public. There are many insurance plans that are being promoted that restrict your choice of doctor to those on a specific list of participating offices. The participation agreement between those plans and the providers usually requires the provider to deliver care at a discount to those patients covered by that plan. For some plans the discount is small, for some it is not.

Our orientation has always been to provide quality care. We use those supplies and materials we consider to be the best available. We use excellent laboratories and support services. We have an excellent staff of qualified professionals, and we take the time necessary to provide for quality treatment. We always look for value but we don't compromise quality. Our practice has grown and continues to grow through referrals from our patients. These referrals are indicative of the high level of care and service we strive to provide. Compare that with a referral from an insurance company. Upon what do you think their referral would be based?

We do not participate in any plan that would encourage a more 'retail' philosophy of practice. Dentistry is a service, not a product. For those plans where a filling is a filling and a crown is a crown, it's always possible to find a cheaper way. For us, the manner in which that service is provided and the attention to details makes all the difference. We do not participate in plans that require us to discount our treatment and encourage us to make up the difference in volume. Nor will we make a practice of charging patients different fees for identical services depending on which insurance plan, if any, they belong to.

There is enough diversity in today's dental marketplace for everyone to find a practice whose values they share. I hope this adequately describes our values.

Location
Our office is located in Scurlock Tower, a professional building owned and attached to The Methodist Hospital, in the Texas Medical Center. Many of our patients have all their medical providers here in Scurlock Tower, and Methodist Hospital is a terrific place for care. The close proximity of medical care also gives us very quick medical emergency care if ever needed. Please refer to our map.