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(931) 645-8000 |

Jennifer J. Cornell | DDS, FAGD
Caleb T. King | DMD

Office Policies

Walk-In/Non-Scheduled Appointments

We do allow for walk-in appointments. We do not guarantee that any dental treatment will be initiated, but we will address your needs or concerns by doing an examination and possibly taking a radiograph. If you are in pain we will discuss pain management and prescribe necessary medication. Walk-in patients will be worked into our existing daily schedule and seen on a space available basis.

Missed Appointments

We do our very best to stay on schedule. We also understand that from time to time an emergency will arise and you may be late or miss an appointment altogether. If you may be late or not able to make an appointment, please call us and let us know as soon as you can. We call as a courtesy to remind you of your appointment. A $40 missed appointment charge per hour will be added to your account should you cancel your appointment with less than 24 hours notice, except in the case of an emergency or serious illness. You will not be given another dental appointment until this balance is paid and your insurance will not pay for the charge. We try to keep our fees low and participate with insurance plans whose fees are lower than ours. In order to do this, we cannot afford for patients to miss their scheduled appointments.

Appointment Deposits

We do not schedule you for any more time than you should need for a standard procedure. If you need a procedure that requires us to block our schedule for two or more hours we will require a deposit of $100. This deposit will then go towards the amount you owe for the procedure. Sometimes the procedure will take more time then allowed and we may have to temporize you until we can bring you back to complete the procedure. This is not done to inconvenience you but to make sure we have the time needed to spend on your treatment.

Children and Teenagers

We, as a general dentistry family practice, welcome children as our patients. All children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for their appointment. This includes six-month recall appointments for cleanings and any other dental appointment. It is state law that a parent or legal guardian be present. If your child is brought by any other person they will be rescheduled and incur a missed appointment charge.

Infants and children should not be brought to the office if they do not have an appointment. Our staff is not able to watch your children during your dental appointment. Please make arrangements prior to your appointment for your children to be supervised by a responsible adult. It is not in the best interest of your child, you or our staff to have children in the operatory during your dental treatment. You will be asked to reschedule and possibly incur a missed appointment charge. We understand that young mothers from time to time do have last minute child care or sitter issues, please call ahead and we will do our best to work with you.

Due to HIPAA regulations (confidentiality laws), we cannot discuss treatment with anyone other than a parent or legal guardian. Once you or your children turn 18 years of age we are no longer obligated to discuss treatment or account information with anyone but the patient. If the patient would like a family member or friend put on the account he/she will need to complete a form designating that person. Please ask the front desk patient coordinator for more information.
If after an exam we feel it is in the best interest of your child to refer them to a pedodontist, a child dental specialist, we will do so. This is not meant to inconvenience your child but to provide the best possible care. After your child is restored to optimum dental health by a pedodontist, your child is welcome to return to our office for six-month check ups, cleanings, etc

Confidentiality

Our office remains in accordance with the HIPAA guidelines. As a new patient you will be given our Privacy Practices. Please read this over carefully. We will not discuss treatment or account information with anyone that you, the patient, have not designated in writing, except those deemed acceptable by the HIPAA guidelines. For example, if you would like your spouse to be able to discuss your treatment or account information you must assign his or her name to your account. Please ask the front desk patient coordinator for more information.

Guarantee

Under normal circumstances all dental work is guaranteed for one year provided that you, the patient, takes appropriate care of their oral cavity, receives regular check ups and has a dental prophylaxis every six months by our office.

Return Check Fee

We attempt to make sure our fees are reasonable and affordable. We will not accept a check without proper identification. If your check is returned, we will assign a fee of $30 and any collection costs.

Thank you for taking the time to read our office policies. These policies may change without notice.