Frequently Asked Questions

In the era of health care insurance uncertainty and decreasing coverages it is a very common concern and consideration we all encounter. Currently in California, there are thousands of different insurance policies with different annual allowances, copays and deductibles.

These change in many cases even within one calendar year. The policies insurance companies have also included numerous exclusions and limitations even within the “covered benefits”. It is a very time consuming and arduous process to figure out the anticipated benefits in many cases. What we will do to help you navigate your benefits is to initially take down all your insurance information and schedule your consultation. Our insurance coordinators, as a small courtesy to you, will call and verify your dental insurance 2-3 days prior to your consultation to attempt to get you a breakdown of your expected benefits.

When we confirm your consultation appointment we will let you know if there is any estimated co pays for your initial visit. And then once the doctor evaluates you and comes up with your surgical treatment plan your treatment coordinator will go over the estimated co pays due the day of surgery.This may take time if some of the treatment requires preauthorization. Not all care cost are always covered even when you receive your care “in-network”. Regardless we will do everything in our power to help you get the most from your insurance carrier towards covering of the costs of your care.

Oral & Maxillofacial refers to the anatomical region of the head/face, including jaws, which our doctors care for. These areas usually extend from the forehead to the neck and include eye socket, sinuses, palate, upper and lower jaws, jaw joints, teeth, gums, salivary glands, tongues and throat areas. Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons are specialists with advanced hospital based residency surgical training that expertly care for surgical and non-surgical needs of these structures and their associated hard and soft tissues.

Absolutely! We have partnered up with two leading payment plan/ financial lenders in the health care industry to help you cover the cost of your care. We offer financing options through third party companies Wells Fargo Health Advantage and Care Credit. These payment plans are just like a credit card but are only designed and are accepted by most medical and dental offices. For Wells Fargo based Payment plan, you can apply through directly our office and depending on the amount financed they usually can offer you a 6-12 months interest free repayment plan. For Care Credit you can actually apply online at carecredit.com and we can offer you a 6 months interest free plan. If you pay off you balance in allotted time no additional interest is charged to you. Our office will cover your interest over that period to help you get the care you need. If you do not pay it off other fees and interest will apply to you. We recommend you carefully review the terms and conditions of any financing plans.

Our specialized surgical procedures are most predictably, safely and comfortably carried out in majority of cases under outpatient intravenous sedation and/or general anesthesia. When you are put under sedation or anesthesia your natural reflexes are often diminished. If you get nauseas which may occur under anesthesia and you have food in your stomach there is a chance you could vomit stomach contents and, without your normal reflexes, you can aspirate some of your vomit into your lungs potentially causing significant respiratory problems. Therefore to ensure your maximum safety we require that all surgery patients undergoing surgical extraction, complicated jaw and facial surgical procedures be seen on an empty stomach-NO FOOD and NO FLUIDS (for at least 6 hours prior to surgery). Your safety is PARAMOUNT.