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Traditionally, orthodontic treatment is a fixed fee, paid monthly, independent of how and when services are provided. SMILE is a pay as you go or fee for service payment process. Different types of appointments are priced accordingly. Full payment is required at the time of service. Therefore, the total cost of care will be determined by the type of appliances you need and the total number of visits. How is it I can "pay" for part of my treatment with community service? SMILE is willing to adjust up to 50% of your fee for the work you or a family member performs as a volunteer for an approved non-profit organization. You will receive a voucher worth $10 for each hour of community service. What constitutes an approved non-profit organization? SMILE has established relationships with numerous community organizations to help our patients fulfill their desire to participate in community service. This list is continually expanding. If you have an organization with whom you are currently volunteering, we would be happy to work with them to facilitate recording and validating volunteer hours. As a convenience we will provide a voucher for you to take to the non-profit organization. The voucher must be signed by and authorized staff member to validate the hours you or a family member have worked. How do I pay for appointments? You will know in advance how much each appointment will cost. For example, if your visit is $200 and you do not want to participate in the community service, you pay $200 cash. You could also pay $100 cash and submit vouchers worth $100. Another example would be to pay $150 and submit vouchers worth $50. We will accept any combination adding up to $200. Keep in mind that the vouchers may not exceed 50% of the cost of each visit. Do you accept credit cards or checks? Currently, SMILE accepts cash only. This keeps down our administrative costs allowing us to keep our fees more affordable. SMILE will not accept assignment for insurance. If you have orthodontic insurance we will give you a superbill showing the date and type of service provided. You can submit that bill to the insurance company and receive the benefit directly. SMILE is unable to submit the claim on your behalf. This keeps our administrative costs down and passes the savings on to you. Where is the office and when is it open? SMILE is located at 569 NE Clay Avenue in Bend which is also "The Brace Place". It is directly across from Bend High School. Currently the clinic is open one Friday a month. How often will I need an appointment? Once your braces are on, orthodontic appointments are typically every 8 weeks. Occasionally, the Doctor may want to see you sooner than 8 weeks or later, depending on your individual situation. What if I have an emergency between appointments? Orthodontic emergencies are quite rare. Many uncomfortable conditions can be solved with a phone call and a do-it-yourself fix until your routine appointment. In the event that an emergency requires an office visit, SMILE has made arrangements with "The Brace Place" to handle emergencies during their office hours. Call 541-382-0410 to make an appointment. Tell them you are a SMILE patient. They will make you comfortable until your regular appointment with SMILE. They will only handle the emergency; for example clipping a poking wire or removing a broken appliance. There is a $20 charge for emergency visits during office hours. If you have an emergency after hours, you can contact Dr. Panchura directly at 541-788-0878. If the after hours emergency requires an office visit, there is a charge of $100. Please call if you have questions or concerns. There is no charge for a phone consultation which may help you until you can be seen at the office. Since you are sharing the clinic with "The Brace Place" can we also have treatment with them? Dr. Panchura is also an orthodontist at "The Brace Place," but SMILE is a separate business. If for some reason, the schedule at SMILE does not work for you, you may transfer your care to "The Brace Place." Your fee will be adjusted based on the fee schedule of "The Brace Place." What happens if I move out of town? SMILE will be happy to transfer your files and help you locate an orthodontist wherever you are moving. Each orthodontic office sets their fees for individual treatments. The treatment costs provided by SMILE may not be the same costs that you may find at another office and other offices are not obligated to accept the same fee schedule. What can you tell me about the dental assistant working at SMILE? In keeping with SMILE's mission of being of service to the community, SMILE has developed an orthodontic dental assistant training program. This is a 9 month program with classroom and hands-on training. The orthodontic assistants at SMILE are highly-skilled assistants and also trainees in the dental assistant program. All work is supervised by Dr. Panchura.
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569 NE Clay Avenue ~ Bend Oregon 97701 ~ 541-771-1765 |
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