Why I Think About Care the Way I Do
For me, that means taking the time to understand your situation, explaining what I see, and talking through your options together.
My responsibility is to recommend the treatment I believe is best for your long-term oral health. At the same time, I respect that you make the final decisions about your care. What matters most to me is that you feel informed, respected, and comfortable as we work through those decisions together.
Why My Practice Works the Way It Does
These beliefs have directly shaped how I've chosen to structure this practice.
Many dental offices participate directly with insurance networks. In those arrangements, insurance companies set fees and rules that participating dentists are legally bound to follow.
Those systems often encourage higher patient volume and shorter appointments in order for practices to remain financially viable.
The way I believe you deserve to be cared for simply doesn't fit within that model. For that reason, I've chosen not to participate directly with dental insurance networks.
The Downside of Insurance Dictating Care
Insurance companies establish their own criteria for when they will contribute toward treatment. Sometimes those guidelines align with what a dentist recommends. Many times they do not.
Here's a situation I see all the time: a tooth shows clear signs that it is at high risk for fracture. In this situation, the most predictable way to protect the tooth is before it breaks.
It's not uncommon for insurance to deny that treatment because their guidelines often require visible damage before coverage applies.
In my nearly 30 years of practice, I've learned that when a tooth finally breaks, we don't get a say in how it breaks. Sometimes we can proceed with the crown we originally recommended. Too often the damage is more extensive, and the tooth requires a root canal along with additional surgical procedures before it can be restored. And sometimes the only option is removal and replacement with something like a dental bridge or single-tooth implant.
Because many dental insurance plans limit annual benefits to around $1,500, the cost of all that additional treatment ultimately falls on you.
When that happens, treatment ends up costing you more money, more time in the dental chair, and more discomfort than treating the tooth before it broke.
