Dental Payment Options, Insurance and Financial Policy in Apex, NC
Cost is the reason most people delay dental work. Not fear, and not time. They do not know what a visit will cost until they are already sitting in the chair with a mirror in their mouth.
We would rather hand you the number first. Dr. John S. Kitzmiller III, DDS is a general dentist who has practiced in Apex since 2002, and our front office administrators go through the estimate with you before treatment starts. This page sets out what we charge, when payment is due, and what happens when something goes wrong.
When is payment due at Apex Dental Group?
Your estimated portion is due at the time of your appointment. If you carry dental insurance, we estimate what your plan will pay and collect the remainder from you on the day. We file the claim on your behalf, and once your plan responds we either bill or refund the difference. Set up any payment plan before treatment starts rather than after it ends.
Insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company, not between us and them. We will chase a slow claim and help you with the paperwork. If your plan pays late or denies a claim outright, though, the balance remains your responsibility.
We send a statement showing your balance, payable when you receive it. Where a claim is still pending with your insurer, the statement says so, and that portion is not yet payable by you. Where you have coverage, we may hold the statement until we know what your plan will reimburse.
Call us the moment a statement looks wrong. Most billing confusion clears up in a single phone call.
How does the 5% discount work?
Apex Dental Group takes 5% off treatment paid in full at the time of service by cash or check. You can also pre-pay in monthly cash or check installments before treatment starts and receive the same 5%. Arrange either route with an office administrator ahead of time. The discount does not apply to services we file through your insurance.
Here is the arithmetic on a $1,000 restoration:
- Pay in full on the day by cash or check, and 5% comes off, so you pay $950.
- Pre-pay four monthly installments of $200 before treatment, then $150 on the day, and you pay $950.
- File the same treatment through insurance instead, and no discount applies.
Ask our front desk for our standard fee list. We keep it in the office and will give you a copy on request, so you can see the actual fees that the discount applies to before you agree to anything.
What does a first visit cost?
A first visit is not a single fee. It bundles several items that we charge for on their own, and which ones you need depends on what we find. Expect a full exam, digital bitewing X-rays, and a panoramic X-ray if your old records have aged out. A cleaning is a separate appointment with a separate charge, so budget for both.
We write up an estimate before we begin any treatment beyond that exam and those X-rays.
Two things reduce the first bill. Bring current X-rays from your previous dentist and we may not need to retake them at all. We take bitewings once each year and a panorex every three years, so recent films from another office often still count. Contact your old practice a couple of weeks ahead and ask them to send the images to you.
Paying for dental care without insurance
Our in-house Dental Savings Plan is a membership discount program rather than insurance. Members pay an annual or monthly fee, receive preventive care as part of the membership, and get 15% off additional treatment. There are no copays, no deductibles, no annual maximums and no waiting periods. Benefits begin on the day you enroll.
Membership covers two exams, one emergency exam, two cleanings, two fluoride treatments, two oral cancer screenings, two periodontal screenings, and bitewing and periapical X-rays across the year.
Three plan levels exist, priced by age and by whether you need periodontal maintenance rather than a standard cleaning. Call 919-362-1341 for current pricing, or ask the front desk to compare the annual plan cost against what you actually spent out of pocket last year. For many patients without any dental coverage, the preventive visits alone cover the cost of the membership.
The plan applies only at Apex Dental Group, it does not transfer to another practice, and membership fees are not refundable.
What payment methods can you use?
You can pay by cash, check or credit card. We accept assignment of insurance benefits as partial payment toward a visit, and FSA and HSA benefit account cards work here as well. For larger treatment plans we work with three outside financing companies, and our Dental Savings Plan can run monthly if that suits your budget better.
The financing companies we work with are Cherry, Sunbit and CareCredit. Each sets its own rates, terms and approval criteria, and each makes its own credit decision on its own. Read the terms carefully before you sign anything.
Our team will walk you through the application process. We do not set the interest rate, we do not decide who gets approved, and we do not receive your credit information.
Late payments, missed appointments and the fees attached
We publish these figures rather than bury them in small print. A missed appointment, or one cancelled with less than three business days notice, carries a non-refundable $50 broken appointment fee. A balance still unpaid 90 days after the statement date accrues a late payment fee of 2.00% of the unpaid balance every month. A returned check or payment costs $35.
Where a balance goes to collection, the costs of collection can be charged to your account, including court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees to the extent the law allows.
We would rather never charge any of it. Call us before a balance ages past the point where the fee kicks in, because almost every problem has a workable solution when we hear about it early. Waiting and hoping is the one approach that reliably makes it worse.
How much notice do you need to change an appointment?
Three business days, for any reason at all. That reserved time holds a dentist, an assistant, a front office team and a prepared operatory room, and a late cancellation leaves all of it sitting idle. Count backward three business days from your appointment to find your deadline.
- Monday appointment: tell us by the previous Wednesday.
- Tuesday appointment: tell us by the previous Thursday.
- Wednesday appointment: tell us by the previous Friday.
- Thursday appointment: tell us by the previous Monday.
- Friday appointment: tell us by the previous Tuesday.
Where a pattern of short-notice cancellations develops, we may ask for payment in advance before booking further appointments.
We send a postcard reminder roughly three weeks ahead of hygiene appointments, and we will also call you a week before your reserved time if you ask us to. The appointment remains your responsibility either way, so put it in your own calendar as well.
Why patients choose Apex Dental Group on cost
Our standard fee list is available on request
Ask at the front desk and we hand you the fees that our discounts apply to. You should not have to guess what a crown costs before agreeing to one.
Published penalty fees rather than surprises
The broken appointment fee is $50. The returned payment fee is $35. Balances unpaid past 90 days accrue 2.00% monthly. All three appear in the financial policy you sign.
5% off for paying by cash or check
Pay in full on the day, or pre-pay by monthly installments arranged in advance. Either route takes 5% off treatment that we are not filing through insurance.
An in-house plan with no waiting period
Benefits start the day you enroll. No claim forms, no annual maximum, and 15% off treatment beyond what the membership already includes.
We file your insurance claims for you
Our administrators submit the claim, follow it up, and hand you the forms and papers you need if you want to claim money back yourself.
Talking about cost in Apex, NC
Call Apex Dental Group at 919-362-1341 before you commit to anything. Ask what the treatment costs, what your plan is likely to pay, and which payment route works out cheapest for your situation. That conversation takes about ten minutes and it happens before treatment rather than after it.
Find us at Apex Medical Park, 1021 W. Williams Street, Suite 101, Apex, NC 27502, next to the WakeMed Emergency Department on NC-55. We see patients from Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville, and parking sits on site.
Bring your insurance card to the first visit along with any recent X-rays. Both save money.
Dr. John S. Kitzmiller III, DDS is a general dentist. Call 919-362-1341 and ask our front office administrators for a written estimate before you decide anything.
Questions we hear about cost and insurance
Got questions? We’ve put together answers to some of the most common things our patients ask—so you’re ready for your visit.
Will you tell me the cost before you start treatment?
Yes. Our front office writes up an estimate covering the treatment, the portion your plan is likely to pay, and your estimated share. You see that before we begin. Where insurance is involved the figure remains an estimate rather than a guarantee, because the final decision belongs to your plan.
Can I split a large treatment plan across two years?
Often, yes. Most dental plans reset their annual maximum each benefit year. Where treatment can safely wait, we sequence appointments so that part falls in one benefit year and the rest in the next. Ask us to check your plan’s reset date while we build your estimate.
Is the Dental Savings Plan the same as insurance?
No. It is a membership discount program run by this practice, not an insurance policy. There are no claims, no deductibles and no annual maximum. Benefits apply only at Apex Dental Group, and membership fees are not refundable. It suits patients with no dental coverage at all.