Your First Visit

• New Patient Forms
• Insurance and Financing
• Office Hours and Directions
• Common Questions (FAQ)

Patient Forms

Forms can be filled out online and automatically sent to the office prior to your first visit.

Online Patient Forms

You can also download and print your forms to fill out at home via the printable PDFs below:

• Adult Health History (Printable Only)
• Child Health History (Printable Only)
• Corahs Dental Anxiety Questionnaire (Printable Only)
• Corahs Dental Concerns Assessment (Printable Only)
• Hipaa Pt Acknowledgement Of Receipt Notice Of Privacy Practices (Printable Only)
• Notice of privacy practices (Printable Only)

Insurance and Financing

Our dentists accept most credit cards and checks. Payment plans are available through an outside financing company (information available upon request) Delmarva Dental Services will process your insurance claims for you.

Can I set up a payment plan with your office?

Yes. We work with two outside financing companies. Care Credit offers interest free loans for either 6 or 12 months. The difference with Care Credit is that if you are approved, they will open a line of credit that you can use not only towards your dental visits here but wherever they accept it including some veterinarian offices. It is important to know that if you charge less than $200 on your CareCredit card, they will charge you interest. CareCredit also has interest bearing loans if you want to make smaller payments over a longer period of time. We also offer financing through Lending Club. With Care Credit, if you choose the interest free loan, you must pay it off in the interest free period or interest will be applied to your account on the original amount of your loan. Both companies base their decision to loan money on your credit history. If you would like to know more about these companies or if you would like to find out how to make needed dentistry fit your budget, here is their information:

Care Credit With Delmarva Dental Services www.carecredit.com or call 1-800-365-8295
Lending Club www.lendingclub.com or call 1-888-596-3157

Understanding Dental Insurance

Most dental insurance is provided by an employer who contracts with an insurance company. There are two types, Managed Care and Fee for Service (traditional insurance). With Managed Care the insurance company contracts with dentists to discount their fees. Insurance companies have a limited number of dentists to choose from. The practices, willing to participate, lack the patients to keep busy. When this is the case, they welcome discounted-fee-patients. Managed care works well when there is an oversupply of dentists, a number of new dentists starting practices or a large employer in a small town.

There are two kinds of Managed Care: a DHMO (Dental Health Maintenance Organization) and a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization). With a DHMO the dentist receives a monthly fee per individual or family. Certain procedures like cleanings and x-rays are at no cost to the patient and others like dental crowns are discounted. This may sound good in theory but encounters several flaws in reality. Financial reward to the dental practice is greater for under treatment or over treatment. There is little incentive to notify patients for checkups because the dentist makes more money if patients “don’t come in.” There is a tendency to skip preventative procedures in exchange for more costly restorative options. For instance, if fillings are free and crowns are not, there is incentive to recommend a crown. The insurance company discourages referrals to specialists and there are a limited number who can be referred to.

In a PPO, the “participating” dentists discount their fees by about 20%. This saves the patient, employer and insurance company money in the short term. Take for instance, if the average profit for a procedure in a dental office is 30%, the dentist would have to produce three times as much treatment to make the same amount of money with a 20% fee reduction. Many practices will hire new dentists and pay them less, or charge non-PPO patients an inflated fee to compensate for this 20% loss. The patient with PPO coverage is free to see a “nonparticipating dentist” of their choice. Fee for Service or Traditional dental insurance offers more freedom of choice. The insurance company pays a percentage of the dental fee. Dental insurance is unlike medical insurance in that it only helps pay a portion of care and limits the amount of care. Insurance companies pay a portion by setting a (UCR) usual, customary, and reasonable fee for different procedures. This is an arbitrary amount that varies with different insurance companies and most often is less than the actual fee for a procedure. They also pay only a percentage of the UCR instead of the actual fee. This percentage is usually 50% to 80% or less. The remainder is the patients’ co-pay.

Insurance companies limit care in several ways. The yearly allowable maximum payout by an insurance company is usually a $1000 per individual. This yearly maximum has been the same since 1969 when it would pay for 10 crowns but today would only cover about 1 crown. Insurance companies also exclude certain procedures from coverage using pre-existing conditions, missing tooth exclusions, age restrictions for preventive care and the (LEAT) least expensive alternative treatment.

Delmarva Dental Services is an out- of- network/ non-participating practice. However, we have over 2700 dental plans in our system that we work with. As a courtesy to our patients we submit claims to the insurance company. The patient will pay the estimated amount that is not covered by their dental insurance plan at the time of the visit. Some insurance companies that we work with will not send us payment directly therefore we collect the full charges at the time of the visit and the patient will be reimbursed by their insurance company.

Insurance coverage can be very confusing if not frustrating. Our insurance administrator will strive to help you receive the maximum benefits from your policy and answer any questions you may have. Call us at 410-742-3000.

Office Hours and Directions

Address:
1310 Belmont Ave, Suite 301, Salisbury, MD 21804

Our office hours are:
Evenings & Saturdays

• Monday through Thursday 7:30 am to 8:00pm
• Friday 7:30am to 5:00pm
• Saturday 8am to 2:00pm

Common Questions (FAQ)

What insurance do you take

As a non participating provider, we can work with your insurance as long as you are allowed to go out of network.

Why doesn’t my insurance cover that?

Insurance companies limit care in several ways. Insurance companies exclude certain procedures from coverage using pre-existing conditions, missing tooth exclusions, age restrictions for preventive care and the least expensive alternative treatment.

Are you accepting new patients?

Yes! We see everyone from toddlers to seniors.

What kind of toothpaste should I use?

It is best to go with a lower abrasion toothpaste that is less harmful to your tooth enamel. To see where your toothpaste falls on the abrasivity scale, check out our list on our website.

Is it going to hurt?

Actually you will feel very little. We make sure you are completely numb before we start. We also have different sedation dentistry techniques that will make you feel even less.

How long will this take?

It really depends on what procedure you are having done. When we schedule you for your appointment we will give you an idea of how long you will be in the office.

Are the bleaching strips you buy in the store as good as custom trays?

As a general rule the custom trays do a better job. However, there are rare instances that the strips do just as well. It really depends on the condition of your teeth, your habits and even your age. A bleaching evaluation can determine which teeth whitening method is best for you.

Is whitening bad for my teeth?

Your teeth may become a little sensitive but used correctly, whitening will not harm your teeth. If you experience sensitivity with your home bleaching trays, you may want to shorten the time you have the trays in, bleach every other day or use a lower percentage bleaching gel. If you are still experiencing sensitivity, talk to us.

How bad is ice for my teeth?

Think twice before using ice! Using ice is only second to sugar in creating the need for dental treatment. It can create tiny cracks that trap stains and these cracks can also weaken a tooth that may eventually break.

How am I doing?

We get this question often and welcome it. We all would like to know how we are doing in our home care and in what areas we need to improve if any but sometimes hesitate to ask. We want you to feel free to ask us any questions about your dental health.

How much is this going to cost me?

The cost of your treatment will depend on what you need to have done. We tailor make your plan specific to your need. We will then go over all the options and the cost for each option so you can make an informed decision.

Can I make payments?

We require payment at the time of service. If you do need to set up a payment plan, we work with 2 outside financing companies that you can apply to. Both plans have interest free options as well. You can apply in our office or online.

I am very fearful.

We have employees who get scared too and we understand that. We have several different methods of sedation dentistry available depending on your level of anxiety. Odds are you do not have the worst mouth we have ever seen. So don’t worry about that. We are here to help you fix whatever problems you may be having and get you back a beautiful, healthy, functional smile.

Is there much drilling?

We use very conservative adhesive dental restorations which require less drilling than older techniques. We will only do the amount of drilling the tooth requires to be fixed. It is important to us to preserve and maintain as much tooth structure as possible to keep it strong. We use adequate anesthesia on the tooth so you will be completely numb for the entire procedure. Some of us are bothered by the sound of the drill and we have headphones that you can wear that will help block out the sound of the drill. We want you to be comfortable and at ease with your dental treatment. Conservative dental treatment, liberal with our compassion….we’ve got you covered!

How long is this going to last?

There are a lot of variables here. It all depends on how good your home care is, what your habits are and what work you have had done. For instance, a dental bridge is more stable than a partial and a dental implant is more stable than a bridge.

When can I eat?

With most things you have done in the office you can eat right away. The biggest concern is that if you are numb, you must be very careful not to bite your cheek, tongue or lips. You can do a lot of damage biting yourself and not even realize it until the numbness wears off. If you have had fluoride applied via trays, you will need to wait 30 minutes after the application before eating or drinking.

Can’t you just glue it back?

It will only take 2 minutes! Whenever you have a crown, bridge or a tooth on a denture that has come off, there is more to it than just sticking it back on with some glue. The area and the detached tooth needs to be cleaned of all residue. The doctor also needs to look to see why it came off. There may be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. If it is just a “simple” reattachment, then the visit will take just under an hour. Fixing a broken tooth on a denture takes longer.