Patient Registration
From Referral to directly reaching out we look to make the registration process simple & easy.
First-Time Patient?
Let us prepare you for your visit and and answer all your questions.
- How many appointments will be necessary? Most teeth will require 1-2 treatment appointments. Sometimes, depending on complexity, additional appointments may be necessary in order to achieve a quality result. A major determining factor of the time required to complete your treatment centers around the degree of inflammation and/or infection assoicated with your tooth. While many providers may elect to spend less time on a particular tooth, Dr. Richards prefers to take as many appointments as necessary to help ensure your condition will heal and minimize the probability of needing additional future, costly procedures.
- How long are the appointments? Initial appointments for diagnosis only usually last about 30 minutes. If treatment is anticipated, appointment duration may range from 45 minutes to 90 minutes or more.
What to Bring
- Dentist Referral – If you were referred to Eastlake Endo please provide your referral form at your first visit. This form contains special instructions for our office that are unique to your care.
- Insurance Card – If you will be using your dental insurance for services, please bring it with you so we may call and verify your eligible benefits.
- Picture ID
- Medical Records – Please bring your records from your dentist which should include history of treatment of the tooth needing to be evaluated.
- Minors – Patients under the age of 18 will need to have a parent or guardian accompany them and stay in the office for the consultation phase of the appointment.
What to Expect
- “Welcome Email” – If you already have an appointment, you should have received a “Welcome Email” that will instruct you how to login to our secure and encrypted website to complete the necessary health history and background information. If you have not received this email, please call our office at (801) 799-2700 and we will send it to you. If you are not able or comfortable with completing these forms online, you may complete them in the office (please arrive at least 20 minutes prior to your appointment time).
- Picture & Signatures: Upon arriving in our office we will take your photo (for your digital chart), and ask you to confirm and digitally sign the forms you reviewed on-line.
- Consultation – Dr Richards will complete a thorough evaluation, locate the source of your current concern, show you images and radiographs (xrays) and discuss their significance. Treatment options and recommendations will be given.
Consulatations/Treatment
- How many appointments will be necessary? Most teeth will require 1-2 treatment appointments. Sometimes, depending on complexity, additional appointments may be necessary in order to achieve a quality result. A major determining factor of the time required to complete your treatment centers around the degree of inflammation and/or infection assoicated with your tooth. While many providers may elect to spend less time on a particular tooth, Dr. Richards prefers to take as many appointments as necessary to help ensure your condition will heal and minimize the probability of needing additional future, costly procedures.
- How long are the appointments? Initial appointments for diagnosis only usually last about 30 minutes. If treatment is anticipated, appointment duration may range from 45 minutes to 90 minutes or more.
Insurance
Root canal treatment fees may vary between $800 and $1500 depending on the tooth and particular circumstances.
Generally your portion is due in full at the time of treatment unless other arrangements have been made.
We accept all major credit and debit cards. We also offer CareCredit for patients needing to finance their root canal treatment.
Our office is contracted with most dental insurances and we will submit your claims on your belalf. Please check with your insurance for the paticular coverage details and/or limitations specific for your policy.
If you have an insuance we are not contracted with, your insurance may a significant portion of your treatment cost; please call and we can let you know.
It is important that you are aware that dental nsurance is designed to share in your dental care costs. It will not cover the total cost of your treatment. Most insurance plans will cover between 20 to 80 percent of endodontic treatment. As a courtesy, we will do our best to accurately estimate your insurance coverage however every policy has exclusions & policy provisions we cannot be aware of. Your estimated out of pocket portion will be collected at the time your treatment is started. Any remaining balance after the insurance pays its portion will be the patient’s responsibility.
If you have general questions regarding dental insurance, we recommend reading our guide titled “Your Guide to Dental Benefits.” This compilation of information will assist you in better understanding some of the confusing terms and conditions of dental insurance.
Frequently Asked Insurance Questions
Your endodontist wants you to understand how dental insurance works and how to make it work best for you. You should also understand how the treatment your endodontist provided works with your dental plan.
The contract your employer negotiated with your insurance carrier defines your dental benefits. Please read the benefit or insurance plan booklet provided by your employer so that you better understand your benefits. Various dental plans cover endodontic procedures at different payment levels and, as a result, your payment portion may vary.
If you do not find the answers to your questions, contact your plan or benefits administrator who can explain the details.
What does a dental insurance card look like?
Above is a copy of a dental insurance card. It will have your name, policy number and billing address. This will allow our office to confirm coverage and provide you with an estimate of the cost of services.
What is "UCR" and how is it determined?
“UCR” is the term used by insurance companies to describe the amount they are willing to pay for a particular endodontic procedure. There is no standard fee or accepted method for determining the UCR, and the UCR has no relationship to the fee charged by your endodontist. The administrator of each dental benefit plan determines the fees that the plan will pay, often based on many factors including region of the country, number of procedures performed and cost of living.
Why was my benefit different than what I expected?
Your dental benefit may vary for a number of reasons, such as:
You have already used some or all of the benefits available from your dental insurance.
- Your insurance plan paid only a percentage of the fee charged by your endodontist.
- The treatment you needed was not a covered benefit.
- You have not yet met your deductible.
- You have not reached the end of your plan’s waiting period and are currently ineligible for coverage.
Why is my recommended service not covered by insurance?
Your endodontist diagnoses and provides treatment based on his or her professional judgment and not on the cost of that care. Some employers or insurance plans exclude coverage for necessary treatment as a way to reduce their costs. Your plan may not include this particular treatment or procedure, although your endodontist deemed the treatment necessary.
How do I understand your Explanation of Benefits, "EOB"?
Your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) contains a wealth of information. The EOB identifies the benefits, the amount your insurance carrier is willing to pay and charges that are and are not covered by your plan. The statement includes the following information: UCR, copayment amount/patient portion, remaining benefits, deductible and benefit paid.
How long does it take for a claim to be paid?
The time for a dental insurance carrier to process an insurance claim varies. At least 38 states have enacted laws requiring dental insurance carriers to pay claims within a timely period (ranging generally from 15 to 60 days). If you want to file a complaint about a delayed payment, contact
the insurance commissioner in your state. He or she wants to know if your insurance company does not pay within the period allowed by your state law. A link to the names and addresses of commissioners is posted on the American Association of Endodontists’ Web site, .
Will my Endontist take my insurance?
Most endodontists fall in one or more categories, and there may be more options than are described here. Some endodontists sign contracts with dental insurance carriers and agree to accept or “take” the payment offered by the insurance company as payment in full, even though it may not be the same amount as the endodontist charges for the procedure. These endodontists are Participating Providers in your plan.
Other endodontists do not sign contracts with dental insurance carriers but may still accept or “take” insurance company payments. These endodontists are not contractually obligated to accept your insurance carrier’s payment as full compensation and are not Participating Providers. In this instance, you may be responsible for a payment portion over and above the percentage provided by your insurance company.
Still other endodontists are not Participating Providers and do not accept payments directly from your insurance carrier. In this case, your endodontist will ask that you be responsible for the entire fee but will assist you in filing your claim to receive insurance benefits directly from your insurance carrier.
What if I still have questions?
Your endodontist will do his or her best to answer all of your insurance questions. Please keep in mind that there are many insurance plans available and that your employer chooses your plan and your benefits. If you believe your benefits are inadequate, you may want to discuss the matter with your plan administrator and explore appropriate alternatives.
How do I know what my payment portion will be if my insurance does not cover the entire fee?
Your payment portion will vary according to the UCR of your plan, your maximum allowable benefit and other factors. Ultimately, the patient portion is not known until the insurance check has been received by your endodontist.
At Eastlake Endodontics, we are committed to not only providing high-quality care, but to educating you on your options, choices, and possible outcomes of the treatment you accept.
As a patient, it is nearly impossible to immediately understand the tremendous amount of nuances of dental health, but asking questions and being as involved as you possibly can be will put you in control of your care. It is important to remember that you, and only you, live with these decisions. You absolutely are the single most important decision-maker in the process.
Having been a provider of dental care for close to 20 years, and having interviewed thousands of patients, Dr Richards learned an important lesson: One of the most frustrating events a patient can experience is a failed dental procedure. It should not be too surprising, however, that a certain “unknown” percentage of the dental services you receive will at some point in time require replacement.
Think about it for a moment: the reason you required the service in the first place is because nature itself failed. Natural teeth break, get decay, wear out. The unspoken reality of dentistry is that, in many instances, restorative dental work is placed into a these “hostile” environments and there is an inherent risk of a similar fate. I don’t think we quite comprehend amount of repeated stress our teeth take through the course of our lives. Repeated cycles of chewing, extreme changes in temperature, acidic foods, clenching, grinding, trauma, bite relationship abnormalities, dry mouth, etc., all have a cumulative effect on a decreased longevity of both natural and restored teeth.
It is for this purpose that Dr Richards and his team sought out a solution to help protect your investment. We are proud to offer the services of a third-party Dental Warranty service. Buy purchasing additional coverage of your treatment, you provide protection against some of the financial and deleterious risks of treatment failures.
More information is listed below:
Insurance Provider: Dental Warranty (website link)
What it is: The highest level of peace-of-mind available for protecting the investment you’ve made in your smile.
Cost: 12% of cost of the covered service
What is does:
- “Life Proof”: means you can protect your smile from accidents, dogs chewing up appliances, popcorn kernels, new decay, and whatever else life throws your way.
- Full Value Coverage means you can receive up to 100% of the original value of the treatment towards the repair or replacement of covered procedures.
- Follows Your Smile nationwide. If you move or travel, redeem your coverage with any dentist.
- Constant Assurance during insurance wait periods or if your dentist retires or moves.
The Dental Warranty is a contract between you and Dental Warranty Corporation, not Eastlake Endodontics.
Tom Ingebretsen2022-01-14Honestly amazing customer service from everyone involved. Had my first root canal and it went as smooth as I could have possible hoped for. Essentially zero pain! Dr Richards was very patient and thorough. I will recommend Eastlake to everyone.
Abby Burns2021-12-15Dr. Richard’s, his office and everyone i interacted with at eastlake were amazing!! I had not been to the dentist in over 17 years, and was terrified to say the least. I had ZERO pain, during and so far after the procedure. He had to numb me a few times before we got started, but checked and said we weren’t getting started until I was completely numb. The office was great, Anna he hygienist made me feel so comfortable..as well as the ladies who helped me up front. They were prepared for my appointment, we’re transparent on pricing and never made me feel rushed. 110% would recommend!!
Glenn & The Fil-Am Fam'2021-11-09I had a root canal done today. It was a unique case I had and it all was painless. Dr. Jonathon Richards is really good! In fact, he reminds me of the late Dr. Glenn Church, a neurosurgeon at McKayDee Hospital. One of the best of the best, when I had brain surgery in February I991. I'm very happy with my experience with Dr. Richards. He got me out of alot of pain.
RaeAnn Brown2021-10-14I never thought a root canal could go so well. The staff made sure to explain everything and what to expect. Such a great experience.
Samantha Shelley2021-06-02I was so happy with how quickly they got me in for an appointment to fix a tooth that had been very very painful, the dental assistant, Anna, was amazing. Very personable. I was very put off by the dentist himself, he seemed to be very annoyed and put off the majority of the appointment, I need extra numbing every time I go to the dentist, I let them know that in the beginning, and he seemed very annoyed when I wasn’t numb and he had to give me more lidocaine, even said we might need to reschedule. He seemed to have a better attitude towards the end of the appointment. Maybe just an off day for him, but it definitely wasn’t the greatest experience. Hopefully next time will be better.
Brian Tolman2021-05-20If I must suffer, even if it is only minimal for wimps like me, best under the hands of dr. Richard's. Top notch care every time!
Kadyn Gonzalez2021-03-23Very professional & made the experience easy ?