Calgary Dental Fees Explained
One of the biggest questions on people’s minds when it comes to dental care is often the Calgary dental fees. People want to know what they’re going to be charged for certain procedures. Paying out-of-pocket for dental work can be extremely expensive, especially at dental offices where very high fees are charged for routine procedures. Calgary dental fees can be exorbitant if you have no assistance or insurance and have to pay for complex procedures straight out of your wallet. What’s more, many people require frequent or extensive dental work, for which costs can quickly add up.
The majority of people simply are not able to pay for expensive dental procedures without any sort of assistance or insurance. Furthermore, in Canada, dentists can choose and charge their own fees. So what prevents dentists from charging patients ridiculously high and unaffordable amounts?
Fortunately, since 2018, Alberta has implemented their annual dental fee guide. While this guide is extremely helpful in helping set more affordable Calgary dentist fees, it isn’t widely understood. Many patients don’t know exactly what the Alberta Dental Fee Guide is, how it can help them, and what dental offices follow the guide to help patients pay for Calgary Dental fees.
At Inglewood Family Dental, in order for us to make care as accessible as possible to our patients, we’ve decided to follow the Alberta Dental Fee Guide that’s been proposed by the government. A huge benefit of that is a lot of times insurance companies actually match what they pay out based on what the fee guide recommends.
If you have insurance that covers your procedures at 100%, our fees will not exceed that recommended amount. In some circumstances, where some clinics might not follow the fee guide, you may still be responsible for a portion that is above and beyond the Alberta dental fee fee guide. This often helps our patients avoid additional out-of-pocket expenses for their dental treatment.
Alberta Dental Fee Guide and Calgary Dental Fees Explained
In essence, dental fee guides are used to increase the transparency of dental costs and the price of certain services and procedures. The Alberta Dental Fee Guide is not a mandatory fee structure but it is a recommended guide for Calgary dental fees. Individual dentist offices can still set the fees that they charge patients for services based on their dental practice. However, the Alberta Dental Fee Guide can then help patients to compare the prices of different dental offices so that they can choose the dentist that works best for them. Essentially dental fee guides are put in place to try and make dental work more affordable and accessible to a larger population who may not be able to afford overpriced Calgary dental fees out of pocket.
It’s important to note that not all dental offices follow the Alberta Dental Fee Guide. When you are looking for a general or family dentist, checking to see if they do follow the guide can help to identify which dentists are most affordable. A dentist who does not follow the Alberta Dental Fee Guide may not keep their Calgary dental fees in line with what the guide suggests. The Alberta Dental Fee Guide can be especially beneficial for families who have multiple members attending the same dentist.
Alberta has the highest dental costs in Canada. Because of this, the Alberta Dental Fee Guide is a critical step in bringing the Calgary Dental fees more in line with those offered by other provinces. Dental fee guides also help to encourage competition amongst dentists to offer more affordable fees to patients. It’s typical for dental offices to align their fees with the province’s fee guide. Following Calgary, dentist fees recommended by a dental guide are advised, but not mandatory.
Individual dentist offices can still choose to set the fees that they charged but fee guides encourage dentists to charge more competitive and lower fees. It’s recommended when shopping around for a dentist that you compare the fees that they offer with the guide. You should also request that the dentist’s office sends a pre-authorization to your chosen dental insurance company and contact your insurance company to find out how much they will cover and what you will be required to pay out-of-pocket.
If you or a loved one is looking for a Calgary dentist, contact Inglewood Family Dental to arrange your consultation.
We follow the latest 2022 Alberta dental fee guide to help make it easy for Calgary residents to maintain good oral health and achieve the smile of their dreams.
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