Our Office

How are appointments scheduled?

Appointments will be reserved in Dr. McQuade's schedule for your child at times that work best for your child and the type of appointment they need.  Preschool age and younger children should be seen in the mornings because they are generally well rested and we have more team available to work with them for their comfort. School age children can be seen in the afternoons and will have time reserved with the hygienist for their hygiene visits and the doctor's schedule for heir exam.Children needing dental treatment  should be seen in the mornings as they are also well rested and sometimes will need to be seen with nothing to eat or drink prior to their dental treatment.

Dental appointments are an excused absence (TAC 25.087(b), Tx Atty General Opinion JC-0099).

Confirmation of appointments

Since appointed times are reserved exclusively for each patient in Dr. McQuade's and/or the Hygienist schedules, we ask that you notify our office 48 hours (2 business days) in advance of your scheduled appointment time if you are unable to keep your appointment or need to make a change. We realize that unexpected things can happen, but we ask for your assistance in this regard.

You will receive a text and/or email prior to your child's appointment. We ask you please reply to this reminder confirming your child's appointment with us.  Once you confirm it will stop all confirmations with the exception of the courtesy reminder 2 hours before the appointment.

If the appointment remains unconfirmed we regret that we will have no other option but to  remove your child's appointment from the Doctor's schedule.This will occur after a final phone call attempt to confirm at  2:00pm  three days before the appointment.  This will also count as a failed appointment.

Do I stay with my child during the visit?

We always invite you to accompany your child during all examination appointments and all conscious sedation appointments. During future appointments and when the age is appropriate; we suggest you allow your child to accompany our staff through the dental experience. We can usually establish a closer rapport with your child when you are not present. Our purpose is to gain your child’s confidence and overcome apprehension. However, if you choose, you are more than welcome to accompany your child to all of their appointments. For the safety and privacy of all patients, other children who are not being treated should remain in the reception room with a supervising adult. The only exception is patient's undergoing treatment under IV sedation.

What about finances?

Payment for professional services is due at the time dental treatment is provided. Dr. McQuade will  provide a treatment plan to you and make every effort to fit your timetable and budget, and gives your child the best possible care. We accept cash, personal checks, debit cards and most major credit cards. And also CareCredit.

Our Office Policy Regarding Dental Insurance

We gladly accept most insurance plans. Each plan is a little different; we will ask you to provide your plan information at least 48 hours prior to the appointment if you wish to use it to help pay for part of your child's visit.  This way we can give you an idea of how your insurance works in our office and an estimate of your costs.

We are unable to accept DMO, Medicaid and Chip plans but can refer you to offices that are able to accept this type of coverage.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND that we file dental insurance as a courtesy to our patients. We do not have a contract with your insurance company, only you and your employer do. We are not responsible for how your insurance company handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We can only assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment. We at no time guarantee what your insurance will or will not do with each claim or how much they will pay. We also can not be responsible for any errors in filing your insurance. Once again, we do our best to be as accurate as possible and we will file claims as a courtesy to you.

Fact 1 – NO INSURANCE PAYS 100% OF ALL PROCEDURES
Dental insurance is meant to be an aid in receiving dental care.  Some pay more, some pay less. The percentage paid is usually determined by how much you or your employer has paid for coverage, or the type of contract your employer has set up with the insurance company. We will do our best to help determine what your benefits are and how much it will help pay toward your child's treatment.

Fact 2 – BENEFITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY OUR OFFICE
You may have noticed that sometimes your dental insurer reimburses you or the dentist at a lower rate than the dentist’s actual fee. Frequently, insurance companies state that the reimbursement was reduced because your dentist’s fee has exceeded the usual, customary, or reasonable fee (“UCR”) used by the company.

A statement such as this gives the impression that any fee greater than the amount paid by the insurance company is unreasonable, or well above what most dentists in the area charge for a certain service. This can be very misleading and simply is not accurate.

Insurance companies set their own fee schedules, and each company uses a different set of fees they consider allowable. These allowable fees may vary widely. Fees are set by the insurance company so they can make a net 20%-30% profit and how much the employer chooses to pay for the plan.

Unfortunately, insurance companies imply that your dentist is “overcharging”, rather than say that they are “underpaying”, or that their benefits are low. In general, the less expensive insurance policy will use a lower usual, customary, or reasonable (UCR) figure.

Fact 3 - Your child may need services or treatment that your plan only covers once a year or not at all.

Your child's preventative treatment and restorative treatment are recommended based on what your child's needs are. Not what insurance will or will not cover. Factors such as age, diet, home care are things that are considered when making recommendations as well as the AAPD guidelines on the standard of care for children's dental treatment. For these reasons you can rest assured your child will be recommended exactly what they need and always the latest technology within the standard of care.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, please keep us informed of any insurance changes such as policy name, insurance company address, or a change of employment so we can keep your records accurate and assist you in using your benefits.