Our Financial Policy
Thank you for choosing our practice for your dental needs.
We realize that every individual’s financial situation is different and for this reason, we have worked hard to provide a variety of payment options to help you receive the dental care you need. Dental treatment is an essential investment in your health. At C4S we are always available to answer your questions and assist you in every way.
It is our standard practice to explain and outline your treatment and the associated costs. Payment is required on the day of treatment. To maintain the practice operations and prevent potential misunderstandings, we ask patients to accept and adhere to the following financial terms.
1. Routine Dental treatment must be paid in full on the day of treatment in cash or by EFTPOS / Master Card / Visa / AMEX / Debit Card / Internet bank to bank transfer using our computer. You will be issued with a GST receipt for payment. If you need to make arrangements for payment, you must discuss this prior to your treatment. We always try to help.
2. Major treatment for Root canal treatment / Crown & Bridgework, Implants, Veneers and Denture construction, 60% payment is required at the start of your treatment and progress payments must be made thereafter.
3. Automatic / advance payments. By prior arrangement with this practice, fees can be paid in advance by initiating a regular AP to build up a credit towards your dental treatment account. This practice does not operate an account system nor do we send out statements for payment. You can however, request an email statement. We email receipts of payments.
4. Deferred Credit Card Payment Option: We allow (with a signed financial agreement in place and credit check), a deferred Credit Card Payment Option, which allows you to make three equal installments by manual billing of your credit card. This is interest free.
- One-third payment is due at the confirmation of your treatment plan.
- One-third is due at your first appointment or in 30 days whichever is later
- The remaining one-third and any additional miscellaneous fees arising during treatment, is due a further 30 days after the second payment date.
Our Practice manager will put through a manual pre-signed payments on your credit card on the due dates agreed.
5. Term Loan: We can help you make an arrangement with a THIRD PARTY for financial assistance to cover the cost of your dental treatment. Caring 4 Smiles does not stand guarantee for your loan nor are we responsible for repayment. Your contract for finance is directly with the bank / medical finance company. Payment can be made by the finance company to our bank directly or to you for on-payment to us for your dental treatment.
6. Any other financial arrangement: If you suggest any other financial arrangement, it must be agreed to in writing by you and the Practice Manager before any dental treatment is undertaken. We make every effort to be helpful in these matters.
7. Appointment confirmation. We make every effort to contact you prior to your scheduled dental appointment. As a courtesy, we require reply confirmation that you have received the message. If we believe that you may not have received the message or may be unable to keep the scheduled appointment, we reserve the right to allocate this to another patient.
8. Broken appointments / late arrival / late cancel / failure to arrive: Your dental appointment is an agreement between you and this practice for a specific time and date. We reserve a treatment room and the necessary staff to undertake your care. We understand that emergencies can occur where you may be unable to keep your confirmed appointment. Due to the high demand for our services we ask that you provide us with at least 24 hours notice if you are unable to keep a scheduled appointment.
When you are unable to give us adequate notice that you will be unable to keep a confirmed dental appointment, we will make every effort to allocate this appointment to another patient. If we are unable to do so, we will levy a failed to arrive (FTA) / late cancel fee of $ 120 per hour booked.
9. Unpaid fees / debts / accounts overdue: Your accounts must not become overdue for any reason. Caring 4 Smiles will endeavor to exceed your expectation but we require full payment on the day of treatment.
If an account is unpaid after 60 days, we will reluctantly have to send it for collection. Collection fees and legal costs (as applicable) will be added to any unpaid accounts and the collection agency will pursue the debt. We reserve the right to transfer the debt to a collection agency / third party and provide necessary information to facilitate collection.
10. We accept cash, advance APs and the following cards.
Every patient at this practice must agree to these financial terms and conditions before any treatment is undertaken. If you need any clarification, please see our Practice Manager.