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Benefits of Medical Billing for Maxillofacial Surgeons

By Laurie Owens CPC, CPB, COC Devdent Director of Medical Billing Education At 16 years of age and having been in orthodontics for 6 years, my wisdom teeth needed to be removed. If these pesky posterior third molars were not removed expeditiously, all the work my orthodontist had accomplished would have been compromised. Let me tell you, I was an oral mess, Malocclusion class II, multiple maxillary and mandible defects, vertically displaced dentition, deviation in opening and closing mandible, limited range of motion, and a lot more.   I was the poster child of orthodontics and maxillofacial procedures!  Reflecting upon the surgeons involved with my oral care, I remember asking how much my “bad mouth” would cost my mom financially. Her

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Accidents Happen,Can You Bill Medical Insurance for Dental Trauma?

By Laurie Owens CPC, CPB, COC Devdent Director of Medical Billing Education Kai, my granddaughter, was only 11 years old when I heard the most frightening shrieking sound from the bathroom. It was the worst sound that a grandma in dentistry could hear!  As she emerged from the bathroom, I noticed pieces of teeth in her right hand and fractured front maxillary teeth. Immediately, my heart stopped and because I have been in dentistry for two decades, my first and only call was to our family dentist. We were fortunate that they happened to have a cancellation and we were able to get in right away. But what would have happened if I had not been in dentistry? What if

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Proving Medical Necessity for Orthodontics

   By Laurie Owens CPC, CPB, COC Devdent Director of Medical Billing Education A 10-year-old girl walks through your practice doors with her parents, she grins slightly when you greet her but looks down as if she is shy. While you work with her mom or dad on the new patient paperwork, they begin to tell you a little of their daughter’s story. As a newborn, she was diagnosed with a cleft lip and palate.  Being four weeks old, she underwent her first surgery to correct the defect. You glance at the little girl to see a couple tears escape her eyes and that grin turns downward to sadness. While the oral physicians were able to correct as much of

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Team Roles for Medical Billing in Dentistry

By Laurie Owens, CPC, CPB, COC Devdent Director of Medical Billing Education Everyone loves a great performance. But imagine if the cast does not know where to be when their part in the play begins? As you can imagine, it would be a fiasco. We can laugh about the prospect, and yet we throw our teams to the wolves without knowing how their piece of the medical billing for dentistry puzzle fits into the picture. But it doesn’t have to be that way, let’s take a deeper look at how each team member contributes to medical billing in your practice. Here are the top 4 roles and what they can produce to complete your medical billing for dentistry: Team Role

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Success for Medical Billing in Dentistry Requires the BIG 5!

As a senior in high school, you do not need to pass “electives” to obtain your high school diploma.  The same goes for college, trade school, credentials, or any other education system.  In high school, one of my elective courses was shorthand, those of you that are younger, may need to look that one up.   You may be thinking to yourself, “It’s only an elective.” But let me tell you, it was HARD!  I studied and practiced, did my homework, and on my midterm, I got a C.  Frustrated with myself, I went to my instructor and asked, “How can I get this to stick in my head?”  My very wise teacher told me something that has stuck with me

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Slow and Steady Wins the Race for Medical Billing in Dentistry!

We all remember the Aesop Fable, the Tortoise and the Hare. The hare (dental insurance) ridiculed the tortoise (medical insurance) for being too slow, and then challenged the tortoise to a race.  In the beginning, the overconfident hare ran around in circles, mocking the tortoise before taking off. Midway through the race the hare thinks, “I am better, faster, and will always win against that tortoise.”  Because of that, the hare decides to take a nap!   As the hare awakens, and starts on the track to finish the race, the tortoise has already crossed the finish line.   During the race, the tortoise was focused on the prize…finishing.  Even though the tortoise is slow, he would continue even if the hare

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Dysfunctionally Functioning

Daily we are asked or ask the question, “How are you?” Despite the fact that not much attention is paid to the question, the response (unless you have been on hold with insurance for 1 or 2 hours), is usually “I’m fine.” This is all well and good, but does it really get answered truthfully? We see patients that endure chronic daily headaches, migraines, and jaw pain from arthralgia (pain in joint), and the list of head and jaw-related issues goes on and on. Patients that have these types of problems are dysfunctionally functioning. The term dysfunctional or dysfunctionally functioning describes that they are functioning with a dysfunction.  I, personally, am one of them, that is until Dr. Alan Anderson of Salt

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5 Steps to Understanding Medical Billing for Periodontics

By: Laurie Owens, CPC, CPB, COC Devdent Director of Medical Billing for Dentistry Buying a new home, uprooting your family, and leaving the familiarity of your old life behind is scary. Moving from state to state can bring some trepidation. During the initial inspection, there are questions that echo in your mind. How is the foundation? What is it made of? When was the last inspection done? Let us ask you, how is your practice foundation? Introducing new regional concepts like landscaping and the fact that your grass will be brown during the winter months because it’s dormant is not unlike explaining to your patients what periodontics is.  At our practice in Kenmore, Washington, we would help our patients understand

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Lights, Camera, Action!  The Integral Role of a Dental Assistant for Medical Billing in Dentistry

What is one of the most challenging jobs in a dental practice? We’ll give you a clue: They have their hands in surgery, hygiene, lab, exams, post-op appointments, and admin. They are a one-person show with many different skills rolled into one. One of the most demanding jobs in a dental practice is that of a dental assistant. Dental assistants play the star, hero, victim, and even the detective of the dental practice. This makes them well-suited for an integral role in medical billing for dentistry. Here are the five areas where dental assistants and medical billers for dentistry can collaborate to make their practice successful:  1. Investigator Dental assistants are investigators. They gather vital information from the patient prior

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