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Tradition says that dental lab fees are included in a dentist's total fee… In this survey, only 2% of dentists said they bill patients separately for the lab fee.
Rising dental lab costs have pus dentists in a financial bind. “It would be great to add gold fees since the price is going up like crazy!” said one dentist.
So, when it comes to lab bills, why don't dentists follow the example of other medical professionals?
Two reasons only: it's historical tradition, and it's what dental insurance companies prefer.
Here are some comments from dentists on the subject:
- “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. In the end it averages out to what it should be.” (Connecticut dentist)
- “We should be able to bill separate. Some insurance plans barely cover the lab fee. It is a joke.” (Maryland dentist)
- “On big cases-over 6 units, I will include a separate lab fee in addition to my normal crown fee. Especially on full mouth reconstructions, because the lab fees are so high. I try to recoup at least 50-75% of my lab fee. I have good results.” (Massachusetts dentist)
- "I believe either option is acceptable. If you are thoughtful and fair, you should be able to elaborate your rationale for your selected practice. My sense is that the typical patient may not be able to grasp the overhead & mark-up issues related to most prosthetic procedures.” (Michigan dentist)
- “It is hard to quote a fee accurately when separating the lab fee, and in these difficult economic times, people get really upset at surprises.” (Tennessee dentist)
- “Never give patients a separate fee for the lab bill. Patients do not value our time enough as it is. It only sets us up to have to justify our fees or encourages patients to try negotiate a lower fee."
- “The vast majority of dental insurance plans prohibit billing dental laboratory fees separately. This is due to the fact that traditionally, dentists have never billed patients separately for lab fees."
Read more: Dental Lab Fees Almost Always Included in Dentist's Fee
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November 11th, 2009 at 8:02 am
I have been seperating the lab fee from my fee for over five years. It is a little surprise in the beginning but it is like anything else once the patients are used to it and know that you try to give them quality they accept it. It works and for large cases you can ask your lab to give a quote for what you want to do and they will honor that quote when they do the work so you can quote the entire fee for the patient. The problem with doing it this way is in our brains not the patient’s. WHO CARES WHAT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES THINK. It’s time to break with so called tradition and do what is best for our practice and our patients. If we are not profitable we will not be able to provide a quality product for our patients. INSURANCE COMPANIES CANNOT DICTATE CARE or how we choose to fee the patient. If we continue to wrap our practice culture around the insurance culture and allow them to influence how we treat our patients we will cease to be a profession and we can all join the insurance clinics where they will tell us what services we can provide and what the fee will be. We will have a job working for the insurance companies. If you think I’m crazy just look at the medical profession. They already work for the insurance companies.
November 13th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Years ago, when dental insurance was just starting, I used to charge for my time, skill and judgement plus my lab fees–I got so much grief in that the ins. companies wouldn’t equitably allocate the charges for the patient. How much time, other than equilibration does one spend on a pontic in a fixed bridge–so I just charged my lab fee for a pontic? Yet, my fee for abutments was much higher than the average DDS fee in my area (difficulty in prep, paralleling prep, impression, etc.) In the end, my fees might have been the same as a DDS who split his fee evenly for a 3-unit bridge, but what would happen is that the insurance company would pay my full fee, less 50% for the pontic (which came out to almost nothing), and really discount the charge for the abutments, such that the patient came out really getting screwed in their reimbursement from the insurance carrier, and the insurance company was keeping the profits from the way I coded the insurance form. So who won in that scenario–I finally capitualated and divided up my fee according to the way most everyone else does.
December 9th, 2009 at 5:38 am
My dentist charged me a lab fee on top of a crown fee. I called my insurance to ask a question about something else and they told me that I should not have been charged the lab fee due to the type of insurance I have. I plan on getting that back. I appreciate my dentist, but if I am already paying to have insurance and they tell me that fee is included in my co-pay it kind of bothers me that they would charge it to me. It tells me they did not care what kind of insurance I am paying for and that they are going to charge what they want. If it were a valid charge I would not care but don’t go and take advantage of people.