At your initial visit with Dr. Nakamura, a complimentary Panoramic X-Ray will be taken. Along with this x-ray he will perform a clinical evaluation and provide you with his preliminary findings, recommendations and treatment costs. If you have insurance coverage, we will be more that happy to determine your available benefits. If treatment is indicated, additional complimentary records will be taken. Once the diagnostic records are reviewed, Dr. Nakamura will develop a custom treatment plan for each patient.
Starting your treatment
After Dr. Nakamura has discussed treatment options and the family has chosen a treatment plan, you on your way to a beautiful smile! Financial contracts and insurance claims are reviewed and signed at this appointment.
Generally 1 week after the consultation appointment, your braces are placed on your teeth. This appointment usually takes from 1 to 2 hours. You will also be given written and oral instructions on the care of your braces at the end of this appointment.
You will then see Dr. Nakamura at regular intervals 5 to 6 weeks apart for an adjustment, which takes 15-30 minutes.
So that Dr. Nakamura can devote his full attention to the placement of the braces, any long appointment requiring more than 30 minutes is scheduled in the morning or early-afternoon hours. We make every effort to be on time for our patients, and ask that you extend the same courtesy to us. If you cannot keep an appointment, please notify us immediately.
The cost of orthodontic treatment depends on the severity of the patient's problems. You will be able to discuss fees and payment options before treatment begins. We have payment options to suit different budgets. We do accept assignment of benefits from most insurance plans for orthodontic treatment and we will file the necessary forms to the insurance company. We work hard to make orthodontics affordable for all of our potential patients.
In an effort to keep orthodontic fees down while maintaining the highest level of professional care, we have established this financial policy: If full payment is made at the onset of treatment, we will offer a 10% fee discount. (If you have insurance, we will offer a discount for payment of your portion of the fee that will not be covered by insurance.) To fit your individual needs, financial arrangements can be made to extend your payments over a period of months. For your convenience, we accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and CareCredit. In cases of serious delinquency, treatment will be discontinued, although we will make every effort to accommodate patients with temporary difficulties.
In many cases, patients will have some type of orthodontic insurance that will usually cover a part of the treatment fee. If you have insurance, we will help you determine the coverage you have available. We ask that you assign your insurance benefit to us. The balance will be arranged for you to pay (see above). Professional care is provided to you, our patient, and not to an insurance company. Thus, the insurance company is responsible to the patient and the patient is responsible to the doctor. We will help in every way we can in filing your claim and handling insurance questions from our office on your behalf.