Denti-Cal Decoded: The Mistakes Costing You Time and Money

Prop 56 is on the way out, and if your practice depends on Denti-Cal reimbursements, the impact won’t be theoretical. I’m joined by Adriana, a seasoned dental billing pro who’s built her reputation on getting Denti-Cal approvals by mastering what most offices miss: the documentation details, the authorization sequence, and the fine-print rules that don’t show up in generic trainings. We talk candidly about what changes when add-on payments disappear and why offices that rely on Denti-Cal as their “bread and butter” need a plan before fee schedules snap back to lower base rates. 

We also break down the real Denti-Cal workflow for major treatment: how to think about the TAR process, what a NOAA is, why the DCN matters, and how a CIF fits in when Denti-Cal asks for more information. Adriana shares practical experience on authorizing complex cases like root canals with post and core buildups and crowns, plus why “just bill it like a PPO” is a fast track to denials. You’ll hear the specific habits that help approvals come back faster, including the right x-rays, clear narratives, and knowing when the “safe route” is smarter than bundling everything at once. 

Finally, we get into the stuff that saves offices from painful surprises: emergency code misuse that can trigger scrutiny, provider-specific authorizations that may need deletion before another office can treat, and why eligibility checks must go deeper than a simple “eligible” status. We also highlight missed opportunities like disability-related time billing that often gets denied without the right narrative, even when the patient’s aid code suggests coverage. If you work Denti-Cal claims, verify benefits, or manage a Medi-Cal patient base, this is the playbook you’ll want open on your desk. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Adriana, welcome to the Dental Billing Podcast. It's such a pleasure to have you here. Thank you for having me. Of course. So let me introduce you to the listeners. The listeners have never heard from you, but they're gonna start hearing from you a little bit more. Program. Denttical. Dentical. Okay. So I have so many questions for the listeners. I really wanted to create this episode because we do, as a billing company, we work with offices that accept Dentikal. And there are some changes coming down the pike here. And I want to talk about those changes as well. I know that Dentical is putting some of the procedures back on the chopping block, but we haven't heard anything. There's a lot of chatter about like what procedures are going to be eliminated for adults. And we'll kind of just go down that rabbit hole at some point in this episode. So, Adriana, tell us a little bit about you. Tell me about how long you've been in dentistry. Like, how did you become this dentical expert?

Meet Adriana And Her Path

SPEAKER_00 0:59

I've been in the dental field since 2002. And I also hold an RGA license, originally planned to be a hygienist, but like many of us, life had its own plans. So my passion for dentistry has never changed. I've always been inspired by how something as simple as a smile can completely transform a person's confidence and outlook on life. Over that time, the passion uh evolved, and I realized I could make just as big an impact behind these scenes by helping patients actually access the care they need by utilizing the insurance. And I found my true calling in the dental billing insurance world.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

That's why the the title of my the tagline on my book, the book is named I'm just the biller.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Because we say that all the time. Like, I'm just the biller. Like I know that they did a periodal maintenance, but why did they document a profit? I can't, I'm just the biller. So, but my tagline is when I grow up, I want to be a dental biller, said no one ever. Because I think nobody ever. I think we all just kind of like ended up here. Yeah. And then a lot of us got really good at the insurance game. And I kind of hate calling it that, but it really is a game. Yeah, and you really have to know how to play the game. So sorry, I just wanted to interject. Oh no, it is a it's a battle of the billers and the companies. Right? Like it's a constant battle. So you came into dentistry, wanted to be a hygienist, ended up in the billing arena, which is a very noble arena to be in. And then you became not only are you a great biller, but you are also you became this dentical expert. So walk us through your dentical journey. Tell me about how how did you learn all of these things? Because you know, you go, your knowledge goes behind the handbook. Right.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Because the handbook is just surface. There's a lot underneath it. There's a lot. So I learned by trial and error, if we're being honest, like everyone else. And I went in looking at DentCal as like this huge entity that was so scary, who would never approve anybody, and patients were walking out of the door because they're discouraged, because us as providers and billers have no clue of the spectrum of approvals that can be held if we go the a proper the proper approach, the proper approach, excuse me, sorry, and learn from the narratives, the verbiage, the one x-ray that could be missing, the whole treatment plan that they're asking for, that we have no idea you want a treatment plan along with the narrative, along with an x-ray, along with the period chart or something very basic. Right. So you you learn process, trial and error.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

I think that's that's and they have all these seminars, um, but I find these seminars to be very generic. I learned, I was the same, I learned how to work with dentical when I was 22. I was introduced to it, and I worked for a very heavy dentical office. And back in, I think Dr. Blanco was in West Covina, California, and we were just heavy Dentacal, and I was the biller. And I went to all those seminars, but they taught me very little. And the real training was in, like you said, the trial and error, and I didn't have anybody to learn from. So, what's one thing that you wish you would have learned when you were introduced to Dentacal?

SPEAKER_00 4:37

The one thing that I wish I would have learned would be not to be afraid to utilize the codes the proper way.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

Yeah. Expand on that. What do you mean by that?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

As far as being afraid of using a code that my fear would be it's not gonna get approved because it's an expensive code. When in reality, it it can be approved at a rate that we're contracted as dental providers is approved and welcome to us, but it's just at a different fee. I'd be too afraid of it because no, that fee's too high, they're not gonna approve that. Or it's too invasive, the procedure's too invasive. There's no way DentaCal will approve something like that. But it is a state entity and they are very big on approvals if we go the right route.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Yeah, so let's talk about that. So let's talk about this Prop 56 because that was a biggie for DentaCal offices. Anna, talk to us a little bit about what the changes mean and what's going on with this Prop 56.

Learning Denti-Cal Beyond Seminars

SPEAKER_00 5:40

So Prop 56 was a added benefit to procedures where it adds at least 20% of the fee to the procedure. And we got an email saying that it will be removed coming July. But I have seen it already removed on like upper partials. They paid$350 with the prop. Without the prop, now it's back to$200.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Wow, that's a huge difference. Now, what is the what is the chatter out there about certain procedures that are on the chopping block?

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Have you heard about like a lot of the major procedures are on the chopping block.

unknown 6:20

Okay.

Prop 56 Ending And Fee Impact

SPEAKER_00 6:21

So root canal, crowns, buildups, upper, lower partials, immediate, everything that you would need major service-wise that can be approved will now be deducted that Prop 56 come after July.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

So those are all going to be affected by Prop 56. So no more Prop 56 add-on payments.

Using Codes Without Fear

SPEAKER_00 6:43

At all. Not even to your basic preventative services. It will be gone. Wow. So it's going back to its original fees. So the exam that they're paying for us at$45, sometimes$100, will now go back to its original fee of$30. Wow. Yeah. That's gonna be big hit for offices that take just dentical.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

And that is where the problem lies. When you become a DentaCal provider, you become, it becomes, it saturates. It just grows. That DentaCal patient base just grows. And before you know it, DentaCal is your number one.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Your reliant on it. That is your bread and butter.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

So for offices that are gonna take this hit, I mean, that's just Prop 56. But I've also heard about procedures that are gonna be removed from services that are available to adults. Do you remember back in 20, was it 2014, 2015 era, there was SRPs that were completely removed as a covered benefit? I remember because I became partner in my first practice during this time. And I remember we were having the dental patients, we were a dental practice, and our patients were paying out of pocket for SRPs. And it was such a relief when they actually brought it back because, you know, obviously we're gonna get higher case acceptance for that. People need it. People definitely need it. Have you heard about SRPs being on the chopping block? I have not. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

I have not heard about that being on the chopping block. A lot of things I don't believe are going to be chopped. I believe their fees will be cut. The approval rate may go down, the criteria may be more invasive, the codes will probably still be available, but it will require a different set of patients that need it to be approved.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

That's my thought.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

But let's talk about that. Let's talk about the criteria because as an if as a new DentaCal biller, right? I'm gonna speak on behalf of individuals who are new to DentaCal. How can I understand what is needed to request an authorization, right? Like my patient needs a root canal post buildup crown. Where does it outline or does it, or is this where experience comes in? Where it's like, I know that DentaCal has a certain sequence of how you request an authorization. Because I remember back in the day when the patient needed a root canal and a crown, you had to authorize the root canal first and you couldn't request the crown at the same time. You had to wait. And then so how where do I find that information?

Adult Benefits Chatter And Cuts

TAR Strategy For Major Cases

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Well, with the luxury of having someone with experience, if you do not have the experience, normally you will bill all the services together as long as the codes are accurate. So DentaCal only covers the build-up with the post, they do not cover any other code that doesn't include a post. So if your dentist isn't doing a post, you cannot legally bill for that unless that post is there. Usually, if you're going to go the safe route as a new biller, you would bill the root canal first on its own with a FMX and a good PA of that one too. And that too definitely needs to show a lot of DK, a lot of abscess, something that's there and that is apparent. But that's the safe route. A knowledge biller with dental will bill all the coats together.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

When you say bill, you mean bill the on the tar.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

So you're gonna authorize the tar first on major procedures. You're going to send that treatment authorization request first. Once you get that approved, if they do not, let's say they don't approve your RCT, then you will definitely resubmit that RCT with a great narrative. Patient is in pain, emphasize pain, and get your approval that way. So let's talk.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

I'm gonna back up a little bit. So we we just used a common acronym, TAR. There are several. Let's talk about the sequence, right? So when a patient, let's just use a patient that needs, let's keep it simple, SRPs. Okay. Okay, so my our patient needs SRPs. What is the sequence that we go about and with all of these? Because DentaCal is very specific, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Like they are specific, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Process. And if you don't know that process, like what is that?

The Authorization Sequence Explained

SPEAKER_00 11:20

So the initial part is of course you come in for the exam. You'll build that regular to Dentical, your exam, x-rays, PAs, whatever you're doing on the initial visit, whether it's an emergency exam or a regular exam. The first process is you bill your exam first. It with that exam, you will send your treatment authorization request. Now we have great systems that are all electronic, so you're gonna send it electronically. All the codes with your x-rays, with your chart notes, with your narrative, you will get, and it's really quick now, the turnaround time is usually like 48 hours. I've it if it's not, I know it's become very much more user-friendly. I would say we're not waiting four weeks sometimes. You still do not schedule your patient within the four weeks. You do it at four weeks or more because we can't rely that it will come back within four weeks. But then you get your approval and then you call them back and you schedule them earlier, and that makes everybody happy. But the way the approval works is exam first and then you submit your request. And then it comes back as a NOAA, a notice of authorization. Then it has its specific DCN number attached to it, which is the claim number, but they call it a DCN number, and that will stay attached to those approved or denied services at all times.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

So these acronyms, friends, just so you guys know, TAR is treatment authorization request. That's what you start with. Then you receive a NOAA. That's what experienced Dent to Cal billers will call it a NOAA. Notice of authorization, and then that DCN number, that's your document control number, which is your claim number. Now, let's say that I we bill it and Dent to Cal is requesting additional information. What what are we submitting then?

SPEAKER_00 13:15

A claim inquiry form, a CIF. A SIF, yes. Nice handy dandy SIF.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Yes. So everything is very specific with DentaCal. It's almost unless, and it's not hard. And you know, I I agree with you when you said, you know, just don't be afraid of it. It's different, but it's not hard. And let me ask you this does DentaCal have any any code, any specific codes that are exclusive to DentaCal, or do they just use the the CDT traditional codes?

SPEAKER_00 13:48

No, their codes are very specific. They do use CDT, they are CDT, but 2740 is new to DentaCal, but has been old to us. Some offices still get that 2740 denied and they won't downgrade it. So you resubmit it with a 2750, and only an experienced biller would know to send that for the ox. So that's very common. That's a very common code, a crown. But some of them we only do 2740s. No one's doing a stainless steel crown ever, unless we're a child.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

Well, you know, like dentical is very finicky with how you you bill certain things, like as an example, a limited exam. You don't bill D0140. Right. So you do bill 9430.

Denti-Cal Code Traps And Audits

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Which it which is very tricky, also. So with that 9430, that patient has to come in with an emergency service. That patient has to be seen as an emergency. And sometimes they will flag offices for that code as an abuse of use because that patient is not coming in for an emergency every time we're doing an adjustment, every time we're doing a check, a post op, a suture removal. That code is being used and they consider abuse. That code is probably on their watch list, right? Oh, yeah. There's offices that have been flagged just for that code.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Oh, I believe it. I believe it. People get very creative. So let's talk about what defines an emergency. Because I like to have this conversation. If this is not specific to Dental, but I always tell people an emergency patient is going to be a patient who interrupts your schedule. An emergency patient is not somebody who is scheduled because that is not, by definition, an emergency. That's a scheduled patient. So there's different code codes for that. So let me ask you this for a patient who comes in in pain, right? They interrupted my schedule. They're in pain. Doctor was able to get them out of pain with an open end for dentical, we bill 9110.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

With your 9430.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

With your 9430, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

And a PA.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Okay. So I have a question. What if the patient has an authorization for a root canal on that very tooth, but we couldn't do the root canal that day? Will Dentical then deny the 9110?

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Because there is a possibility that they can because they've already authorized the treatment for that provider. And with that provider, you have to do the treatment that's been authorized to you.

Provider-Specific Authorizations And Deletions

SPEAKER_01 16:34

Yeah, that was a question I had from one of our heavy DentaCal offices. And I that kind of threw me for a loop. I was like, well, that's a good question. I don't know. I have to ask Adriana that question. No. And I saved it for the podcast so everybody else could they will not.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

If you've already been approved, you have to do that work. And if you do not do that work, you send that NOAA back for deletion. Really? Because that patient, let's just say they go somewhere else. They will not approve that service somewhere else unless it is deleted from the previous provider. Because it's still authorized for Erica. It's still authorized for you. They come to see Adriana. Now I can't get it authorized because it's authorized somewhere else. Got it.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

So the authorizations are not, they're not just patient specific, they're also provider specific. So we have to then delete that authorization. Okay. Well, that's good to know. So I want to know some more of your experience-based knowledge outside of the handbook. I mean, because you know, when when we go to the handbook, it tells you what's what the criteria is, right? To get to package the claim, to put the package together. But I want to pick your brain on experience. So what are some things that you've learned along the way that you can pass on to the listeners and maybe help them with their learning curve?

SPEAKER_00 18:01

With code specifics with dentical, you would think the handbook allows you to do a perio procedure with a crown, like crown lengthening. You would think that code will never be approved if you add it separately from the authorization, because they're considering that crown root canal to be a major procedure. So is a crown lengthening. But because it's considered perio, you can't coallide both of those together. You can't coallide major and perio at the same time. They don't approve it. But the handbook says it does.

Beyond The Handbook Quirks

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Wow. So those are the little quirky things that you learn. Experienced biller. So that is, you know, and that's that's why I wanted to go beyond the handbook with you, because those are the things that we want the listeners to know. And I mean, I wish we could package you up and and you know, bottle all your knowledge up and put it into one episode. But, you know, this is why it's important that when you have an office that is accepting dentical, it's important that you have someone that knows these things with experience because I mean, otherwise we're gonna think that certain treatments are gonna be payable, available, and then they're not, and then we can upset our patients or or worse, get the office put under a review.

Disability Time Code 9920 Denials

SPEAKER_00 19:22

100%. And sometimes offices are seeing people with disabilities, and there's a code that you can use to pay for your time that you take longer with this disability. And I've seen that be denied. And on file, their eligibility code, their aid code, indicates that they are disabled. So they know we need more time with these patients. So that's another code that often gets denied. Then you have to sift it, write the narrative of what this patient's disability is and get it paid for the doctor's extra time. But that's another thing that I've learned too, just from trial and error, is that yeah, the it's a 9920 code. It's a behavioral code. And we use it when we do hygiene or when we're doing treatment that is approved and we'll bill it separately, it gets denied, automatically denied. They want a narrative for it. Even if we're sending a narrative, even if that patient has on file with them the reason why they're eligible for dentical is because of their disability, you still have to indicate what that disability is. And a lot in the handbook, it says you can bill it without it, without the narrative, without these things, if you spend extra time on these patients. It's in there, but it is not covered unless you follow step one, two, three, and four.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

So let's talk about that. You have a patient. I used to work for when I was in my early years as a dental assistant, I worked for a pedo office and I had my own schedule because I did the profis for the children with disabilities. So let's say, okay, let's talk about that. We have a patient that comes in, has a disability. We saw a lot of patients that had cerebral palsy. You know, it did take quite a bit longer to get their profies done properly. So I'm just using that because that's my experience. But let's say a hygienist who's doing SRPs on a patient with a disability, and their eligibility code indicates that they do have a disability. Right. So you got to pay attention to your eligibility codes, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Yes, your aid codes is what they call them.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

So we do that. We we send in the NOAA with the treatment date, right? And then not at that time is when we're submitting the behavior code.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

It will submit that on its own.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

On its own.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yes, for that date of service. So if you have an authorization for that procedure, is whatever you're doing, but if they're coming in regular hygiene, recall. You add that to those procedures because it is a code that you can use.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Yeah, there are a lot of offices are missing out on that opportunity because, again, we just don't know what we don't know. And that's why we have you overseeing the Dentale offices because of your expertise, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:19

In your doctor's chart notes, I'm sure he's charting that this patient has a disability and he took longer and because of this he couldn't finish, or because of this, he had to extend the treatment. It's a it's definitely a code that gets missed.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Wow. Okay. Well, that's a that's a great knowledge bomb that I think a lot of people just learned. So that's interesting to me. What has changed? I mean, there's been so many changes. How long have you been working with Dentacal?

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Since probably 2010. 2010. My first Dent Cal office.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

There's been so many changes since then. A lot that I have recently learned about that I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to pick your brain is the immigration status coming down the pike. I know immigration status has always been a big deal to but I heard as of July 1st, they are going to really hone in on adult benefits and immigration status.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

I haven't seen anything that way, but I feel a lot of poverty cities have a lot of those and and they'll be hit hard with that. I don't have that much knowledge on what's going to happen with the immigration status, but a lot of the Dentacal patients that have it, they probably will become cash patients. And some providers may honor the fee if they're good patients. You know, you never know.

Eligibility And Aid Codes Matter

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Just client-based was as of July 1st, Dentical is going to, they're going to check immigration status. And if the patient has Medi-Cal with full dentical benefits, that will go away. The Dentacal benefits will be cut and they will only receive emergency dentical benefits only. So you really want to pay attention to patients to your patient's eligibility status because the previous month, like let's say June, they could come in and they're have full benefits and then fly hits, and now they have it.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

It's a whole different aid code will probably change.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

And so in the in the interpretation, it will definitely probably change and say that they are no longer eligible for that. And it's kind of probably going to be like an emergency code, like for women who have postpartum eligibility only. That's only good for 365 days. And they can only come in for emergency treatment. You can come in, I can authorize, I cannot do that treatment unless you are in severe pain. And then I have to send that treatment reminding them that you are postpartum. But if it's only for 365 days, but they can still have it after that. The aid code will still populate as they're in postpartum, but no treatment will be approved.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

Because it's after 365. Interesting. So there's all these little things that we have to understand and be able to navigate. So okay, so let's let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Like Medicare. All of those patients that were straight Medicare and had DentaCal, they no longer have DentaCal. Everyone has been put on a plan. So it's the one that I've really have seen is Liberty Medicare. Oh, Liberty's heavy. Uh-huh. So that's who they all went to are the scan plans, which is Delta Care USA. But a lot of the Liberty plans, but their fee schedule is exactly the same as DentaCal's fee schedule. They pay the same. They still use the Prop as well. So I'm not sure if the Prop will go away on those Liberty plans that are, you know, DentaCal Medi-Cal based. I'm not sure either. But the same goes with them too. You have to submit the same request.

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Get it approved.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

So what are some of the because DentaCal has so many tentacles? You know, like you do. You have your traditional that has a$1,800 max, just like a PPO does, right? So you believe that that fluctuates.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

Because I don't believe that every person gets that$1,800. I've never seen a patient max out on Dentacal.

SPEAKER_01 26:39

Right. Right. Okay, so the talk to us a little bit about the different types of plans that could be under the Dentacal umbrella.

Medicare Plans Under The Umbrella

SPEAKER_00 26:48

So there's the disabled, there's the elders, there's people who just fall in the income medium, and there's postpartum, and then there's emergency. So they only have the emergency medical for 30 days, but it approves dentical. But you bill for services and it is not paid because it's not an emergency service. But they have the full spectrum of DentaCal. It says they have the full DentaCal benefit. But you bill and it's not. So then you sift it. Patient had an emergency and we did a cleaning at the same time. But because we're misled on that aid code that says he has this full, the full pull here, we do the full pull within the 30 days. We get denied.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

So the patient comes in in pain. We take care of the pain. Also do a cleaning since they're in the chair.

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Only the pain will be covered.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Only the pain will be covered. Yes, I do remember that. I do remember that. That is interesting. So liberty falls under the dentical umbrella.

SPEAKER_00 27:51

I believe so now, yes. Medicare.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Medicare liberty. Yeah, pay well. They pay, yeah, they pay decent. I remember we used to get a really decent liberty check from the second practice that I became a partner in.

SPEAKER_00 28:04

My thing is the population that went there. So anybody 64 and older automatically goes there. They go to a plan. It's not straight dentical. Interesting. But people will miss that as a new person coming in that doesn't know dentical. They're running that eligibility and they're eligible, but they're not reading the whole thing. And the dental part will be in the last few sentences on the eligibility purposely because who has time to read all of that? Right. All you're looking for is eligible for the month of 3141. No one's reading the whole thing. And no one goes as far as the aid code. Sometimes the left aid code will be blank and the right aid code will say H or A1 or 80. Both of them mean different things. So then there's the bottom right of the eligibility form that has a bunch of letters. If there's no V and there's no D in there, they do not have a dental plan.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

And that is so interesting because I think, yeah, if there was so many questions coming in my head, but I just want to flow my brain down a little bit because I'm gonna trick over.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

We can't overload them either. They're gonna ask us a lot of questions too. We have the answers.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

I know. Hold Adriana. Call Erica, and she will lead you to me in the right direction. Yes. So I think what I'm hearing is if you have somebody new to your DentaCal practice who's never worked with DentaCal before, they need to learn how to read the eligibility codes.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

The eight the very fine print. From our experience, where do we always send the newbies? Who do we give them the worst?

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Front office, check-in. No, no insurance verification. And eligibility. It's the same. They're doing the same thing. That's what we do. What they're looking at.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

They have no clue. What they're looking for is it says eligible, but we're not reading. And to Kelly's very fine-lined.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

So yeah, that I mean it's just like unfolding as you're talking. I'm like, well, that's that's where the front office or whoever's doing insurance verification, if you don't know how to read and understand those aid codes, we could be doing a whole just because it says eligible.

Training New Staff And Final Advice

SPEAKER_00 30:26

Now we're doing a whole exam, an FMX, we're doing a cleaning, we're doing fluoride, and they're not knowing that we're eligible. Are they checking the history? Because you know with dentical exams and every the 0150, that's every 36 months. And then you can't bill the 210 without the one five zero being first. You have to bill that first and then later bill the recall exam.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

But you mean the one two zero?

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Sorry, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

Yeah. Yeah. No, that's that's a given. The dentical is so specific on on all of that. So oh my gosh, Adriana, I I could go on and on with so many questions. But if there was if there's one thing that every Denta Cal person should know, what would that one thing be?

SPEAKER_00 31:15

Like if you could just take your time to read the fine print. And if you don't know the answer, call them. That's one thing. As a new person coming into an office, you're afraid, you want to act like you know everything. You want to act like you were hired to know. What dentical, you just don't know. The unknown is the scary part for people. Don't be afraid to ask questions because the answers are there. And they have a lot of things now. The live chat. Quickly, quick question. You don't even have to be on the phone. No one can even hear you. And just know that Dental isn't impossible. It just requires the right approach.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

And yeah, it requires the right approach. It's just don't treat it like traditional PPO insurance. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

And once you understand how to work with it instead of against it, it can become the most powerful resource for both providers and patients.

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Yes, I agree with that. I agree with that. So with that, with that, we will close out this episode. There's so many knowledge bombs that you have inside of the head of yours.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Right. And then I don't think about it until I'm asked the question, and then I'll know what to do.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Yes, yes. So I guess I'll direct them. I'll put your contact information into the show notes. You have a fortune billing email. So I'll put that email into the show notes. So if anybody wants to get in contact with Adriana, you have a question for her, feel free to reach out to her.

SPEAKER_00 32:44

You know, that I think that Dennis, if they can't get to me, they can go to you and you'll direct.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

But Adriana, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on this topic. And if you are a Dent to Cal office and you have any questions, feel free to reach out. Please, we're here. Thank you. Next episode.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

All righty.

SPEAKER_01 33:06

I'll be here.