The Dental Ark 915.855.2337 
We appreciate the confidence you have expressed in us by making an appointment at little smiles Dentistry for Children. We look forward to meeting you and your child. To help us make your visit as pleasant as possible we ask you to adhere to a few rules, established for your convenience and the courtesy of other patients.
A member of our staff will call to confirm your appointment 48 hours in advance. You must confirm your appointment, by noon of the preceding day to retain your scheduled appointment.
Patients who miss two confirmed appointments will not be rescheduled.
Families with two or more children who miss a confirmed appointment will not be scheduled together for future appointments.
Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian at all times in our office. We cannot administer treatment without consent from the parent or legal guardian.
We will make every effort to accommodate after school appointments, for school aged children, as available. In the event we cannot schedule your child’s appointment after school, we will provide a written note for school administration.
To assist us in providing prompt service for you, we ask new patients to arrive 15 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment. Existing patients should arrive 10 minutes prior to their appointment to allow time to update paperwork.
To help us maintain an “on-time” schedule, patients who arrive more than 10 minutes after their appointment will be seen as the schedule permits.
We strive to schedule the correct amount of time for each patient. However, please remember that our goal is to provide individual attention to each child. Sometimes treatments extend longer than anticipated, causing us to fall behind in our schedule. In such case, we will offer you the option to reschedule your appointment.
Payment for professional services is due at the time the services are rendered. We accept cash, checks, debit cards and most credit cards. Third party financing is also available in some cases. If your check is returned, it may be re-presented in an electronic manner.
You hereby authorize service charges and processing fees, as permitted by law, to be debited from the same account by paper or electronically at our option. Your payment by check shall be recognized as acceptance of our electronic check recovery system.
As a courtesy, we are happy to file your dental insurance. We must be provided with complete and accurate insurance information at the time of your appointment. We will also provide you with an estimate of your insurance benefits prior to performing any treatment. Our estimates are based upon the information provided by you and your insurance company.
For this reason, it is imperative that you keep us informed of any changes in your insurance carrier. You are responsible for any balance not paid by your insurance company. Outstanding insurance balances remaining after 60 days will be billed directly to you.
We encourage parents to stay with their child during the examination. Hygiene appointments provide a wonderful opportunity for parents to discuss their concerns with the hygienist and doctor. We look forward to these educational and informative discussions to assist you and your child in maintaining excellent oral health.
We do ask that you allow your child to focus on our staff through the dental experience. We are all highly experienced in helping children overcome anxiety and teaching positive oral health habits.
If further dental care is needed, the doctor and hygienists will discuss treatment options with you. We understand that many parents are very anxious about dental care and this is often passed on to children. Because of parental anxiety, we prefer children to receive dental care without the parent present.
That being said, it is very important to us that you are comfortable with the care we will provide for your child. If you prefer to accompany your child for dental treatment we most certainly will allow you to do so.
It is very important that you let us know that you would like to be present for their treatment prior to when the appointment is scheduled. We do have some helpful guidelines for you to follow, while in the treatment room, that we will need to discuss in advance.
We are a pediatric dental office, therefore we limit our new patients to children 12 years of age and younger. It is a good idea to bring your baby to see our doctors shortly after their first birthday. They can give you information to set you and your baby on a road to excellent dental health that will last a lifetime.
Once a patient is established with our office, we do not have a cut-off age. The children usually decide around high school age to move to a general dentist. Additionally our great doctors and staff treat many special needs patients.
If your child is currently a patient of The Dental Ark, and a dental emergency occurs after hours, please call (915) 855-2337 and follow the instructions.
