FAQs
FAQs
Simple! A Mobile Dental Associates team, (which often includes a dentist, dental assistant(s) and or a Hygienist) will
travel to the patient’s location and bring state-of-the-art portable dental equipment into the
community/home/apartment/office/room and take a few minutes to prepare the area for treatment and set their
equipment up. They will then prepare the patient for treatment and then begin providing the dental services in the
comfort of the patient’s preferred surroundings. The patient may choose to stay in bed, sit in a chair or we also have a
portable dental chair that we are happy to set up for the patient.
The patient or the patient’s responsible party may schedule an appointment by calling our office at (713)-347-6833 or
by visiting our website at www.mobiledentalassociates.com and completing an appointment request form.
Mobile/Portable Dentistry can be broadly defined as a dental team that brings dental services to the patient as opposed
to a patient that drives to the dental office. Some mobile services bring a trailer or RV and park it near the patient’s
home or office and the patient enters the trailer or RV to receive services. Other mobile dental teams (like ours) bring
portable dental equipment inside the residence or office and treat the patient inside where they live or work.
We try to schedule patients as soon as possible but the average time is within 1-2 weeks unless the patient has a dental
emergency. We prioritize Emergency patients as best we can but can usually evaluate the patient within 24 hrs.
Yes! Mobile Dental Associates is equipped with the latest in portable digital X-Ray capture technology. Patients will
typically receive the same Intra-Oral X-Rays that traditional dental offices often provide.
The process is very simple…just give us a call. We already serve patients in many Senior Communities across the city.
But, if we have yet to treat anyone in your particular community, we will simply contact the community and can
usually receive authorization to partner with them within the same day or within 1-2 days of our call.
Yes. We see many patients in private homes. We treat patients in single family homes, town homes, apartment
complexes, condominiums etc. So, as long as the patient lives in an area that does not pose a safety risk to our teams,
we are happy to establish a relationship so that we can attempt to solve the patient’s dental needs. We are limited to
the first floor of residences that do not have elevator access beyond the first floor.
Yes. Oftentimes, the reason a patient seeks mobile dental services is that they face challenges receiving treatment at a
traditional dental office. We have years of experience treating adult patients with physical, cognitive, behavioral, and
psychological challenges.
If possible, we try to perform the patient’s cleaning on the first visit. It is not always possible to accomplish this because
of the patient’s current oral health, behavior during the visit, our scheduling limitations etc. Never-the-less, our goal is to
be as efficient as possible and minimize the number of trips to accomplish the care that is needed.
Fluoride is highly recommended in conjunction with cleanings, but it is optional. In our population of patients, it makes
good sense to focus on preventive opportunities. Many of the patients that we treat have limitations that result in poor
personal oral hygiene habits which increases their risk of gum disease and decay. Since treatment of dental decay in this
population of patients is more difficult and sometimes more costly, we always recommend using every prevention tool
available to prevent problems before they occur. It is truly a case where “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure.”
Mobile Dental Associates is Out-Of-Network to all dental insurances and collects the treatment fees from the patient in
full. However, we will file a claim for the patient as a courtesy to our patients and direct any insurance benefits that the
insurance company deems appropriate to be paid directly to the patient.
Yes! So long as we have a Credit Card on file as security, we can send the responsible party an electronic statement so
that they can mail a check for payment. Check payment must be received within 15 days of treatment or the credit card
on file will be charged.
As a general rule, full payment is collected before or on the day of treatment. Payment plans for treatments over
$500.00 can be considered on a case-by-case basis for loyal patients. Please contact our office to discuss how we might
help.
Some traditional offices have lower fees because they can see multiple patients at the same time and do not have the
“down time” that mobile practices experience driving from one location to another. However, we find that our fees are
very competitive for the personalized and specialized care that we provide in a mobile setting.
Currently Medicare and or Medicaid do not provide dental benefits to adults. However, some optional Medicare
Advantage plans offer various dental benefits. In this case, we would still collect our full fees from the patient, and we
would assist the patient by helping them file a claim and maximize any benefits due and direct those payment to the
patient.
The US Government has reclassified Covid 19, and it is no longer considered as a “Pandemic”. However, we still have
rigorous infection control protocols in place that help keep our teams and patients safe. Our teams face a myriad of
communicable diseases every day, so we remain vigilant in our approach to infection control and prevention of cross
contamination. Safety for the patient and our team remains a priority regardless of the current level of public
transmissions of Covid 19.
