How can we help you?
When you decide to choose a family dentist, you probably have a number of questions that you want to ask. We want to help you make a choice that you feel good about. Here is a list of some of the most common questions we hear. If you do not see yours listed here, please feel free to give us a call. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Dental insurance provides partial coverage for some procedures in dentistry, depending upon your particular plan. With thousands of dental plans, it is impossible to guess what your coverage might be. If you have questions, you can contact our office and one of our helpful team members will go over your coverage with you.
Unlike medical insurance, dental insurance is not a catch-all when it comes to covering your dental needs. In fact, maximums for dental insurance have not changed much since the 1970s despite the rising costs of dentistry, which are primarily due to increasing overhead.
When you look at dental insurance, it is helpful to think of it as a way to subsidize some of your treatment. For example, many dental plans cover some preventive appointments, but only a portion of restorative dentistry. The dental coverage you have depends upon the contract your employer or private plan arranged with the insurance company.
Even if your insurance company does not cover a procedure, it does not mean that it is not necessary. In fact, dental insurance is covering less than ever and costs more than ever. If you need a dental procedure that is not covered by your insurance company, we offer financing to make your treatment more affordable. If you ever have questions about your insurance coverage, out-of-pocket expenses, or your treatment plan, please give us a call.
Fitting your necessary dental care into your budget is important and we understand that maximizing your insurance is a priority. We work with our patients toward good oral health, maximizing your benefits whenever possible. We will always be honest with you and place your health as our number one priority. After all, we cannot leave your health up to an insurance company!
Dr. Scott Stephens will give you a variety of treatment options and allow you to choose the one that will work best for you and support your lifestyle.
We are currently in-network providers for:
- Delta Dental
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- United Concordia
- Guardian
- Cigna
- Connection Dental (Includes MetLife, United Healthcare, GEHA, and Principal Life)
If you do not have dental insurance, that’s ok, too. We are committed to making your dental care easy. That is why we offer third-party financing through CareCredit. CareCredit offers both interest-free and long-term financing plans to make getting the care you want easy.
To learn more about CareCredit or to apply online, visit www.carecredit.com
If you ever have questions about your particular plan or coverage, please call our office. Our helpful team can answer your questions regarding the cost of your treatment, insurance coverage, out-of-pocket expenses, and financing options.
Cosmetic Orthodontics
If you are an adult and you decided it is finally time to correct the alignment of your teeth, give us a call. We offer Smart Moves, a treatment that is similar to Invisalign here in our Fayetteville dental office.
Dr. Scott Stephens is highly skilled when it comes to achieving the best orthodontic results with clear aligner trays. We can correct overlapping, over-crowded, and gapped teeth and give you the smile you have always wanted.
Many of our adult patients prefer Smart Moves and Invisalign because they offer a more discreet way to have orthodontic treatment. Clear aligner trays apply force to your teeth, moving them gradually into alignment. You will wear your aligner trays for approximately two weeks before switching to the next in the series. Clear aligner trays can be removed to clean your teeth and avoid the stains, gum disease, and decay that commonly occur with traditional brackets and wires.
Smart Moves and Invisalign work well for most orthodontic conditions with the exception of complex occlusal (bite) cases, which may require traditional orthodontic treatment.
Contact us to learn more about Smart Moves and discover if it will work well for your personal situation. We are here to answer all of your questions.
General and Restorative Dentistry
Patients often want a definitive answer to this question, and the truth is that we can't provide an accurate answer. With so many variables affecting how long your dental work lasts, it is impossible to predict. Lifestyle factors such as diet, stress, teeth grinding, fingernail biting, brushing and flossing habits, and physiological factors all play a role in the longevity of your dental work.
With the amount of force that your teeth and dental restorations absorb, it almost seems like a miracle that your dental work lasts more than a couple of months!
We do our best to preserve the health of your natural teeth because they are, by far, the longest lasting and strongest option available to you.
When dental work is necessary, you can improve the length of time that it lasts by taking care of your teeth and gums. Regular brushing and flossing habits, routine dental exams, professional dental cleanings, wearing a nightguard if it is recommended, and following your dentist’s other recommendations can all improve your chances of keeping your dental restorations healthy for many years to come.
To put things in perspective, dental insurance usually covers a new filling every two years and a new crown every five years. In the meantime, we will do our best to get as much longevity out of your dental work as we can.
Dentistry is complicated. Just like in healthcare when you visit a cardiologist for a heart condition, dentistry also has specialists to treat specific conditions. At Scott J. Stephens DDS Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we 
believe in providing our patients with the best dental care possible. Occasionally, that may mean referring you to a specialist.
We do our best to treat all of your conditions right in our dental office. Sometimes patients feel concerned when they receive a referral to another office for dental care. We work with a trusted team of specialists that includes oral surgeons, orthodontists, periodontists, and endodontists so that you can receive exceptional dental care from a dentist who is experienced in treating your needs.
Dr. Stephens keeps in touch with our group of specialists to ensure that you have exceptional continuity of care, and we will follow-up with you after your treatment to ensure healthy healing.
When you come to our Fayetteville, AR dental office for treatment, we will do everything within our power to make sure you receive the very best that modern dentistry has to offer.
If you ever have a question about seeing a specialist or how we choose which dentists we work with, please let us know!
When patients schedule treatment, they often express concerns over the comfort of their appointments. It is understandable that you might have questions about your treatment and whether it will be painful. At Scott J. Stephens Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we make every effort to provide you with comfortable dental care.
We realize the dentist's office is not everyone’s favorite place to be, but we try to make your experience as comfortable as possible. Many patients are apprehensive about having an injection, and we can certainly understand that. One of the factors that plays into how comfortable the injection is comes down to how slowly we administer the injection. We also numb the area before starting the injection with a super topical anesthetic.
Once the tooth is numb, your treatment should be comfortable. We test the teeth for total numbness before getting started to ensure your complete comfort. No one likes surprises when it comes to dental treatment.
After dental treatment, some discomfort is to be expected. Tooth sensitivity after treatment should gradually subside. Any time a tooth goes through trauma it may be sensitive for a few days to a few weeks. If you ever have questions about sensations you are feeling during or after treatment, alert us to what you’re experiencing. We want you to feel completely comfortable.
Preventive Dentistry
Patients sometimes express concern over the safety and necessity of dental x-rays. Obviously, radiation exposure is a concern. However, dental x-rays emit only very low levels of radiation. In fact, you can absorb more radiation from space simply by being outside for a short period of time.
In spite of their safety, we still take precautions to ensure that we protect your health. We will take the greatest number of x-rays on your first visit to our office. This information provides us with a baseline to measure your oral health. At your subsequent visits, we will take only the x-rays that are absolutely necessary to rule out any common conditions such as decay, bone loss, tumors, cysts, and infection.
Patients sometimes wonder if dental x-rays are truly necessary. At Scott J. Stephens DDS Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, we treat our patients the way we would want our own family members treated. Dental x-rays are the best way to catch dental conditions in their early stages when they are often less expensive, less invasive, and less painful to treat.
If you ever have questions about the safety or necessity of your dental x-rays, do not hesitate to ask. It is our goal to make sure you feel informed and confident in the recommendations and treatment you receive in our office.