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# Common Dental Billing Errors And Their Prevention

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- September 14, 2022

If you accept dental insurance, you must submit dental claims as part of the procedure. It is aggravating when a claim is denied due to a simple error. That not only takes time but also costs money for your practice.

Billing errors affect your bottom line and cause frustration for your customers if they are not correctly billed and paid for their services. It is estimated that 30% to 70% of all dental bills contain some error. That is a lot to keep track of when trying to run a successful dental practice. That is why it is critical to identify common dental mistakes early, correct them, and avoid them in the future.

## Deadly Dental Billing Mistakes

If you want to maximize your profit, and accomplish maximum payouts on your dental claims, prevent the following “Deadly Dental Billing Mistakes.” This article will help you in identifying some of the most common errors and how to fix them

### Missing Or Incorrect Patient Information

One of the most common dental billing mistakes is incorrect insurance claim information. It’s expensive because it certainly increases the likelihood of claim denials and overhead expenses due to rework. Payment from insurance companies will be delayed if your claim is denied, and your work volume will increase as you investigate, fix, and appeal the claim to get it paid. Insurance revenue is critical to your practice and can account for up to 50% of total revenue. As a result, low-cost insurance billing greatly benefits your practice.

Data entry errors are the most common dental billing errors, and the best way to avoid these errors is by double-checking. Maintaining clear documentation of all services provided is the most effective way to prevent unintended dental billing errors. Even in the case of patients who visit regularly, you should verify their data every time they visit because so much of this information is susceptible to change. You could also enter incorrect patient data. That can include how their name is spelled, their date of birth, or an invalid address — all of which will result in a claim denial because the data does not match the patient’s record. If you want to eliminate these errors, you can only do so by confirming all fields before submitting a claim.

### Dental Coding Errors

When you file a claim with the incorrect diagnosis code, it will be denied. Denials occur when dental codes are not coded to the maximum level of specificity. Each practice must review and note the modifications for the most commonly used codes and evaluate how they are directly affected.

Your dental billing team will be in the dark if codes or code nomenclature are added, revised, or deleted without coding reference sources. However, it is critical that your team does this correctly and receives proper coding training. Coding errors result in claim denials, and you may also accidentally commit fraud if you do not code correctly. Of course, this could cost your practice far more than a few unpaid claims. The best way to avoid coding errors is to keep up with them regularly. Your team should receive ongoing training in all aspects of CDT and ICD-10-CM. Engage in your team’s dental billing knowledge so that you can collect maximum from insurance and create a more efficient practice.

### Failure To Pay Focus On Insurance Verification Process

Before treatment, insurance verification is the procedure of updating information about a patient’s coverage and eligibility. Another standard dental billing error is using incorrect insurance details. Choosing the right insurance verification system can be difficult for dental teams. It’s many people’s least favorite part of the procedure because it can feel senseless and repetitive.

However, getting this first step in the billing process right is critical. It establishes a framework for the remainder of the claim’s life cycle. It will evaluate whether or not a claim will be reimbursed. Correctly verifying insurance benefits keeps your patients happy by communicating clearly about their advantages.

When this process is not in good working order, you may receive incorrect patient information when generating their claims. Even a wrong insurance ID number can result in claim denials. Prioritize this process by confirming their information via phone and again when they verify at your office. Here are a few pointers to help speed up insurance verification: Begin early by gathering patient information several days before their scheduled appointment. Check the patient’s insurance maximums, deductibles, and balances for the benefit year or calendar year.

### Bundling Errors

Bundling is the practice of combining different procedures into one that is covered at a lower cost. That reduces the money that dentists can collect while benefiting the insurance company.

Some processes can be bundled together to provide a more cost-effective choice for the patient. The dental claim can be denied if you unbundle the bundled services. Unfortunately, insurance companies are always looking for ways to pay you less. Bundling is one of those “fine print” regulations that insurance companies include in their agreements with dentists. In addition, misunderstanding how insurance adjusters bundle processes can make collecting payment work difficult for your dental team.

## Take Precautions To Avoid Dental Billing Mistakes

As previously stated, dental billing errors can be highly annoying and frustrating. They can also impact the administration of your small dental practice. You and your staff devote time and effort to dental billing, and correcting errors can be costly. Here are the following precautions to avoid dental billing mistakes:

### Outsource Dental Billing Services

Outsourcing dental billing services is the easiest and most cost-effective way to prevent all dental billing issues. When a team of dental billing professionals manages the entire billing process, almost no errors will occur. The dentist should think about outsourcing its billing services to a reputable partner. Working with an experienced dental billing company in the United States will ensure error-free dental billing claim submission. With an enhanced billing system, you will be able to claim with ease. Apex Dental RCM(DRG) is one such partner that offers comprehensive dental billing services.

### Train Billing Staff

Dental practices can avoid common billing errors by providing proper and consistent training to their in-house billing employees. The training can include understanding dental codes, correctly filling out patient’s as well as other information, and how to make considering detail of daily tasks. Practices can also hire trained and experienced billing staff to prevent these simple errors. Competent billing staff is more likely to make fewer mistakes than inexperienced staff.

### Keep Up With CDT Code Changes

Dental practices must keep up with changes to CDT codes. It will enable them to eliminate coding errors, and the billing staff will be capable of correctly coding dental procedures, services, and treatment, resulting in clean claims processing and, eventually, increased revenue.

### Communicate With Patients

Dental practices can establish a clear line of communication with their patients to prevent patient information mistakes. Billing staff can communicate with patients and cross-verify all the information while filling out patient data.

### In-house Communication

Common dental billing problems are easily eliminated by establishing a transparent in-house communications network. Open communication between front-end executives (the general point of contact when a patient visits) and billing staff will likely eliminate common billing errors such as incorrectly filled-out patient information.

## Prevent Dental Billing Errors And Denials With Us

Dental billing errors are inconvenient and costly to your practice management. You and your staff members spend valuable time and energy in rebilling and correcting mistakes. When you invest most of your efforts and consideration in the logistics of dental billing and claim submissions, you’re missing out time with your patients — the lifeblood of your dental practice! Reclaim your time by working with the best dental billing company!

When it comes to dental billing, we keep things simple and precise. Our billing experts eliminate billing errors, submit smooth claims for dental practices, and increase revenue. We can improve your patient relations while also increasing the cash flow in your practice. You’ll be better prepared to start your error-free dental practice journey if you’ve read the most common dental billing mistakes above.

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