07/25/2023
To our valued Delta Dental patients,
It is with sadness that we must inform you that as of October 3rd, 2023, Avon Family Dentistry will no longer be a provider in any of the Delta Dental networks. We have had a decades-long relationship with Delta Dental, and we are disappointed that our relationship with them must end.
As you are likely aware, the cost of everything has increased dramatically over the course of the past few years due to inflation and the extra expenses associated with operating in a post-COVID environment. To try and minimize the effect of this added expense on our patients, we have;
1) absorbed a great deal of the increase in operational expense ourselves (only one fee increase since 2019), and
2) we asked the insurance companies that we are contracted with to re-evaluate their level of reimbursement for the services that we provide to their patients.
This past winter, we entered into negotiations with all of our contracted insurance companies, all except Delta Dental increased their reimbursement to reflect the economic realities with which we all face. Delta Dental was unwilling adjust any of their reimbursements to our office.
We then addressed the decision to either to cut our expenses or to no longer contract with Delta Dental. Following a brief discussion, it became very clear that we were not willing to cut expenses, as our experienced staff, our valued lab partners, and our quality of care were much too important to us. Despite our history with Delta Dental, it could no longer be a mutually beneficial partner for our office.
We do hope that you stay as a patient with our office. You will find that we will operate as we always have, with the same experienced and dedicated staff. We will continue to use the finest dental material and labs in Connecticut and the United States. Lastly, we will continue to provide the highest standards of care that you have come to expect from us. We will be happy to continue to file your insurance claims for any treatment at our office that you may receive. We are unable to provide you an estimate for the cost of continuing treatment at our office as Delta Dental will not provide us information as to what their out-of-network benefit will be. However, it has been our experience with insurance companies with whom we are not contracted that the out-of-network benefit provided generally covers almost all of the expense associated with routine preventative treatment (e.g., cleanings, exams, radiographs).
If you decide that you would prefer to see an in-network provider, we understand and will be happy to forward your records as needed. We do ask that if this is the case, could you please cancel any appointments that you may have but do not plan on utilizing.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us. We appreciate the trust you and your families have placed with us over the years, we hope that you understand that it is this trust, that has ultimately led to this decision.
Kind regards,
Liam Doran DMD
Eric Ruiz DDS
Griffin Udelson DMD
