Skip to content

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Erin Alexander to the Grand Dental team. Meet Dr. Erin →

Grand.Dental

Patient expectations

Code of conduct

We hold ourselves to a high standard, both in the care we provide and in how we treat our patients. Good patient care depends on mutual respect and trust, and those run both ways. These are the expectations that make that possible.

Your appointment time is reserved for you. Please give us at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to change an appointment. We keep track of late cancellations and missed appointments, and repeated ones may lead us to end our professional relationship.

We work hard to run on time, out of respect for you and for the patient after you. If you arrive late, we will likely need to reschedule. Arriving more than 10 minutes late counts as a missed appointment.

Missed first visits are not rescheduled. If you miss your new patient appointment, we will not book another.

You are a patient of the practice. We have several doctors and hygienists, and when you join us, your relationship is with the practice as a whole. Our doctors share very similar philosophies and clinical judgment, and we spend considerable time each year making sure the whole team provides consistent, high-quality care. If you prefer a particular doctor or hygienist, tell us and we will try to honor it, though we can't guarantee it every time.

We will file your insurance for you. As long as your insurance company follows industry norms, we take care of the paperwork. Claims accurately reflect your diagnosis and treatment using the American Dental Association's Current Dental Terminology (CDT) and the appropriate ADA claim form. If a balance remains 60 days after our second good-faith attempt to file, we will bill you for it.

Payment is due at the time of treatment unless other arrangements are made in advance. Options such as CareCredit can help make treatment affordable. For treatment that involves a dental laboratory, we require 50% before your case is sent to the lab. See our insurance & payment page for more.

Warranties. We stand behind our work. The most common reasons dental work fails are poor care at home and not following recommendations, so please do your part with both. Warranty requests are reviewed case by case.

We do not tolerate mistreatment of our team. Yelling, swearing, hanging up on, berating, making suggestive comments or advances toward, or otherwise mistreating a member of our team is grounds for dismissal from the practice.

Clinical photography. Photographs are a routine part of your care. Close-up photos of your teeth and mouth that can't identify you may be used for patient education, marketing, and professional presentations. Full-face photos that could identify you are protected by law and are never used for any of these purposes without your explicit consent.

Recommended x-rays. We follow the 2012 guidelines of the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and for children, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry's (AAPD) recommendations, updated in 2021. If you decline routine screening x-rays, we will ask you to sign a form acknowledging that choice. Declining an x-ray needed for diagnosis, or repeatedly declining recommended screening x-rays, is grounds for dismissal from the practice.

Referrals to specialists. When we believe a specialist will give you the best chance of success, we will refer you to one. Specialist care usually costs more, and specialists' insurance participation varies widely. We will do everything we can to help you find the right person, though the number of specialists in the Des Moines area is limited. We refer only to board-certified or board-eligible specialists. You are always welcome to request your records and see anyone you choose.

Clear expectations prevent misunderstandings. Thank you, and we look forward to working with you.