In an effort to help our patients understand our patient onboarding process, we’ve outlined a piece of our process in this blog post.

As always, if you have any questions on our patient onboarding process or any other aspect, feel free to contact us online or call us at (434) 817-1817.

Documents we request while onboarding a new patient:

We ask for several documents whenever we onboard new patients to our practice. These documents are:

  • A copy of your child’s birth certificate
  • Your driver’s license or equivalent proof of ID with a picture (such as a passport)
  • If you have coverage, an insurance card

We’ve had some parents bristle at the notion that we require these documents, so I want to offer an explanation for why we ask for them.

Why do we ask for these documents?

We realize that our office policy is stricter than some of our colleagues. We’ve adopted this policy because dental treatment is a permanent alteration to a patient’s body. Once a tooth has a filling or been extracted it cannot be undone.

We require proof of custody for all of our patients to prevent our office from being caught in the middle of a custody dispute. We’ve heard of instances where one parent wanted a specific dental treatment that another parent didn’t agree with.

Verifying custody

The simplest way for us to verify custody of a child is to have their parents to bring us their driver’s license and the child’s birth certificate. If a parent is uncomfortable with having us store the birth certificate on file, there are solutions. We can typically come to an agreement where they show us the birth certificate and have one of our doctors make a note that it’s been verified.

We’re not trying to be excessive, we are just being thorough.

We simply want to make sure that we have permission from the right people to provide dental service to our patients. We are always aiming to protect the children in our practice and to keep them safe.

Childrens Dentist of Charlottesville Team Photo

Questions? Concerns? Let us know!

At Children’s Dentistry of Charlottesville always want to do what’s best for you, our patients.

If you have any questions at all, don’t be afraid to let us know. You can always get in touch with us by contacting us online or by calling (434) 817-1817. We love hearing from patients and clearing up any confusion on why our policies are the way they are.