Insurance & Payment · Murrieta, CA
Dental Insurance in Murrieta: Delta Dental PPO and the Other Plans We Accept
We’re in network with Delta Dental PPO, Cigna, MetLife, Guardian, Aetna, and United Concordia, and we see patients without insurance at published cash prices.
Most people who call about insurance want to know two things: whether I take their plan, and what they’ll actually pay. This page answers the first one outright and explains why the second one needs a quick benefits check, plus what to do if your plan is an HMO, Medi-Cal, or nothing at all.
The Short Answer
Which dental insurance plans do you accept?
We accept PPO dental plans, and we’re in network with these six:
In network means the plan and my office have agreed on fees ahead of time. That’s what keeps your share of the bill at the plan’s contracted level instead of whatever an out-of-network office decides to charge. If your PPO isn’t on that list, call with the plan name and your member ID. The front desk will check how your plan treats a visit here before you book, so you aren’t finding out at the checkout window.
I won’t tell you we’re in network with every PPO, because we aren’t, and an office that says so is guessing. Six plans, listed by name, is a promise I can keep.
- In network
- Delta Dental PPO, Cigna, MetLife, Guardian, Aetna, United Concordia
- Other PPO plans
- Accepted; call so we can check how yours pays here
- No insurance
- Published cash prices, starting with a $20 exam with digital X-rays
- Payment
- Cash, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, CareCredit
- Office
- 26957 Date St, Suite B4, Murrieta, CA 92563 · (951) 412-0127
Delta Dental
Are you a Delta Dental dentist?
Yes, for Delta Dental PPO. It’s the plan I see most often in my Murrieta chair, and plenty of people searching for a “Delta dentist” don’t realize Delta sells more than one kind of plan. The name on your card matters more than the logo.
| Your card says | What kind of plan it is | At Promenade Dental Care |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Dental PPO | A PPO: you choose your dentist | In network |
| DeltaCare USA | An HMO-style plan that pays only at your assigned office | See the HMO question below; you can be seen as a cash patient |
| Delta Dental Premier | A separate Delta network | Call with your member ID and we’ll check before you book |
Employer plans through Delta often carry the employer’s name on the card too. If you’re not sure which one you have, read the plan name off the card when you call, or send a photo of the front and back. That takes the guessing out of it.
How the Math Works
How does a PPO plan pay at our office?
Every PPO plan uses the same handful of rules. They just set different numbers. Knowing the rules is what lets you read your own benefits summary instead of being surprised by it.
1The deductible
The amount you pay each plan year before the plan starts sharing costs. Many plans waive it for checkups and cleanings.
2The coverage level
A lot of PPO plans pay preventive care at or near 100 percent, basic work like fillings at around 80, and major work like crowns at around 50. Your plan’s numbers are in its summary.
3The annual maximum
The most the plan will pay in a year, often somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. Once it’s used up, the rest of the year is on you.
4The fine print
Waiting periods on new plans, limits like two cleanings a year, a rule against paying to replace a tooth lost before you joined, and paying a back-tooth white filling at the silver-filling rate.
None of that is my rule, and I can’t change it. What I can do is tell you, before we start, which of those rules applies to the work you need. If you want a plain-English read on what routine care is for before you spend a benefit dollar on it, the ADA’s consumer site, MouthHealthy, is a reasonable neutral source.
Your Share
Why can’t you quote my insured price over the phone?
Because the number depends on things I can’t see from the phone: your plan’s coverage level for that procedure, how much of your deductible is left, and what the plan has already paid this year. Two patients on the same plan can owe different amounts for the same crown in the same month.
So here’s what happens instead. You call with your member ID, the front desk checks your benefits, and after the exam you get a written plan that shows the treatment and your estimated share. For bigger work we can ask the plan for a pre-treatment estimate first, so you know what it intends to pay before you commit. One patient wrote that the receptionist went above and beyond to work out what her coverage was. That’s the job.
Timing
What happens to unused benefits at the end of the year?
On most plans they’re gone. The annual maximum resets when the plan year starts over, which for many plans is January 1, and unused money generally doesn’t roll forward. That’s why my schedule fills up every November and December with people who already know what they need and want the plan to pay its share before the reset.
If treatment is already on your plan, getting it done before the reset is smart. If your crown needs the plan’s approval first, call in September or October so there’s time for the plan to answer. What I won’t do is invent work to use up a benefit. A cleaning you don’t need yet, or a crown on a tooth that’s fine with a filling, costs you money the following year when something real comes up.
Self-Pay
What if you don’t have dental insurance?
Then you pay the posted price, and the posted price is the same list everyone sees. There’s no inflated cash rate and no second menu for people without a plan. A good share of my patients come in without insurance, and some of them have a plan and still choose to pay cash here.
| Service | Cash price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| New-patient exam with digital X-rays | $20 | Dental exam |
| Ultrasonic teeth cleaning | $95 | Teeth cleaning |
| Full-mouth deep cleaning (all four quadrants) | $320 | Deep cleaning |
| Laser gum therapy | $240 first visit, then $80 per visit | Gum disease treatment |
| Simple extraction (not a wisdom tooth) | $195 to $450 | Tooth extraction |
| Bone graft / socket preservation | $500 per site, membrane included | Bone grafting |
| Tooth bonding | From $250 per tooth | Teeth bonding |
| Same-day CEREC crown | $1,200 | Same-day crowns |
| Custom night guard | $505 | Night guard |
| Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) | $250 per visit | Sedation |
| After-hours emergency visit, exam and X-rays only | $85 | Emergency dentist |
Anything not on that list, like a root canal, an implant, or veneers, gets a written quote after the exam, because the number depends on the tooth. The $85 after-hours fee covers only the exam and X-rays on a weekday before 8 AM or after 5 PM, a weekend, or a holiday; treatment that day costs the same as it would on a Tuesday afternoon.
Paying Over Time
Should you finance dental work with CareCredit?
We take CareCredit, and for a patient who can pay the balance off inside the promotional period it’s a useful way to get a crown done now instead of next spring. But I want you to understand the catch before you sign up. Many of these cards use deferred interest: if any balance is left when the promotion ends, interest can be charged back to the original purchase date.
That isn’t a small risk. When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau studied medical credit cards, it found patients paid about $1 billion in deferred interest on health care charges from 2018 to 2020, and that the typical medical card carries an APR near 27 percent. My advice is simple: finance only what you can pay off before the promotion ends. If you can’t, it’s usually better to stage the treatment, doing the most urgent tooth now and the rest later, than to borrow at that rate.
Who Wrote This
Who answers your insurance questions?
I’m Dr. Bao Nguyen. I trained at the UCLA School of Dentistry and spent ten years as a U.S. Navy dentist, including an Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and deployments to Kuwait and Iraq. I opened my own practice in Temecula in 2010 and moved it to Date Street in Murrieta in 2020.
Military dentistry taught me to tell people plainly what they need and what it costs, and I’ve run the practice that way since. That’s why the prices are published, why every plan is written down before we start, and why I’m happy to tell an insured patient that the work their plan would pay for can wait.
Related Care
Where do patients usually go from here?
Teeth Cleaning
What a $95 ultrasonic cleaning includes and when it’s the wrong appointment.
Urgent Tooth Problems
Swelling, a broken tooth, or pain that won’t wait.
From Our Google Profile
What do patients say about the cost and the insurance side?
These are copied word for word from our public Google reviews.
We were having trouble finding our exact insurance. The receptionist went above and beyond to find out what insurance coverage was and Dr. Nguyen was fast and efficient. Highly recommend!
Shelby Lambert · Google review
Dr. Nguyen is an experienced and professional dentist! I needed 3 crowns and he was able to get insurance approval before my insurance ran out at the end of the year. Then, after approval he was able to get teeth prepped for the crowns and he made the crowns in the office!! I was in and out in less than 4 hours. My teeth look and feel great! Office staff is also professional! Highly recommend!
Diana Tabet · Google review
I had a dental emergency and the dentist called me immediately and was able to get me in within an hour of speaking to him. The front desk was extremely welcoming and kind. They went over options with me and without having dental insurance they were very affordable. Would recommend to everyone!
brittani muiter · Google review
Great service, appreciated being seen immediately for a broken tooth, having no dental insurance, was relieved to be offered options that would work within my budget.
Laurie Nunnally · Google review
Found Dr Bao years ago when I needed emergency care on a weekend. Started going to him while I still lived in the area. Moved a few years ago, but recently felt like I was being scammed by my new dentist (new insurance), drove over an hour to get a second opinion from Dr Bao. He is as straight forward, efficient, and affordable as ever. Work was still needed but not nearly to the extent and cost as was being told to me by the other dentist.
P Hooper · Google review
Common Questions
Insurance and Payment Questions
Do you take Medi-Cal or Denti-Cal?
No. We accept PPO dental plans and are in network with Delta Dental PPO, Cigna, MetLife, Guardian, Aetna, and United Concordia. If you have Medi-Cal, use it: for adults it covers exams, X-rays, cleanings, fillings, root canals, crowns, dentures, and extractions, up to $1,800 a year, and Smile California’s Find a Dentist tool lists offices that take it. You can still be seen here at the published cash fees.
My plan is an HMO. Can I still be seen here?
You can, as a cash patient. Your HMO will not pay toward treatment at an out-of-network office, so you would pay the posted fees. Some HMO patients decide that is worth it, but I would rather you know that going in than find out at checkout.
What should I bring to my first visit?
Your insurance card, a photo ID, and a list of the medications you take. If you call ahead with the member ID, the benefits check is usually done before you sit down.
Do I pay anything at the visit if I have insurance?
You pay your share, not the plan’s. Before any treatment, the written plan shows the procedure and your estimated portion based on your coverage and deductible, so the amount isn’t a surprise.
Does dental insurance cover a crown or an implant?
Crowns are usually covered as major work, often around 50 percent after the deductible, though new plans can make you wait for major coverage. Implant coverage varies widely; some plans pay part, some pay toward a bridge instead, and some exclude it. We check your plan before you decide.
Will my plan pay for a cleaning every six months?
Most PPO plans cover two routine cleanings a year. A deep cleaning is a different procedure with its own coverage level, so if your gums measure deeper than normal, we’ll check how your plan treats it before we start.
Can I switch to your office in the middle of the year?
Yes. Your benefits belong to your plan, not to your old dentist, so whatever is left this year comes with you. Bring your recent X-rays if you have them; it can save you from repeating films your plan has already paid for.
Can I pay with an HSA or FSA card?
Most HSA and FSA cards run as Visa or Mastercard, which we take. Your plan administrator decides which dental services qualify, so keep the itemized receipt we give you.
Not Sure How Your Plan Works Here?
Call with your member ID and the front desk will check your benefits before you book. No insurance? The $20 exam with digital X-rays is where everyone starts.
(951) 412-0127 Call Promenade Dental Care