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Patient Information

Office Hours

Monday:  8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.   (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch)

Tuesday:  8 a.m. to 5 p.m.   (closed from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch)

Wednesday:  8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.   (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch)

Thursday:  8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.   (closed from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch)

Phone: (310) 676-8437 or (310) 676-2922

First Visit

At your first visit, Dr. Woods will do a complete and thorough evaluation of your mouth.  This includes checking your jaw joint and supporting muscles, an oral cancer exam, an assessment of your teeth, an evaluation of your gums, and an analysis of your bite.  We will discuss your personal dental concerns.   Next, if necessary, we will take appropriate x-rays and review them with you.  At the end of this appointment, you will receive a complete diagnosis with a discussion of your dental needs and wants.

If you take medications, please list them, including the dosage, on the New Patient forms.  These forms can be downloaded from our website, or you may call to have them mailed to you.

Please be sure to complete all forms and bring them with you to the appointment.  Our office prides itself on keeping to our schedule. Having these forms filled out in advance allows us to provide this courtesy to all of our patients.

New Patient Forms

Click here to download our new patient form.

Financial Policy

Dentistry is an excellent investment in your health and well-being. We firmly believe that financial considerations should not be an obstacle to obtaining the treatment you desire. We are sensitive to the fact that our patients each have individual needs, so we provide various payment options to our patients. All financial discussions and arrangements are kept strictly confidential.

For your convenience, we accept cash, check, money order, Visa, and MasterCard. We deliver the finest care at the most reasonable cost to our patients: Therefore, payment is due in full at the time service is rendered unless other arrangements have been made in advance. If you have questions regarding your account, please contact us at (310) 676-2922 or (310) 676-8437.

A 1.5 percent monthly finance charge (18 percent annually) will be applied to all outstanding accounts beginning at 60 days.

Any unpaid account more than 90 days old will be turned over to a collection agency. You will be responsible for the agency’s fee.

Missed or canceled appointments with less than 24 hours’ notice will result in a charge.

Insurance and financing

INSURANCE

We accept insurance from all major companies and will verify your benefits and coverage before treatment.

We will assist you in every way to prepare and submit all of your dental insurance claims to help make the most of your benefits. 

Your estimated portion is due at the time of service.  We will bill your insurance company for the portion that it is responsible for.

However, because dental insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company, we will request payment directly from you on any claims that your insurance company has not paid within 60 days.

Please remember that dental insurance is designed to help with your bill, not to pay the full amount.

We propose the best treatment options for your dental health.  Your insurance company may not cover all recommended procedures.  Our treatment plan is based on your dental needs, not on your insurance coverage.

We request that you understand your policy in advance so that together we can make the best treatment decisions.  Please feel free to ask us questions about your dental insurance policy.

FINANCING

Our office works with CareCredit to assist you with your payments. For qualified applicants, interest-free payments can be spread over a three-, six- or 12-month period. We must receive finance company approval before starting your treatment. Please call our office to inquire.

Privacy Policy

NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.  THE PRIVACY OF YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO US.

OUR LEGAL DUTY: We are required by applicable federal and state law to maintain the privacy of your health information.  We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information.  We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect.  This Notice takes effect 1/1/2003, and will remain in effect until we replace it.

We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this Notice at any time, provided such changes are permitted by applicable law.  We reserve the right to make the changes in our privacy practices and the new terms of our Notice effective for all health information that we maintain, including health information we created or received before we mad the changes.  Before we make a significant change in our privacy practices, we will change this Notice and make the new Notice available upon request.

You may request a copy of our Notice at any time.  For more information about our privacy practices, or for additional copies of this Notice, please contact us using the information listed at the end of this Notice.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION:  We use and disclose health information about you for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. For example:

Treatment: We may use or disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to you.

Payment: We may use and disclose your health information to obtain payment for services we provide to you.

Healthcare Operation:  We may use and disclose your health information in connection with our healthcare operations.  Healthcare operations include quality assessment and improvements activities, reviewing the competence or qualifications of healthcare professionals, evaluating practitioner and provider performance, conducting training programs, accreditation, certification, licensing or credentialing activities.

Your Authorization:   In addition to our use of your health information for treatment, payment of healthcare operations, only you may give us written authorization to use your health information or to disclose it to anyone for any purpose.  If you give us an authorization, you may revoke it in writing at any time.  Your revocations will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect.  Unless you give us a written authorization, we cannot use or disclosed your health information for any reason except those described in this Notice.

To Your Family and Friends:   We must disclose your health information to you, as described in the Patient Rights section of this Notice.  We may disclose your health information to a family member, friend or other person to the extent necessary to help with your healthcare or with payment for your healthcare, but only if you agree that we may do so.

Persons Involved in Care:  We may use or disclose health information to notify, or assist in the notification of (including identifying or locating) a family member, your personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of your location, your general condition, or death.  If you are present, then prior to use or disclosure of your health information, we will provide you with an opportunity to object to such uses or disclosures.  In the event of your incapacity or emergency circumstances, we will disclose health information based on a determination using our professional judgment disclosing only health information that is directly relevant to the persons involvement in your healthcare.  We will also use our professional judgment and our experience with common practice to make reasonable inferences of your best interest in allowing a person to pick up filled prescriptions, medical supplies, x-rays, or other similar forms of health information.

Marketing Health-Related Services:   We will not use your health information for marketing communications without your written authorization.

Required by Law:   We may use or disclose your health information when we are required to do so by law.

Abuse or Neglect:   We may disclose your health information to appropriate authorities if we reasonably believe that you are a possible victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence or the possible victim of other crimes.  We may disclose your health information to the extent necessary to avert a serious threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of others.

National Security: We may disclose to military authorities the health information of Armed Forces personnel under certain circumstances. We may disclose to authorized federal officials health information required for lawful intelligence, counterintelligence, and other national security activities. We may disclose to correctional institution or law enforcement officials having lawful custody of protected health information of inmate or patient under certain circumstances.

After Hours

Please contact us at (310) 676-8437 or (310) 676-2922, and leave your message on our voicemail.  Your call will be returned during regular business hours. 

If you are experiencing a dental emergency, call one of the above numbers, which will direct you to enter your AREA CODE and PHONE NUMBER followed by the # sign. This will page Dr. Woods, and she will return your call. Please note that medications can be prescribed only to patients who have been seen in our office.