All PPO plans are welcome here, and we file your claim for you.
Whatever your situation, you will have our practice’s fee in writing before anything is scheduled — and we will put the strongest case we can to your insurer on your behalf, filing the claim with the documentation it needs.
Most dental offices explain money badly, and patients learn what something costs at the worst possible moment — in the chair, with a bib on. That is not how this office works.
Dental insurance is not really insurance. It is a benefit with an annual ceiling, and that ceiling has barely moved in forty years. Knowing what your plan will and will not do is most of the battle, and it is a conversation worth having before you book rather than after.
If you have a PPO plan, you can use it at this office. We file the claim for you as a courtesy, so the paperwork is not yours to chase — and we will always tell you our practice’s fee in writing before anything is scheduled.
All PPOs are welcome. Being out of network with your plan does not make you an exception here — it is how most of this practice works. We give you our fee for the treatment in writing before anything is scheduled, and we submit the claim on your behalf. Your plan then reimburses you directly rather than paying us.
How it runsWhat that adds up to in your case depends on your particular plan, and the honest answer to that is a two-minute phone call rather than a page.
And out of network does not mean full price here. Flexible payment plans are available on any treatment, and depending on the case there may also be a reduced fee. Ask when you call. We cannot predict what your insurer will pay in the end — nobody can — but we will work through the part we control with you.
Dr. Wolfe is an in-network provider with Aetna. For Aetna PPO plans this practice accepts assignment of benefits and operates under the contracted rates, so you pay your share, Aetna pays theirs, and there is nothing to reimburse afterwards.
How it runsIf Aetna is your plan, mention it when you call. Because we are contracted with Aetna we can confirm your eligibility and your share before you come in — that is something being in network makes possible, and it is not something anyone can do reliably for a plan we do not contract with.
Network participation shown here was last verified in September 2026 and can change. If Aetna is your plan, we will confirm your participation and eligibility before your visit.For any other plan, we verify your benefits with your insurer before your visit and tell you what we find. Call (818) 788-1231.
If you hold a PPO plan from any of these carriers, you can use it at this office. We are out of network with all of them except Aetna — and as the rest of this page explains, out of network here does not mean you are on your own. We file your claim, we send the documentation it needs, and your plan reimburses you directly.
This covers the plans Californians most commonly hold. It is not every carrier licensed in the state — if yours is not listed, call us anyway. We work with PPO plans generally rather than from a fixed list.
In California most of these companies sell two different kinds of dental plans under the same name, and only one of them works here. Your card will say which you have.
Look for the words PPO, Preferred, or Indemnity. Those are the plans we work with. If instead it says DHMO, HMO, Prepaid, Managed Care, or names a specific dental office you have to attend, it is the other kind.
These are the common ones we are not able to work with:
We are also not a Medi-Cal Dental provider. If that is your coverage, smilecalifornia.org will find you a dentist who is, and we would rather tell you that now than waste your time.
And if your card says savings plan, discount plan or access plan rather than naming a deductible and an annual maximum, it is not insurance at all — there is nothing to bill. Ask us about the membership plan instead; it may well cost you less.
Almost nobody explains this properly, and the confusion costs patients good care. So here it is plainly: your PPO benefit is usable at this office, whether or not your particular plan is one we contract with, and being out of a plan’s network does not automatically mean you pay more.
Two things worth saying plainly. A payment plan can be set up at your visit — you do not need to arrange anything before you come in, and Cherry takes about a minute from your phone. And because we have already filed your claim, your insurance reimburses you directly: their payment goes to you rather than to this office.
Aside from Aetna, this practice does not sign PPO network contracts, and that is a deliberate choice rather than an oversight. Those contracts cap what a dentist may charge and are written to reward the cheapest option rather than the right one, which in practice means shorter appointments, cheaper materials and a volume schedule.
Staying outside them is what pays for the way this office actually runs — appointments measured in hours rather than minutes, a dentist who performs your cleaning herself, and nobody being moved along by a contract. That is the trade, and we would rather explain it than bury it.
This is the part most dental websites are vague about, so here it is straight.
We can tell you our fee. Every service has a fee, we will give it to you in writing, and it does not move. Ask for the fee schedule for whatever you are considering and you will get it.
What we cannot tell you is what your out-of-network plan will actually pay in the end. Not because we will not — because it is genuinely not knowable from this side. That figure is your insurer’s decision, made after the claim is processed, and it turns on things only they hold: the fee schedule your particular plan uses, how much of your deductible you have met, how much of your annual maximum is left, and whether your plan downgrades or limits the specific procedure. Any dental office that quotes you a firm out-of-network reimbursement before treatment is guessing, and if the guess is wrong you are the one who finds out.
Here is the mechanical reason, so it does not read as an excuse. We cannot see pending claims against your plan, and we cannot see changes made to your benefits in real time — your insurer does not show an office either of those things, and both can move between the day anyone looks and the day your claim is actually processed. This practice also does not represent your insurance carrier, and cannot promise that they will cover any particular procedure. What we can promise is our own fee, and that it will not move.
Not being able to predict your insurer does not mean you are left alone with the uncertainty. It means we deal with the part that is in our hands, and we do it before treatment rather than after.
Flexible payment plans are available on any treatment. Cherry or CareCredit can be set up at your visit in a few minutes, and an arrangement made directly with us is welcome when set up in advance. That removes the pressure to have the whole figure available on the day, whatever your plan eventually does.
And depending on the treatment and the circumstances, a reduced fee may be available. It is not automatic and it is not offered on everything — but it is a real conversation, and it is worth having rather than assuming the answer either way.
Tell us what you are working with and we will work through it with you.
Before anything is scheduled we contact your plan ourselves, confirm what it says about the treatment being considered, and tell you what we find alongside our fee in writing. You do not sit on hold, and you do not need to become an expert in your own policy.
If what they tell us changes the picture, you will hear it from us before treatment rather than after.
Many PPO plans reimburse at the same percentage whether or not the dentist is contracted, calculated against a figure your plan sets. The gap is frequently modest, and on a plan with a low annual maximum it can be almost nothing — because the ceiling, not the network, is what limits the benefit. Patients are often surprised by this.
The only way to know for certain is to ask your own plan, and that call is a short one if you go in prepared. We verify your benefits before treatment is scheduled and tell you what we learn, alongside our fee in writing. Bring back what they tell you and we will factor it into the plan.
You get a written estimate before anything is scheduled, so there is no arithmetic happening in the chair.
The estimate covers our fee for the treatment itself and, where sedation is involved, the sedation fee separately — sedation is billed apart from the dentistry, and it depends on the level and the length of the appointment. If that applies to you, what sedation involves is explained in full.
What the estimate does not do is predict your insurance. It is our fee, not a forecast of your reimbursement, and we will not pretend to know a number that belongs to your insurer. If you want your insurer’s view before you commit, say so and we will get it for you before anything is scheduled.
An estimate is an estimate. If something changes once Dr. Wolfe can see more — and occasionally it does — we stop and tell you before proceeding rather than adding it to a bill afterwards.
Our full office policies are provided in writing before your first visit, and we will go through anything you want to go through. What else to expect on a first visit is set out separately.
An oral appliance for diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea is usually billed to your medical plan rather than your dental one. Dental plans often exclude it outright. A few things follow from that.
Whichever plan the claim goes to, our fee is our fee, and you will have it in writing before anything is scheduled.
Roughly one adult in four has no dental coverage at all, and the usual answer — a discounted first visit and nothing afterwards — is not much of an answer. This practice has a membership plan instead.
It covers your routine care for the year at a set price, and it includes a reduction on everything else we do. No annual maximum, no deductible, no waiting period, no claim forms and no pre-authorizations, because there is no insurer involved.
Plans differ depending on who they are for — a child, an adult, or someone in periodontal maintenance — and on whether you want the sleep and airway screening included. Rather than publish one number that fits nobody exactly, we would rather ask two or three questions and give you a figure that is actually yours.
It takes about five minutes on the phone, there is no obligation, and you can pay annually or monthly.
This membership plan is not dental insurance. It is not a qualified health plan under the Affordable Care Act, it is not pre-payment for future services, and it is not a dental insurance policy. Members pay a periodic membership fee in exchange for the included preventive services and a stated reduction on other treatment provided at this office. It cannot be combined with dental insurance benefits, another discount plan, or a promotional offer.
Some treatment plans are larger than one month’s budget, and that should not be the thing that stops you. There are dental payment plans available here, and there is more than one route to one.
Two third-party lenders, Cherry and CareCredit, let treatment be paid monthly instead of all at once. Both are applications you complete yourself, directly with the lender — approval, terms and rates are set by them rather than by this office. We do not see your credit file and we do not make the decision.
Separately, and before either of those, there is simply talking to us. Payment is normally due the day care is provided, but arrangements made in advance are welcome and common. Tell us what works before treatment rather than afterwards.
Patient financing designed for exactly this situation. There is no impact to your credit to apply — checking your options uses a soft credit check, so you can see what you qualify for before committing to anything.
0% APR plans are available, and Cherry offers a range of plan lengths. 0% APR and other promotional rates are subject to eligibility, and terms are set by Cherry rather than by this office.
You can check your options in about a minute, from your phone, before you even come in. The application is also available in Spanish.
To put a number on it — Cherry publishes this illustration: a $1,500 purchase may cost $60 a month over 24 months at 0% APR, with $60 due at the time of purchase. That is Cherry’s own published example rather than a quote for your treatment; your own terms depend on what you qualify for.
A healthcare credit card used across dentistry, accepted here for any treatment. CareCredit offers promotional financing periods on qualifying purchases.
Read the promotional terms carefully. On a deferred-interest promotion, no interest is charged if the balance is paid in full within the promotional period — but if it is not, interest may be charged from the original purchase date. That is worth understanding before you sign rather than afterwards.
Apply in advance, or ask us and we will help you start the application in the office. Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required. Must be 18 or older to apply.
Not every payment plan needs a lender. A Cherry or CareCredit plan can be started at your visit, but an arrangement made directly with us is best set up in advance — and for larger treatment there is usually a way to sequence the work so that the urgent part happens now and the rest follows at a pace you can carry.
This is the option nobody thinks to ask about, and it costs nothing to ask. If neither lender works out, or you would rather not apply for credit at all, say so when you call and we will work from there.
Cash, cheque, Zelle, and all major credit and debit cards. We can securely store a card on file for convenience, and you may opt out of that at any time.
HSA and FSA cards are accepted for eligible treatment, with an itemized receipt whenever your administrator asks for one.
Payment plans through Cherry and CareCredit, applied for directly and subject to approval — or an arrangement made directly with us. Ask and we will help you start.
The building has valet parking and we validate it — in full for first appointments and treatment appointments, and partially for routine cleanings. It is a small thing, and it is one less cost to think about.
Whichever route you take, the figure is agreed in writing before treatment is scheduled. Nobody here finds out what something costs while they are already in the chair.
Most dental treatment is an eligible expense under a Health Savings Account or a Flexible Spending Account, and paying with pre-tax dollars is usually cheaper than paying with post-tax ones. Cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, implants, night guards and — in many plans — orthodontic treatment including Invisalign all commonly qualify. A crown is a common example.
Two practical notes. FSA balances often expire at the end of the plan year, so unspent dollars are usually lost rather than carried forward; if you have a balance sitting there in the autumn, that is the moment to book. And purely cosmetic treatment, such as whitening, is generally not eligible.
We accept HSA and FSA cards directly. If your administrator wants documentation, we will give you an itemized receipt with the codes on it. Eligibility rules are set by your plan and by the IRS rather than by us — check with your administrator if you are unsure.
Almost every dental plan has an annual maximum, and almost every annual maximum resets on the first of January. Whatever you have not used by then is gone.
Two things follow from that, and both are worth knowing in October rather than in December.
If you are not sure how much of your maximum is left, call us and we will find out for you.
Nine questions, closed so you can scan them. Open the ones that are yours.
If you have a PPO plan, yes — all PPO plans are welcome and we file your claim for you as a courtesy. Dr. Wolfe is also an in-network provider with Aetna, so Aetna patients are billed at the contracted rates. Call (818) 788-1231 and we will talk you through our fees and how the claim works. One thing to know in advance: we are not able to work with DHMO or HMO plans, and we are not a Denti-Cal provider — if that is your coverage, tell us and we will point you somewhere that fits rather than waste your time.
It means your plan reimburses you directly rather than paying us, and it may reimburse against a figure your plan sets. It does not mean your benefit is unusable here — far from it. Many PPO plans reimburse at the same percentage either way, and on a plan with a low annual maximum the ceiling limits the benefit far more than the network does. Flexible payment plans are available on any treatment, and depending on the case a reduced fee may be available too. What we cannot do is tell you the exact figure your insurer will pay in the end — that is their decision, made after the claim is processed, and it is not knowable from our side. What we can do is work through it with you: a payment plan on any treatment, and a possible reduced fee depending on the case. If you want your insurer’s own read first, tell us and we will obtain it before anything is scheduled.
Yes — three ways. CareCredit and Cherry are third-party lenders that let treatment be paid monthly; you apply directly with them and they set the terms. Beyond those, arrangements can be made directly with this office in advance, and larger treatment can often be sequenced so the urgent work happens first. Ask before treatment rather than after and there is almost always something workable.
Ask about the membership plan. It covers your routine care for the year at a set price and includes a reduction on other treatment, with no annual maximum, deductible or waiting period. Because plans differ by age and by whether you want the sleep and airway screening included, we give you a quote over the phone rather than publishing one number. It is a five-minute call with no obligation.
We can tell you our fee, in writing, for anything you are considering. We cannot tell you what your out-of-network plan will reimburse, because that is your insurer’s decision and it depends on their fee schedule, your remaining deductible and annual maximum, and any limits on the procedure. Nobody at a dental office can know that figure in advance — and if an office quotes you one confidently, treat it as a guess. If the number matters before you commit, tell us and we will get your insurer’s answer before anything is scheduled. And whatever they come back with, we will work through it with you: payment plans are available on any treatment, and depending on the case a reduced fee may be too.
Yes, for eligible treatment, and we accept HSA and FSA cards directly. Most dental care qualifies; purely cosmetic treatment such as whitening generally does not. Remember that FSA balances usually expire at the end of the plan year.
Our fee depends on what you need, which is what the examination is for — and you will have that fee in writing before anything is scheduled, including the sedation fee separately if sedation is involved. There is no arithmetic happening in the chair here. What we cannot tell you is what your out-of-network insurer will reimburse on top of it; that is their decision and it is made after the claim goes in. We will check with them in advance and tell you what they say.
Those contracts cap what a dentist may charge and are written to favor the cheapest option rather than the right one, which in practice means shorter appointments and cheaper materials. Staying outside them is what pays for hour-long appointments and for a dentist who performs your cleaning herself rather than being moved along by a volume schedule. That is the trade, and we would rather explain it than hide it.
Not necessarily. Payment is due the day care is provided, but a payment plan can be set up right at your visit — a Cherry or CareCredit application takes a few minutes and can be done from your phone in the office, subject to approval. An arrangement made directly with us is best set up in advance. And if you are using a PPO, remember that your insurance reimburses you directly once we file the claim, so what you pay on the day is not usually what the treatment ends up costing you.
Most of this normally sits in a footer nobody reads. It is here, in full, because the things people feel misled about later are almost always the things that were technically disclosed somewhere they never looked.
Financing. CareCredit and Cherry are independent third parties. Encino Gentle Dental does not provide credit, does not determine approval, and does not set rates or terms. All financing is subject to approval and to the terms of the agreement you enter into with the provider. Promotional terms, rates and plan lengths are established by them and may change; please review their current terms before applying.
Cherry. Cherry is a financial technology provider and platform, not a bank or a lender. Payment options through Cherry Technologies Inc. are issued by their financing partners. 0% APR and other promotional rates are subject to eligibility. Financing options through Cherry have an annual percentage rate (“APR”) of 0% to 35.99%, terms between 1 and 60 months, and an amount of $35 to $65,000. Eligibility for financing depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to your financial history, credit score, monthly income, and monthly expenses.
CareCredit. Subject to credit approval. Minimum monthly payments required. See carecredit.com for details. Must be 18 or older to apply.
Deferred interest. Some promotional financing is a deferred-interest product. Where that applies, interest is not charged if the full balance is paid within the promotional period, but interest may be charged from the original purchase date if it is not. Read the lender’s disclosures in full.
Membership plan. The membership plan is not dental insurance and is not a qualified health plan under the Affordable Care Act. It is not pre-payment for future services. It cannot be combined with dental insurance benefits, another discount plan or a promotional offer, and it applies only to treatment provided at this office by Dr. Wolfe.
Fee reductions. Reduced fees are not automatic and are not available on all treatment. Availability and amount depend on the treatment and the individual circumstances, and any reduction is confirmed in the written estimate provided before treatment is scheduled. It cannot be combined with the membership plan.
Insurance. Network participation shown on this page was last verified in September 2026 and is subject to change. Coverage, reimbursement and out-of-pocket cost depend on your individual plan. Nothing on this page is a guarantee of benefits or of payment.
Trademarks. Aetna, CareCredit and Cherry are the trademarks of their respective owners. Their appearance here indicates only that this practice participates with or accepts them, and does not imply any endorsement of this practice.
You do not have to have decided anything. If you want our fee for something you are considering, what a membership would cost you, or whether a treatment plan can be paid monthly, that is a phone call and nothing more.
Some patients move quickly into treatment. Others take time to build trust. Both are welcome here, and neither is treated as a problem to be managed.