Resources for dental offices
Billing mistakes have far-reaching consequences, far beyond RCM; they ruin patient trust and drive away future business. Most prospective patients will read reviews before choosing a dentist, and when they find prior patients post reviews about unexpected charges or insurance mix-ups, they’re unlikely to choose your practice. The good news is, billing errors can be prevented with a proactive, systematic approach. Follow the five steps in this guide to safeguard your practice against and build trust with current and future patients.
Jul 30, 2025
How Billing Mistakes Affect Your Dental Practice
Billing complaints harm your practice in three interconnected ways: reduced revenue, wasted administrative time, and increased legal exposure. Unlike clinical complaints that patients may keep private, billing issues spread faster because patients feel personally victimized by unexpected charges and are more likely to warn others. The most damaging aspect is that billing errors compound over time—each mistake erodes staff confidence, leading to more cautious but slower processing that creates backlogs and additional errors.
Lost Revenue
Denied claims directly affect cash flow. Even minor data errors can result in complete write-offs, while poor reviews lower your online rating. With 90% of patients checking reviews before selecting a dentist, negative billing comments translate directly to decreased appointments and revenue loss.
Operational Costs
Administrative costs increase as staff spend hours correcting rejected claims, creating overtime expenses without adding value. Ongoing errors decrease team morale and staff retention, further straining operations.
Legal Risk
Negative reviews attract regulatory attention. Posts mentioning upcoding or duplicate charges can trigger insurance audits and payment recoveries. Even unintentional mistakes establish patterns that increase liability exposure.
The 6 Billing Errors That Trigger Negative Reviews
Perfect treatments don't matter when your bill is wrong. A single mistake turns satisfied patients into angry reviewers. These six errors appear repeatedly in one-star reviews:
Incorrect patient information: One wrong letter in a name or birth date means insurance "doesn't cover" the service, leaving patients with unexpected bills.
Insurance verification failures: Skip the verification cal, and patients get hit with surprise charges—like a $187 bill for a cleaning they expected to be free.
Inaccurate coding: Upcoding or unbundling confuses patients who sense something's wrong. Bill a surgical extraction for a simple pull, and you'll hear about it online.
Missing documentation: Incomplete records force insurers to reject claims, leaving patients responsible for the full bill and blaming your "lost records."
Late claim submission: Missing filing deadlines means patients pay 100% of the bill. They don't care about your workflow—they care about the unexpected charge.
Double charges: Whether from computer glitches or human error, patients see duplicate billing as theft. These mistakes destroy trust faster than any other error.
Each error creates a chain reaction: denied claims lead to patient bills, patient bills spark negative reviews, and negative reviews drive away new patients.
How to Prevent Bad Billing Reviews
Preventing billing complaints requires a systematic approach that addresses root causes rather than symptoms. The following steps create a comprehensive defense against billing errors and negative reviews, working together as an integrated system.
Step 1: Conduct a 7-Day Billing Audit
You can't fix what you haven't measured. A focused one-week audit exposes the mistakes that fuel negative reviews and revenue leaks. The goal is to gain a clear understanding quickly and take effective action.
Days 1-2: Pull the last 30 patient statements and matching insurance claims, including any that were denied or partially paid.
Days 3-4: Cross-reference each claim against your EHR and the payer's explanation of benefits. Look for mismatches in names, dates, codes, or fees.
Days 5-6: Tag every discrepancy and note whether it led to a denial, patient balance, or write-off. Total the potential lost revenue to understand the financial impact.
Day 7: Turn findings into an action plan. Prioritize fixes that both recover money and reduce patient friction—insurance verification gaps, late submissions, and unclear statements.
While reviewing capture patterns. Do denials cluster around specific codes? Are late claims tied to certain insurers? Repeating issues point to process gaps, not isolated mistakes. If your front desk is overwhelmed, consider bringing in temporary help through Teero's marketplace to complete the audit without disrupting daily operations.
Step 2: Streamline Your Billing Process
A steady stream of mistakes usually points to one root problem: a disorganized workflow. When data moves from intake to claim submission without clear checkpoints, simple typos become surprise invoices and bad reviews.
Create standard operating procedures: Document every task so tribal knowledge becomes a reference anyone can follow. This reduces the likelihood of missed steps that can lead to errors.
Implement dual verification: Verify insurance twice—a few days before the visit and again at check-in. Add dual approval before statements go out, with one team member preparing claims while another confirms the numbers match the chart.
Leverage automation: Real-time eligibility software prevents outdated codes from slipping through. Automated alerts prevent claims from sitting more than 48 hours before deadlines.
Run final audits: Before any claim leaves your office, compare chart notes, X-rays, and consents against coded procedures. This extra step prevents duplicate or unrendered services that can trigger clawbacks.
Track rejection rates monthly and post the percentage on a shared dashboard with reduction goals. Pull weekly reports on denials and patient questions, then share the numbers in team huddles to create accountability.
Step 3: Set Clear Cost Expectations
Surprises drive most patient complaints. Prevent them by discussing money before, during, and after care. Most patients assume their dentist will handle insurance like a doctor, not realizing that dental benefits work fundamentally differently from medical coverage. The key is creating multiple touchpoints for financial conversations; a single mention at checkout isn't enough when patients are distracted by post-procedure discomfort.
Chairside communication: Walk through estimates line by line and ask, "Does that match what you expected?" This single question catches misunderstandings while you can still fix them.
Written breakdowns: Hand every patient a one-page insurance summary showing deductible status, yearly maximum, and projected balance. Include a note that numbers come from the insurer and may change.
Post-visit follow-up: Send a short summary by email or text before numbness wears off. Include procedure codes, the insurer's share, any pending balance, and contact information for questions.
Payment options: Offer payment plans upfront, not as a rescue. Script the offer clearly: "If the $300 balance feels heavy, we have a no-interest plan that splits it into three payments. Interested?"
Template consistency: Use the same estimate sheet, follow-up message, and payment-plan script for every patient. Templates keep communication clear and staff confident.
Step 4: Manage Online Reviews Strategically
Every review about your billing process shapes first impressions before you meet someone in person. Turn this reality into a patient acquisition advantage. Most practices react to reviews defensively, but the smartest approach is to treat them as free market research that reveals exactly what patients value most.
Monitor actively: Assign one team member as your review lead. Set up real-time alerts for your Google Business Profile and major review platforms. Daily check-ins prevent small issues from becoming big problems.
Request reviews systematically: Automate review requests when positive payment experiences are fresh. Most practice management systems can text a direct Google link once you close a ledger.
Respond professionally: Reply to every review within 48 hours using a three-part approach:
Thank the patient and acknowledge the issue
State your commitment to a solution
Move the conversation offline
Learn from patterns: Use review feedback to improve processes. If patients consistently mention confusion about insurance breakdowns, update your treatment estimate template.
Avoid creating fake reviews. Authentic, well-managed reviews earn trust and improve search rankings, but platforms (and patients) will easily spot fake reviews.
Step 5: Train Your Team for Accurate Billing
Even the best software fails if your team isn't prepared. A focused quarterly training rhythm turns your staff into a cohesive unit that catches mistakes before they happen. Set aside one half-day every quarter to cover four essentials:
Updates on CDT codes and payer rules
Patient cost conversation role-plays
Cross-training rotations
Ethics and compliance refreshers
Code education: Build 20-minute lessons each quarter spotlighting new codes, common mistakes, and payer quirks. Follow with quick quizzes to confirm understanding.
Practice patient conversations: Have team members work in pairs to practice explaining insurance estimates, deductibles, and payment options. This makes real interactions smoother and prevents reviews about surprise costs.
Cross-training: Have hygienists shadow billing specialists and front-desk staff learn claim submission. When vacations or illnesses hit, you'll still submit claims on time.
Ethics training: Review real-world headlines about billing problems and discuss what went wrong. Reinforce the line between honest errors and fraud.
Consider requiring team members involved in claims to hold or pursue certified dental coder credentials within the year.
Don't Let Staffing Limit Your Success
When your team is stretched thin, accuracy suffers first. Typos, missed attachments, inaccurate insurance codes, and late submissions pile up, feeding the negative reviews that drive patients away. Each claim deserves proper attention, but hiring and training full-time staff takes months and costs thousands. Teero fills that gap with hygienists who already know dental workflows.
Our marketplace connects you with qualified professionals who can start immediately, handling audits, month-end cleanups, and busy-period coverage without disrupting patient care. Sign up for Teero today to find the right staff and keep your revenue cycle moving.