Nicole Kolesar

It’s 7:46 a.m.  You haven’t had coffee. Someone just cracked a molar on a granola bar and is blowing up your phones. They’re in pain. They’re panicked. They’ve got no idea you’re fee-for-service now. And all they want to know is: “Do you take my insurance?” Welcome to emergency dental care in a fee-for-service practice,

Your fees are telling a story about your practice whether you realize it or not. Set them too low, and you’re broadcasting “We’re just like everyone else… and we’ll take whatever insurance gives us.”  Price them too high without strategy, and you’ll watch patients quietly disappear to the guy down the street.  But set them

Picture this. It’s 3:27 PM on a Tuesday, and you’re staring at your daily report like it personally insulted you. You did three crowns, a new patient exam, two hygiene checks, and walked Mrs. Jenkins through her treatment plan like a dental therapist. And yet… that net production? Trash.  PPO adjustments just stripped your revenue

Imagine this: It’s closing time.  The fluorescent hum settles into silence, your last hygiene patient has floated out the door with a complimentary lip balm, and the sterilizer’s green light flickers like a stubborn question mark.  On your desk sits a fat stack of EOBs—each one a polite reminder that you delivered $1,800 in care

A fee-for-service dental practice transition is the staged process of dropping insurance contracts while rebuilding your patient base around people who choose you on purpose.  It usually takes 12 to 24 months. Done right, you set your own fees, treat based on clinical need, and get paid directly. Done wrong, you watch your schedule empty