Dental billing glossary
Plain answers to the dental billing questions people ask, from ERA vs EOB to A/R days. Each term gives the definition first, then the detail, with links to the guides and products that go deeper.
13terms, A to ZWritten by Dr. Maya Arnaout
Every term
Start with the one-line answer. Open a term for the full definition, a worked example and the questions that come with it.
- A/R daysPatient Billing AutomationHow many days, on average, a practice takes to collect what it is owed: the A/R balance divided by average daily production.
- CARC and RARC codesInsurance Billing AutomationThe standard codes on an ERA or EOB that explain why a claim line was paid less than billed, and who owes the difference.
- Coordination of benefitsInsurance Billing AutomationThe rules that decide which dental plan pays first when a patient has two, and how the second plan pays toward what is left.
- Dental RCMInsurance Billing AutomationEvery step from checking a patient’s insurance to having the money in the bank and on the books.
- EFT enrollmentInsurance Billing AutomationSigning up with each payer to be paid by direct deposit (EFT) and to receive the matching electronic remittance (ERA).
- ERA vs EOBInsurance Billing AutomationThe ERA is the payer’s electronic 835 file; the EOB is the paper or PDF statement. Both explain the same claim payment.
- Net collection ratePatient Billing AutomationHow much of what a practice could collect it actually did: payments divided by production minus contractual write-offs.
- Bank reconciliationInsurance Billing AutomationMatching every payment to its PMS posting and its bank deposit, then booking it in QuickBooks or Xero.
- PPO fee scheduleInsurance Billing AutomationThe list of fees a PPO dental plan sets for a network practice, code by code, and the yardstick for finding underpayments.
- Remittance adviceInsurance Billing AutomationThe payer’s explanation of a payment: which claims it covers, what was paid and adjusted, and how it ties to the deposit.
- Timely filingInsurance Billing AutomationThe deadline a payer sets for receiving a claim after the date of service. Miss it and the claim is denied with reason code 29.
- Virtual credit card paymentsInsurance Billing AutomationInsurance payments sent as a single-use card number that the practice runs through its card terminal, paying a processing fee to get its own money.
- Write-off vs adjustmentInsurance Billing AutomationA contractual write-off is the fee difference a network contract requires; other adjustments are discounts and losses that cost the practice money.
Go deeper
- Guide Automate insurance payment posting ERAs and EOBs, EFT, check and virtual card payments, denial codes and a worked reconciliation. Read the guide
- Guide Reduce dental A/R days Seven steps to measure what is owed, follow up every balance and post every payment. Read the guide
- Guide Choose dental billing software for a DSO The eight things to evaluate across locations, and the questions to ask every vendor. Read the guide
- Data Dental billing data and benchmarks Platform numbers and measured customer results, each labeled with its source. See the numbers
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