Outsourced Dental Billing Service: What’s Included and How to Switch
An outside billing team takes on the insurance work, so your front desk can stay focused on patients.
An outsourced dental billing service takes over your office's insurance billing work. That means sending claims, entering and posting EOBs, working denials and short-paid or underpaid claims, and following up on unpaid claims in your aging, all inside the practice software you already use. Switching comes down to a few clear steps: get a first look at your aging, agree on the scope in writing, set up access, walk your new team through how you bill, hand over open claims, and settle into a steady reporting rhythm.
This post covers what's included and how the switch works. If you're still deciding whether to outsource at all, start with our post on the benefits of outsourcing dental billing.
What an outsourced dental billing service includes
Here's what our team at SoRa takes on when a dental office hands us its insurance billing.
Claim submission. We send primary and secondary insurance claims and pre-authorizations through your practice software, and paper claims when a plan needs them. Before a claim goes out, we check the clinical notes. If something's missing, like a detail in the notes or a clear x-ray, we let your team know first.
EOB entry and posting. We enter every EOB into the patient's ledger with the right adjustments, which helps keep your insurance and patient balances accurate. You can scan and send EOBs to us, or give us your insurance portal logins and we'll pull them.
Requests for more information. When a plan asks for more documentation, we send it as soon as we have it. If we need something from your office, we call to get it.
Denials and appeals. We work with the treating dentist to write an appeal with the clinical documentation the plan needs. Then we track each appeal and keep following up.
Short-paid and underpaid claims. We compare each EOB with what the plan should have paid, and we follow up with the plan when a payment comes in low.
Aging follow-up. We work the unpaid claims in your insurance aging, starting with the ones that need attention first.
Monthly reports. Your office gets a monthly insurance aging report, a report on secondary and unsubmitted claims, and a summary of claims that were resubmitted, paid, or still pending.
Each office gets a dedicated biller, and it's all one flat monthly fee, never a percentage of collections.
What you stay in control of
Your dentists keep the clinical notes and decisions, and your office approves adjustments and write-offs. Our team works inside your own practice software, so your front desk sees the same ledgers and claims it always has.
How the work splits. Our team handles your insurance claims inside your practice software, while your office keeps clinical notes and write-off approvals.
More ways our team can help
Some offices want help with more than claims:
Recare. Our team makes personal phone calls to patients who are overdue for their recare visits, with text messages as backup.
Insurance verification. You can add insurance verification on top of billing, so patients' coverage is checked before their visits.
How switching to outsourced billing works, step by step
Get a first look at your aging. Start with a Free Aging Check. It's a free first look at your unpaid, pending claims, so you can see what's stuck and what's worth working first.
Agree on the scope in writing. List the tasks we'll take on, any extra services, who your dedicated biller is, and when reports will come. When the scope is written down, your front desk knows exactly who handles what.
Set up access. Give our team a login to your practice software. Then choose how EOBs reach us: your insurance portal logins, or scanned copies.
Walk us through how you bill. Tell us how you like certain procedures billed and how your office handles EOBs, fee adjustments, and ledger updates. We follow your system. If you'd like a clearer process, we'll build one with you.
Hand over your open claims. We start from your current aging report and work the claims that need attention first, keeping each plan's filing and appeal deadlines in view.
Settle into a steady rhythm. Claims go out, EOBs get posted, denials and low payments get worked, and your monthly reports arrive. And your team always knows who to call with a question: your dedicated biller.
Six steps, in order, from a first look at your aging to a steady monthly rhythm.
How to get your team ready for the switch
A little prep on your side makes the handoff smoother:
Tell the front desk who handles what. Share the written scope, so everyone knows which tasks moved and which stayed.
Pick one person on your team as our contact. They'll answer questions about notes, x-rays and write-off approvals.
Pull your current aging report. It becomes the starting list for open claims.
Gather any open denials and appeal letters. That way, pending appeals keep moving before their deadlines.
Decide where EOBs go. Choose portal access or scanned copies, and tell the team where paper EOBs should be sent.
FAQ
What does an outsourced dental billing service include? At SoRa, it covers claim submission, entering and posting EOBs into patient ledgers, answering plan requests for more information, denials and appeals, follow-up on short-paid and underpaid claims, aging follow-up, and monthly reports, all handled by a dedicated biller. Our team also makes recare calls, and you can add insurance verification on top of billing.
How do we switch from in-house billing to an outsourced team? Start with a look at your aging. Then agree on the scope in writing, set up access to your practice software and insurance portals, walk the new team through how you bill, and hand over your open claims. From there, claims and EOBs move on a steady rhythm, with monthly reports to your office.
Can we keep our current practice software? Yes. Our team logs into your system and sends claims through it, so your ledgers, schedule and patient records stay right where they are.
What happens to claims that are already open when we switch? We start from your current aging report and work the claims that need attention first, keeping each plan's filing and appeal deadlines in view.
What does SoRa need from our office to get started? A login to your practice software, insurance portal logins or scanned EOBs, your current aging report, your billing preferences, and one person on your team as our contact. Many offices start with a Free Aging Check, a free first look at their unpaid, pending claims.
Thinking about making the switch?
Start with a Free Aging Check. It's a free first look at your unpaid, pending claims, so you can see what's stuck and what's worth working first. You can also call us at 201-564-0439 or book a time to talk.