How we work: the rules behind every page
We don't take money from dentists, and we don't run ads. These are the rules every page on this site follows: how we stay independent, where our facts come from, how dentists are involved, how we choose what to list, and how we fix mistakes. They're written as a promise to readers, so you can hold us to them.
Tennessee Dental Authority is an independent publication, not a government agency or licensing board. We carry no advertising and no affiliate links, and no dentist, chain, insurer, or manufacturer can pay to appear, rank higher, or have criticism removed. Every figure traces to a named source, estimates are labeled as estimates, and every page is re-checked at least every 12 months. Licensed Tennessee dentists take part only as credited reviewers, never as paid features. Found an error? Email info@tennesseedentalauthority.com. We reply within five business days.
Why this page exists: people's biggest fears about dentistry are often not the drill. They're being sold treatment they don't need, not understanding what they'll pay, and not knowing whom to trust. A site that answers those fears has to be able to show its own rules. These are ours.
1. Independence
This is the rule everything else depends on, and it doesn't change with the business.
“No dentist, dental chain, insurance company, or manufacturer can pay us to appear on this site, to rank higher, or to make a bad mention go away. Ever.”
No advertising
We don't sell ad space and don't run ad networks.
No affiliate links
We don't earn commissions on products, plans, financing, or treatment.
No paid listings or sponsorships
No “featured dentist,” no premium profiles, no sponsored positions in any list or ranking.
No lead selling
We don't sell appointment bookings or patient contact information. Our free tools don't send anything you type to us.
If our funding model ever changes, this page will be updated first, any page that could earn money will say so at the top in plain words, and the rule above will still hold: money will never change a figure, a listing, a warning, or a recommendation.
2. Where our facts come from
Every factual claim traces to a source, and sources aren't equal. We work down a fixed hierarchy, most trusted first.
| Tier | Sources | How we use them |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Clinical authority | The American Dental Association, specialty societies (endodontists, oral surgeons, periodontists, pediatric dentists, prosthodontists), Cochrane reviews, and peer-reviewed journals | The basis for every clinical claim: what a treatment is, when it's needed, and what the evidence shows. |
| 2 — Government | The Tennessee Board of Dentistry, TennCare, the Tennessee Department of Health, CMS and Medicare, the CDC, FDA, and NIH | The basis for licensing, coverage, rules, and public-health facts. When a rule exists, we quote it. |
| 3 — Reputable reporting and analysis | Established health journalism and policy research, such as KFF | Context and data, always cited by name, and never the only basis for a clinical claim. |
| 4 — Everything else | Practice marketing, manufacturer claims, forums, social media | Never the basis for a fact. Mentioned only when labeled for what it is. |
The never-invent-a-figure rule
If we can't verify a number from a citable source, we don't print it. No invented prices, success rates, or wait times. When sources disagree, we show both instead of picking the friendlier one. When evidence shows an association but not cause and effect, we say so. Every claim is checked against its primary source before publication, however the page was drafted.
3. How we estimate prices
There is no official, published survey of what Tennessee dentists charge. So our price ranges are estimates, built from national fee benchmarks and published payer and provider data, adjusted for Tennessee and labeled as estimates everywhere they appear. Where we found no reliable data for a procedure, we say so and explain what drives the price instead. Your written quote is the only number that counts for you, and our quote worksheet helps you read it.
4. How dentists are involved
We don't rank, rate, feature, or recommend individual dentists or practices. Licensed dentists do help make the site accurate, as reviewers.
Our rule: no private practices named
We never name a private dental practice or dental chain to recommend it, list it, compare prices against it, or use it as a source. The only clinics we name are public, nonprofit, and dental-school clinics that anyone can use. The single exception is factual reporting of government enforcement actions and published investigations, which are public record and are named so readers can verify them.
01 Credited dentist reviewers
We're building a panel of licensed Tennessee dentists and specialists to review our guides for clinical accuracy. When a page has been reviewed, it will say so: the reviewer's name, credentials, Tennessee license number, and the review date. Pages that haven't been reviewed yet don't claim to be.
02 The rules reviewers follow
• A current Tennessee license in good standing, verified through the Department of Health.
• No promotion: no practice links, booking buttons, or marketing on the pages they review.
• Any compensation is a flat fee from us for review time, never tied to content, rankings, or referrals. Reviewers never pay us.
• Conflicts of interest, such as ties to a product, chain, or insurer a page discusses, are disclosed.
• Reviewers check accuracy. They can't buy, block, or soften anything.
5. How we choose what to list
Some pages name clinics and programs, such as dental schools, health department clinics, community health centers, and charitable programs. They're included because they're legitimate and open to the public under published eligibility rules, not because anyone asked or paid. Listing isn't an endorsement of the care any one clinic provides, and we include phone numbers and eligibility from the organization's own published information or the State of Tennessee's directory.
Treatments are explained only when the ADA or the relevant specialty society recognizes them as standard, evidence-based options. Where evidence is thin or contested, the page says so plainly. We point out common upsells and red flags, because helping you recognize them is part of the job.
6. Corrections
We'll get things wrong sometimes. Prices move, rules change, and sources get misread. What matters is what happens next.
- Tell us. Email info@tennesseedentalauthority.com with the page and what's wrong. Being specific helps more than being polite.
- We reply within five business days to acknowledge your report, then check it against the sources. If we were wrong, we fix it.
- Fixes are visible. A factual correction carries a dated note on the page: “Corrected [date]: we originally wrote X; the correct figure is Y.” Typos and formatting fixes don't need a note; facts always do.
- Every factual correction is logged publicly on our corrections log.
The anti-coverup rule
No dentist, clinic, insurer, or anyone else can have accurate information or a correction removed or softened. A clinic or dentist mentioned on the site can send documented corrections to facts about themselves, such as a phone number, eligibility rule, or license status. We verify them and fix what's wrong. That's the only kind of change anyone outside can ask for.
7. Review schedule
Every page shows when it was last updated. Dates aren't decoration: they tell you how much to trust a number.
| Content | Re-checked |
|---|---|
| Every page: prices, coverage, rules, clinical guidance, clinic listings | At least every 12 months |
| Coverage and rules (TennCare, Medicare, Board of Dentistry) | Also as soon as a change is announced or reported to us |
| Medicare plan information | Also before each fall enrollment period, since plans change every January |
A figure we know is out of date counts as an error under our corrections policy: we update it, flag it, or remove it.
8. Contact
One address for everything: info@tennesseedentalauthority.com. Use it to report an error, send a correction about your clinic, suggest a topic, or ask a question. We reply to every message within five business days. We can't give advice about your own teeth. For that, see a licensed Tennessee dentist, and for an emergency, our emergency helper.
“If we break any rule on this page, tell us. The rules are public so you can hold us to them.”
Questions people actually ask us
The trust questions, in the words people actually use.
No. No dentist, dental chain, insurer, or manufacturer can pay to appear, rank higher, be featured, or have accurate criticism removed. The site carries no advertising, no affiliate links, no sponsorships, and doesn't sell patient leads.
No. It's an independent publication. It isn't connected to the Tennessee Board of Dentistry, the Tennessee Department of Health, or TennCare. To check a dentist's license, use the state's licensure verification site at internet.health.tn.gov/Licensure.
We name only public, nonprofit, and dental-school clinics, such as county health department clinics, charity clinics, and the teaching clinics at UTHSC, Meharry, and LMU, because they're open to anyone and help people who can't afford private care. We never name a private dental practice or chain to recommend it, list it, compare prices against it, or cite it as a source, so no practice gets free promotion from us. The only exception is factual reporting of government enforcement actions and published investigations, which are public record.
It doesn't carry ads or affiliate links, and no one in dentistry pays to be on it. If that ever changes, this methodology page will be updated first, any page that could earn money will say so at the top, and money will never change a figure, listing, or recommendation.
There's no official survey of Tennessee dental fees, so our ranges are estimates built from national fee benchmarks and published payer and provider data, adjusted for Tennessee and labeled as estimates. Where no reliable data exists, we say so instead of guessing. Your written quote is the only number that counts for your treatment.
We're building a panel of licensed Tennessee dentists and specialists to review guides for clinical accuracy. Reviewed pages will name the reviewer, their credentials and Tennessee license number, and the review date. Reviewers can't promote their practices, never pay us, and can't change anything except to correct accuracy.
Every page is re-checked against its sources at least every 12 months, and sooner when TennCare, Medicare, or Tennessee rules change. Medicare information is also reviewed before each fall enrollment period. Each page shows its last-updated date.
Email info@tennesseedentalauthority.com with the page and what's wrong. We acknowledge every report within five business days, check it against the sources, fix confirmed errors with a dated correction note on the page, and log every factual correction publicly on our corrections page.
Sources & method
- Tennessee Department of Health — Licensure Verification — internet.health.tn.gov: used to verify dentist reviewers' licenses, and available to anyone.
- Source examples by tier: Tier 1 includes the American Dental Association and Cochrane Library; Tier 2 includes TennCare, the Tennessee Department of Health, and the CDC. Each guide lists its own specific sources at the bottom of the page.
This page states the rules every other page on the site follows. It was last updated October 22, 2026, and changes to these rules will be dated and noted here.