You hired a fantastic associate. They're credentialed, experienced, and ready to see patients. You submitted their CAQH application six weeks ago, and now you're playing the waiting game while insurance companies take their sweet time approving them.

Except they're not getting approved.

Instead, your application is stuck in purgatory because someone forgot to upload a readable copy of their malpractice insurance. Or the attestation expired. Or their middle initial doesn't match across three different databases.

And while you're waiting for the insurance gods to smile upon you, your brand-new provider is sitting in the operatory filing their nails, and you're bleeding money.

Welcome to the nightmare that is dental insurance credentialing, where tiny administrative mistakes cost you thousands in delayed payments, lost patient appointments, and wasted provider capacity.

Let's talk about the five most common CAQH credentialing mistakes that are probably costing your practice right now, and how to fix them before you lose another month of revenue.

Why CAQH Credentialing Mistakes Are So Expensive

Here's the deal: credentialing delays don't just postpone your first check, they completely halt your ability to see in-network patients. That means:

• Your new provider can't treat insurance patients (which is most of them)
• You're turning away appointments you desperately need to fill the schedule
• You're paying a full salary for someone who's only seeing cash-pay patients
• Your front desk is fielding angry calls from patients whose insurance "doesn't show the doctor as in-network yet"

And the kicker? Most credentialing delays are caused by easily preventable mistakes that cycle your application back to the start of the review queue, adding another 30 to 45 days to your wait time.

Spoiler: The insurance companies aren't losing sleep over it. But your accountant probably is.

Mistake #1: Incomplete or Outdated Documentation

This is the credentialing equivalent of showing up to the airport without your passport. You're not getting through security, and you're definitely not getting on that plane.

What goes wrong:

• Expired state dental licenses that weren't renewed on time
• Mismatched NPI numbers between your CAQH profile and your state license
• Missing or outdated DDS/DMD credentials
• Malpractice insurance that expired three months ago (but you forgot to upload the renewal)

Even a tiny gap in your documentation triggers an instant rejection. And when that happens, your application gets kicked back to you, you scramble to fix it, resubmit, and congratulations, you're now at the back of the line.

How to fix it:

• Set calendar reminders 60 days before any credential expires (licenses, DEA, malpractice insurance, CPR certification)
• Cross-reference your CAQH profile against your state licensing board records to make sure every detail matches exactly
• Treat your CAQH profile like a living document, update it the moment anything changes, not when you remember six months later

Mistake #2: Missing Supporting Documents (Or Submitting Garbage Files)

CAQH requires primary source verification, which is a fancy way of saying "we need proof, and we're not taking your word for it."

What goes wrong:

• You uploaded a blurry photo of your diploma taken on an iPhone 6 in 2014
• Your malpractice certificate is cut off at the edges and missing the policy number
• You forgot to include your DEA certificate entirely
• The file format is unsupported, or the PDF is password-protected

Insurance companies love rejecting applications for "incomplete documentation" because it buys them time before they have to start paying you. Don't give them the satisfaction.

How to fix it:

• Maintain a digital credentialing folder with high-quality scans of every required document
• Before uploading, open each file and confirm it's clear, complete, and readable on any device
• Check the CAQH dashboard regularly for "missing document" alerts, they won't always email you
• Use a credentialing checklist so nothing falls through the cracks (or better yet, hire someone like Veritas to handle it)

Mistake #3: Forgetting to Attest Every 120 Days

Here's a fun little insurance trap: Your CAQH profile expires every 120 days unless you re-attest it.

That means even if your information hasn't changed, even if you haven't moved, gotten a new license, or changed your malpractice carrier, you still have to log in, confirm everything is accurate, and click "I attest" every four months.

Miss that deadline? Your profile goes inactive. Insurance companies stop processing claims. Reimbursements get delayed. And you have to start the credentialing process all over again for some payers.

What goes wrong:

• You forget to attest because you're, you know, running a dental practice
• CAQH sends you an email reminder that goes straight to your spam folder
• You assume "nothing changed, so I don't need to do anything"

Nope: you absolutely do.

How to fix it:

• Set a recurring calendar reminder every 90 days (not 120, give yourself a buffer)
• Assign attestation responsibility to one specific person on your team
• Make it a monthly habit to check your CAQH dashboard, even if it's not time to attest yet
• If you're working with a credentialing service (hint, hint), they'll handle this for you

Mistake #4: Inaccurate or Mismatched Information

Insurance companies are extremely picky about details. We're talking "your middle initial is listed as J on your license but J. with a period on your CAQH profile" levels of picky.

What goes wrong:

• Your name is listed differently across your state license, CAQH profile, NPI registry, and DEA certificate
• Employment dates don't match between your CV and your CAQH work history
• Your practice address changed, but you only updated it in two out of five places
• Typos in your NPI, DEA, or license numbers

Even tiny discrepancies trigger red flags and delays. Insurance companies love this stuff because it gives them a reason to slow-roll your approval.

How to fix it:

• Use your legal name exactly as it appears on your state dental license across all platforms
• Double-check (then triple-check) every NPI, DEA, and license number before submitting
• Cross-reference your CAQH profile against your official documents to catch mismatches before they catch you
• Update your information everywhere simultaneously when something changes, don't leave orphaned data floating around

Mistake #5: No Visibility Into Your CAQH Status

If you're not actively monitoring your CAQH profile, you have no idea whether your credentialing is moving forward, stalled, or completely off the rails.

And here's the thing: CAQH won't always notify you when something goes wrong. You might assume everything's fine while your application sits in limbo for weeks because of a missing signature or an expired document.

What goes wrong:

• You submit your application and assume "no news is good news"
• A payer requests additional information, but you miss the notification
• Your attestation expires, and you don't realize it until claims start getting denied
• You have no idea which insurance plans have approved you and which are still pending

How to fix it:

• Log into your CAQH dashboard at least once a month to check for alerts, missing documents, or status updates
• Keep a credentialing tracker that lists every payer you've applied to, submission dates, and approval status
• Follow up directly with payers if your application has been pending for more than 60 days
• Or here's a wild idea: work with a credentialing service that monitors this stuff for you so you can focus on, you know, dentistry

How Veritas Dental Resources Fixes Your Credentialing Headaches

Look, we get it. You didn't go to dental school to become an expert in CAQH attestation cycles and primary source verification.

That's where Veritas Dental Resources comes in. We handle the entire credentialing process for your practice, from initial CAQH setup to payer enrollment to ongoing attestation management, so you never lose another month of revenue to a paperwork mistake.

Here's what we do:

• Streamline your CAQH profile setup with accurate, complete documentation from day one
• Monitor your attestation deadlines and handle re-attestation every 120 days (so you don't have to remember)
• Communicate directly with payers to follow up on pending applications and resolve issues faster
• Get your providers credentialed with the right plans quickly, no more waiting 90 plus days for approval

We've seen it all: the missing signatures, the blurry diploma photos, the expired malpractice certificates. And we know exactly how to fix them before they cost you thousands in delayed payments.

The Real Cost of Credentialing Delays

Let's do some quick math. Say your new associate could see 15 patients a day at an average production of $800 per patient. That's $12,000 per day in potential revenue.

Now add a 45-day credentialing delay caused by a fixable mistake.

That's $540,000 in lost production while you wait for insurance companies to approve an application that should've been processed in 30 days.

And that doesn't even account for the staff time spent chasing down missing documents, the patient frustration when they're told "the doctor isn't in-network yet," or the fact that your new hire is probably updating their résumé because they're not seeing enough patients.

Credentialing mistakes aren't just annoying: they're expensive.

Stop Losing Money to CAQH Mistakes

Credentialing doesn't have to be a nightmare. It just requires attention to detail, proactive monitoring, and someone who actually knows what they're doing.

If you're tired of losing revenue to credentialing delays, or if you're about to bring on a new provider and want to get them enrolled fast, let's talk. Veritas handles the paperwork, the follow-ups, and the attestation reminders so you can focus on treating patients instead of babysitting CAQH.

Because the only thing worse than waiting 90 days for credentialing approval? Waiting 120 days because you forgot to attest.

Benjamin Tuinei
Founder – Veritas Dental Resources, LLC
888-808-4513
Services: PPO Fee Negotiators, PPO Fee Negotiating, Insurance Fee Negotiating, Insurance Credentialing, Insurance Verifications
Websites: www.VeritasDentalResources.com, www.VerusDental.com