I had been going to the Dental Boutique of Waldorf for about a year. On yesterday 11/14/15, my son and I visited the office for a routine 6 month cleaning and was informed that I now must pay a co-pay of $36 for myself and $36 for my son during each visit. The receptionist then proceeded to demand that I pay $72 before I could be seen. I explained that according to my Dental insurance provider (Aetna), there is no co-pay for services. I then asked if she could please provide me with documentation which breaks down the reason for the co-pay after having no co-pay on all other visits in the past. She explained that I was not charged the payment in the past because the Dentist waived the charge. The receptionist then printed a slip that she gave to me which showed a billing code of D1330. I then immediately called my Dental provider (Aetna) to learn what the code was since the receptionist was unable or unwilling to do so. According to the Aetna representative, the code was for dental consultation purposes where the dentist explains how to care for your teeth. The Aetna representative suggested that I find an alternative dental provider in the area that does not charge their customers this billing code for each service. I then called 4 other dental providers in the Waldorf, MD area and asked do they charge their customers code D1330 during each visit. Every dental provider I contacted said no and that code is rarely used. I then explained my findings to the receptionist. She explained that she could ask the dentist to waive code D1330. My son and I were then called to go back for services. I refused to be seen and asked if I could receive my X-rays because I no longer wish to do business with them. I explained that it is wrong to take advantage of hard working people with families. The receptionist then smiled and said it will be 75 cents for each page of the x-rays. She then printed out and handed me a bill for $100 and explained that since my son and I are refusing to be seen today there will be a $50 cancellation fee for each of us. She demanded that I pay. I then refused to pay the cancellation fee and told her that they should be ashamed of themselves. She continued to smirk and explain that she is just doing her job. At that point, my son and I left the office to cool off because I was very upset. I then called them back via phone and asked if they could please email my x-rays to my new dental provider. I was told that the best they could do is give them to me in person due to HIPPA reasons. I explained that according to HIPPA, if I sign giving them permission to do so, they can. The receptionist explained that there is nothing I can do but pick them up. My son saw that I was upset; therefore, he informed me that he would go in and pick up the dental x-rays for me and would just give them the 75 cents per copy. My son went in and came back with papers of x-rays that you could barely see. At that point, I cut my loss and let them have their money for the copies. The new dental provider I selected explained that they would be able to provide us with a same day appointment because someone cancelled. The new dental provider also explained that they would advocate on our behalf and try and get copies of our dental records. When I arrived to our appointment with the new dental provider, I was informed that the Dental Boutique of Waldorf faxed the new provider copies of our dental records that they could barely see. The new provider felt so bad about our experience that they told us that they would provide my son and I with free x-rays because our dental provider only allows x-rays every year. Stay away from the dental boutique of Waldorf. They are not honest people. They will do anything to get a dime and can't be trusted. read more
