Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/29/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I visited Commonwealth Smiles to have a stain looked at, that was it. *** ***** performed an unnecessary periodontal scaling, failed to identify a cavity (the stain), aggressively tried to upsell a $200 electric toothbrush, had me purchase a $20 fluoride toothpaste that I did not need, pressured me to have a fluoride treatment, stated that I needed to get retainers from her once the braces were off (she is not even my orthodontist), saying that I had to buy a bite guard from her, and doing a half-a** cleaning. ***** claimed to do a full periodontal scaling which takes multiple visits, over an hour per visit, and dentists provide anesthesia because it is very discomforting. I was in and out of her office within an hour to include the “comprehensive exam”, x-rays, fluoride treatment, and scaling of all four quadrants of my mouth with no anesthesia. In addition, she was also training a new employee on how to use their computer system. How in the hell can all of this be performed in under an hour unless someone is trying to scam an insurance company? Prior to any services being performed, they should have either cleared this through my insurance company or suggest that I call them first to verify it was covered! ***** was in such a hurry to get in and out so she was probably more concerned about getting paid. Now, ***** is trying to get me to cover a $900+ procedure that was not eligible for insurance payment. ***** insisted that it had to be done just like how she insisted I get the fluoride treatment that I didn't want. There is no way in hell I would have said to go through with this If she even thought there was a chance of our insurance denying it. She went ahead and performed that procedure instead of doing the due diligence to verify that the procedure was actually covered since this was my first visit with her and she did not know any past dental history. Please review attached letter and enclosures for full explanation as I have a character limit.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/14/2023

  Due to HIPAA I am not able to comment much on this case aside from state what I think is obvious. Reading the language used, this person is clearly angry. We have signed documents in our office, as we do with all patients, outlining financial expectations and responsibilities. From time to time when people have balances they do not want to pay, they file claims with BBB. This is very unfair to small businesses like mine. Please let me know what would be helpful so we can put this case to rest. I assume ******* is hoping we will write off her valid balance in our office of $1772.62 which would have been much lower had she paid when we emailed her her invoices. Much of her bill is now a collections fee that has been assessed by the collections company aiming to collect her balance due. 

  
  Thanks for any help closing this case! We do take pride in our patient care and customer service, and it is a shame time is taken out of our days providing care to patients who do follow polices, to have to respond to negative and inaccurate claims like these.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/16/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
   
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

            A predetermination was required to be submitted prior to any periodontal work
  being performed which can take weeks to get back.  This was not done but
  she told me in the office that my insurance would cover the procedure which was
  a flat out lie.  This is a form of entrapment because she told
  me this in the dental chair without a chance to
  validate anything she was claiming.  No dentist should ever tell a patient that their insurance will
  cover work only to find out after said work was performed that they will not
  cover it. This is a direct violation of Section 5- “Veracity” in the
  American Dental Association code of conduct.  *** ***** knows she
  performed unnecessary services, and this situation was textbook unethical
  conduct.  As stated in my filing, “(Unnecessary
  Services) A dentist who recommends or performs unnecessary dental services or
  procedures is engaged in unethical conduct. The dentist’s ethical obligation in
  this matter applies regardless of the type of practice arrangement or
  contractual obligation in which he or she provides patient care. Physicians and
  other health care providers must obtain advance approval from a health plan
  before a specific service is delivered to the patient to qualify for payment
  coverage. Predetermination: A process where a dentist submits a treatment plan
  to the payer before treatment begins. The payer will review the
  treatment plan and notifies the dentist and patient of one or more of the
  following: patient’s eligibility, covered services, amounts payable, co-payment
  and deductible and plan maximums.”  That
  was not done at this office.  The response
  from the dental office is not satisfactory. 
   I would like an itemized
  breakdown of every payment that was made and the source of the payment. 
  The current invoice does not provide this detailed breakdown and is inaccurate.
  Her negligence is the reason we are in this situation.

  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******* ******

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2023

  ******* is quoting a lot of things she has no idea about. Since the pandemic, so much has changed.  Clearly she did not trust my office and it’s a shame we did t know that or we would’ve wished her well and asked her to receive care elsewhere. 
  

  I believe I’m limited on what I can share here to prove why my team did what they did. I can’t mention disease, health issues, details of exams, etc. 

  It sounds like ******* just wants free care. As a courtesy, my office files claims for folks. Many offices put this on patients. “3 weeks for a predetermination” with military insurance simply isn’t typical.  
  

  I feel like we’re going around in circles. Not sure what else you need here, but it seems pretty unfair for her to aim to lower our BBB standing over an issue like this on which my hands are tied protecting her protected health information.  I’m sure you see this often, as it’s always related to money. It’s a real shame! We’re one of few small businesses not affiliated with a corporation. It’s people like ******* who aim to bully small businesses into turning to corporations for help. Shame on her! 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/24/2023

  ***** is
  using HIPAA protection as a crutch as if she knows an extensive background of
  my medical history that contains justification of her actions, it
  doesn't.  This was one dental visit and I have already disclosed
  everything.  I don't need any more gaslighted responses.  I also do
  not need or want free care as I will gladly pay for any legitimate services
  rendered assuming that the business providing the care is upfront and honest,
  not the case here.  Her office "as a courtesy, files claims for
  folks"... every dental office does this.  The only difference is that
  other offices get confirmation that the procedure will be covered before doing
  any work. Military insurance differs no more than other insurance companies,
  it's a civilian company.  This situation has happened many times to people
  with civilian insurance as you can read in her negative reviews so this has
  nothing to do with the type of insurance.  If ***** cared about her small
  business standing like she claims then she would change her processes in
  dealing with insurances and/or at a minimum stop telling people that their
  insurance will cover work when it won't. ***** contractually entraps customers
  by unscrupulously telling them their procedure is covered, having them sign a
  contract, then proceeding without confirming which is bad business.  I
  have NEVER had an issue like this with any dental office.  The payments on
  the invoice that I received are incorrectly annotated. My $228.68 credit card
  charge is not shown, or my copay, or the COVID fee, and my insurance's payment
  is annotated as a direct deposit.  The invoice shows that insurance paid
  $0.0, not true.   I would like ***** to provide me with an invoice
  that has a detailed and accurate breakdown of all individual payments.  I
  would also like her to provide me with my dental records from this visit. 
  I have asked several times but get told "you just need to pay your
  bill" or, I cannot get anyone to return my call.