Sharing a story we have with: Stafford Family Dental Care, 35 Walpole Street, Suite 201 Stafford,…read moreVA
For over 20 years, our family has had dental insurance (Delta Dental) with no issues. We get regular checkups, cleanings, and x-rays as needed. We have 2 kids now (9 and 7) and moved to Stafford in 2019. We've tried a few dentists and haven't found one we've especially liked for many reasons (COVID restrictions, tried to oversell products, etc..). Was hopeful we found our dentist at Stafford Family Dental Care (SFDC) but we were wrong.
Lots of dentist appointments for our family and we know, all too well, to ask the question: "Is this covered by insurance?" We have hopped around at least 3 times since coming to Stafford and each dentist has requested the records from the previous and been able to answer the question honestly. We decline stuff they try and sell (services, fluoride, products) that are not necessary, if not covered by insurance.
SFDC doesn't ask, they tell you what services they're going to perform (fishy). This situation, they told us they were going to perform panoramic x-rays and fluoride for both our kids. We asked if insurance would cover and of course they said "yes it would." May 30, 2023, we received our second notice to pay the bill for the x-ray and we called to find out what it's about. They explained we owe $106 because the panoramic x-rays for my son were denied because of frequency limitation.
Lots of things wrong here but I tried to reason with them explaining, while we were in the office, we asked if insurance would cover it and they said, "yes it would". Other dentist offices check with insurance prior to completing a treatment/service and provide you with a cost/treatment plan. I know we could have verified previous services and checked claims/receipts/etc. but it comes down to customer service. We asked, they lied.
I then asked if they would forgive this bill as there was some sort of miscommunication, but the answer was no. Quote: "They performed a service, and we are responsible to pay the bill, or it will be turned over to a collection agency." We gave them another chance and explained this has never happened, should have/could have, occurred by both sides, and explained they would lose us as patients, and I would post this write up on social media. They didn't care so here we are.
I expect to get lots of calls from a collections agent and I'll probably have a credit hit I'll have to argue. I doubt much will come of this, but it is a clear example of a dentist trying to gouge people for extra services and products. One of the most unethical things I've ever experience, lying to their patients to get extra $ out of them. Looking back on prior services, they hit us for almost $200 because a previous dentist installed sealants incorrectly so they had to redo them. They were done the previous year! I'm seriously doubting there was anything wrong with them, but they got the $ out of us.
Ending note - please avoid Stafford Family Dental Care and spread the word. I would very much like them to go out of business and take their unethical practice with them.