Patient guides

The things nobody tells you have to be asked for: your own records, your own x-rays, what your insurance has left, and how to get a second look at a treatment plan.

• How to Get Your Dental Records From a Previous Dentist Your dental records and x-rays belong to you. Here is what a previous dentist must give you under HIPAA, how long they have to respond, and how to request everything with one button — free.
• How to Get Copies of Your Dental X-Rays Your dental x-rays are part of your record and you are entitled to a copy. What to ask for, why offices say images "cannot be sent", how to handle a CBCT scan too big for email, and how to avoid being re-x-rayed.
• How to Find Out How Much Dental Insurance You Have Left Your dental plan has an annual maximum that resets and does not roll over. How to find out what you have left, what actually counts against it, and how to use it before it disappears.
• Getting a Second Opinion on a Dental Treatment Plan When a second opinion is worth getting, how to ask for one without burning a bridge, what the other dentist actually needs from you, and how to get one without booking a second set of appointments.
• Switching Dentists: What Transfers and What You Have to Ask For Changing dental offices does not move your history with you. What your new dentist needs, what you have to request yourself, and how to avoid repeating x-rays and paperwork at your first appointment.

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These pages explain patient rights under U.S. federal law in general terms. They are information, not legal advice, and state law can add protections on top of them.