b.Boston Dental Guideboston.dental

Patient Tools

Getting your dental records.

If your dentist is retiring, the office has closed, or you're simply switching, here's how to get your records and X-rays into your new dentist's hands.

Your right to a copy

  • Under HIPAA you have the right to a copy of your dental records, including X-rays, from any practice that holds them.
  • The practice generally must respond within 30 days of your request, and may charge only a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.
  • You can ask for electronic copies, and you can ask for them to be sent directly to your new dentist.
  • A practice can't refuse to hand over records because you owe a balance.

How to ask

  • Put the request in writing (email is fine) with your full name, date of birth and the dates you were a patient.
  • Ask specifically for: X-rays and scans, treatment notes, your most recent periodontal chart, current treatment plan, and any lab or specialist reports.
  • Many new offices will send the request for you — ask at your first booking call.
  • Keep a copy of your request and note the date you sent it.

If the practice has closed or the dentist has retired

  • Records usually go to the dentist who bought the practice, or to a records custodian named by the departing dentist. Call the old phone number — it often forwards or plays a message saying where.
  • Check the practice's website, Google listing, or any closing letter you received.
  • If you can't find out who has your records, contact the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry for guidance.
  • If you think your access rights were ignored, you can file a complaint with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights.

Before your first visit somewhere new

  • Bring your list of medications and any recent insurance paperwork.
  • If an expensive plan was already proposed, bring it — a fresh set of eyes can help, and our second-opinion checklist can guide the visit.
  • Recent X-rays can sometimes save you from repeating them, but your new dentist decides what's needed.

General education only — not dental, medical or legal advice. Boston Dental Guide does not diagnose conditions or decide whether treatment is necessary.