Dr. Frank A Acosta

9 year old boy denied treatment over parent's request to turn down the volume of the TV so that mother could hear her child's from behind closed doors, since she was not allowed to be present and had to sign written consent banning her from the exam room. Dr. Frank Acosta his has been the worst dental experience for a parent of a child. My 9 year old son had an appointment at Millennium Dental Concepts this morning. When we walked in and were given a paperwork to fill out, the assistant pointed to the form on top and said that it was VERY important that I read it carefully and sign it. Following her request I read the form. It stated that only your child can "enter the treatment room and that parents wait in the reception room until treatment is completed. This allows us to develop one-on-one trusting relationship with your child. The waiting room door is always open and you are free to ask any questions at any time during your child's visit". Well, the reality was quite the… opposite. The TV was blasting on high volume, and the radio was playing tunes simultaneously in a small reception area. Closed door. Written consent disallowing you from the treatment room that also stated that "if your child is uncooperative or upset during any aspect of their dental visit we will refer your child to pedodontist for treatment". So, all of these things combined together raised a little red flag, and as a parent, I decided to ask for clarification. I inquired with the assistant working the desk if we could perhaps turn off the TV (I was the only person in the waiting room) or lower the volume of the TV and radio so that I can hear my child, if he's uncomfortable or scared. And that the document I am asked to sign stated that "waiting room door is always open" if I have questions, and if it was possible to open it in case if my son needs me. She replied that door won't be "locked" but they will not open it. And that I should speak to the doctor. I thanked her, and we sat down to wait. Around 30 minutes later the doctor introduced himself, and I inquired about the form. He insisted that I sign it, and I did. As I gave the form back to him and agreed to wait outside, I asked if we could turn the TV down a little so that I could hear if my child calls me. Frank Acosta refused. He then looked me straight in the eye and said he will not be treating my child, and that there were "trust issues". All of this after we waited for an hour, I took a day off work, pulled little kid out of school for dental visit that he really needed, all of the effort to locate, find parking and wait, just to have a dentist inform you that he doesn't want to treat your child. My son was standing there, confused and stressed, and did not comprehend why this doctor didn't want to help him. My requests to render treatment were futile. Dr. Acosta didn't care about our disrupted day, nor about our compliance will all the forms he wanted signed, missed classes (they have SAT tests coming up and study hard), and emotional toll his actions took on a 9 year old child. It was a nightmare. As we were standing in shock in his waiting room, I called insurance and filed the complaint. Dr. Acosta refused to give any written explanation as to why we were denied. According to his staff they did not have complaint forms ( insurance rep said that doctors should have either complaint form or 1-800 number for such instances). He also advised us that he can deny any patient for any reason and he owes no explanation, according to Florida law. We left, and I called my significant other, who also was in the area. He could not believe that such mistreatment of a minor took place, and wanted to speak to the dentist himself. We went back, and he asked to speak to the doctor in private, to which doctor's question was if my significant other was a lawyer. He wasn't. So Frank Acosta stayed behind his little window and said that this conversation was over. That he can deny patients if he wants to, and that we can complain to the insurance. In my humble opinion, this dentist is unprofessional. He sets poor example to kids and has no respect for his patients. And I am still confused why he feels such need to ban parents from exam room when he is treating minors. Why was that form so important that it was the first thing they bring to your attention and sensitive enough issue to deny treatment, if the form is as much as questioned? I would not recommend this dentist.