paces dentristry I had to pay $369 out of pocket because they didn't file a claim with my insurance 4 years ago Atlanta GA

I went to Paces Dentistry for a consultation for a tooth about 3-4 years ago. That was my first and only visit to that practice. I didn’t like the way they treated me. And instead of taking an X-ray of only one tooth I cared about they took X-rays of all teeth in my mouth (so they can charge for it I presume). Also I didn’t like what they told me for my tooth so after they wrote down my insurance I left. I went to another place to take care of my problem.

4 (FOUR) YEARS LATER I receive a call from a collection agency that I had a debt with Paces Dentistry and I had to pay $569 for my visit from 4 years ago including the collection fee.

I called the Paces Dentistry then and when I asked them why they didn’t send a claim to my insurance then they didn’t know. The office manager was not friendly at all but she insisted I had to pay what I awed them now otherwise I get sent to collection. I had to silently pay the full amount to avoid a bigger evil.

I'm not debating their charges here. They are crazily overpriced and if I had known then I wouldn't have set foot in their practice. But if they had sent the claim to my insurance then I didn’t have to pay for everything out of pocket. That's the whole reason people have insurance. Why did I get punished for their mess?