Is it worth it to file a complaint to the board against a dentist? (teeth, gums)
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I had a dentist in the fall of 2018 and the whole office is filled with crooks and liars. The dentist told me I needed a few fillings, two onlays, etc. I had one onlay done and a month later the tooth they did work on started hurting so I went back and she smoothed it over. She tried to sell me on two root canals but I never had any pain in those areas so I thought she was just a scammer and left. Her staff also sold me a $200 electric toothbrush and the dentist told me to brush it directly on my gums because they were "too pink".
I went to another dentist later with what she told me and he said that I didn't need any root canals or that onlay. What I really needed instead was scaling and a gum graft because of how quickly my gums were receding. I was confused as to why she never brought that up. She only told me to brush directly on my gums, which I later found is actually really bad with an electric toothbrush if you have gum recession...
Spring of last year, I get an email from her office saying I owe them $800 for that onlay they did. I was confused because they told me my insurance covered it but I had still paid $800 for it at the time. I called the office and told them they told me my insurance would cover it and she said "oh, I didn't say that but our old office manager must've. In that case, don't worry about it!" Super unprofessional and sketchy to try and collect money from old patients....
I'm still upset that I had spent my money and time getting things done that weren't needed instead of fixing my gum recession issue... unfortunately for me, I lost my insurance shortly after seeing the other dentist and I still never had insurance again so I still don't have the work done and it's only gotten way worse to the point where the root is showing... I'm sure this will be way more expensive than if it was fixed back then...
I'm really upset at their incompetence and am thinking of filing a complaint to the board of dentistry against them. It does mention that my records will be released so they can research it. I don't know if this will be worth it or what might happen but I was just wondering if anybody has done anything like this before? Btw.. her Google reviews are filled with people who had the same experience as I did... shame on me for not checking them first...
Is the original dentist a periodontist? Dentistry is just like medicine. A dentist can have basic training, like a GP or family physician in medicine, or she can specialize and get additional training in periodontal work, endodontics, doing crowns/cosmetic work, or oral surgery.
Dentists can also recommend different treatments depending on their specialties. My dentist who specialized in crowns often recommended a lot of different procedures, but then other dentists did not agree with him and I have never gotten them done. As with any other type of medicine, it is always good to get a second opinion if you are not sure. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they are wrong, just that they have different opinions. FWIW, I had resorption in a tooth and got a root canal. It had no pain whatsoever, but was absolutely needed because it is like a condition that eats your tooth from the inside of the tooth out. Once I got the root canal and the damaged part of the tooth removed/filled (which has been about 3-4 procedures overall), the process stopped.
Her office says "Comestic Dentistry" which is odd because she also didn't mention the wide spaces between my teeth that the other dentist pointed out, which were a result of my gum recession. She just tried to sell me on root canals it seemed like.
1) The State Dental Board has no jurisdiction over finances and insurance, so any of your grievances about those would need to be filed with the State Insurance Commissioner.
2) It is possible that you needed both the fillings/onlays /root canals as well as the gum work. The State Dental Board will collect the records from both offices, review them, discuss with the doctors, and make a determination whether there were any violations to Standards of Care.
3) If your dental condition has worsened as a result of you deciding to stop your dental treatment, then the dentist cannot be held liable for that.
Probably not a good idea. A lot of lawyers don't like to deal with cases involving dentists. Plus she didn't abuse or injure you so why sue? Just add another bad review to the already existing ones...
Suing the dentist on the unprofessional behaviour after such a long time will do any good to you. Not all are the same there very few dentists who follow this bad practice and fool their patients.
I had a dentist in the fall of 2018 and the whole office is filled with crooks and liars. The dentist told me I needed a few fillings, two onlays, etc. I had one onlay done and a month later the tooth they did work on started hurting so I went back and she smoothed it over. She tried to sell me on two root canals but I never had any pain in those areas so I thought she was just a scammer and left. Her staff also sold me a $200 electric toothbrush and the dentist told me to brush it directly on my gums because they were "too pink".
I went to another dentist later with what she told me and he said that I didn't need any root canals or that onlay. What I really needed instead was scaling and a gum graft because of how quickly my gums were receding. I was confused as to why she never brought that up. She only told me to brush directly on my gums, which I later found is actually really bad with an electric toothbrush if you have gum recession...
Spring of last year, I get an email from her office saying I owe them $800 for that onlay they did. I was confused because they told me my insurance covered it but I had still paid $800 for it at the time. I called the office and told them they told me my insurance would cover it and she said "oh, I didn't say that but our old office manager must've. In that case, don't worry about it!" Super unprofessional and sketchy to try and collect money from old patients....
I'm still upset that I had spent my money and time getting things done that weren't needed instead of fixing my gum recession issue... unfortunately for me, I lost my insurance shortly after seeing the other dentist and I still never had insurance again so I still don't have the work done and it's only gotten way worse to the point where the root is showing... I'm sure this will be way more expensive than if it was fixed back then...
I'm really upset at their incompetence and am thinking of filing a complaint to the board of dentistry against them. It does mention that my records will be released so they can research it. I don't know if this will be worth it or what might happen but I was just wondering if anybody has done anything like this before? Btw.. her Google reviews are filled with people who had the same experience as I did... shame on me for not checking them first...
What you did or didn't need is a matter of opinion. That is why second opinions often help. Some doctors are overly conservative, some more aggressive. I don't think you have grounds to stand on. As for the mix up with the payment and what you owe, shame on them, but again things do happen. BTW, I have gone to more than one dentist that has recommended treatments I did not need.
Don't bother. I had a dentist butcher me by putting acrylic cement in my mouth even after I told him I was allergic to it. When I complained about burning mouth he didn't inform me about the acrylic. It cost me $30,000 to fix what he did and my complaint to the board went nowhere. He did have other complaints that he was reprimanded for like letting his unlicensed wife do work and refusing to give one guy a copy of his records. I gave him bad reviews on every med review site I could find and when he advertised on the radio I wrote a letter to the station showing them the complaints and asking them not to help him find more victims. After a few years of that he retired.
Don't bother. I had a dentist butcher me by putting acrylic cement in my mouth even after I told him I was allergic to it. When I complained about burning mouth he didn't inform me about the acrylic. It cost me $30,000 to fix what he did and my complaint to the board went nowhere. He did have other complaints that he was reprimanded for like letting his unlicensed wife do work and refusing to give one guy a copy of his records. I gave him bad reviews on every med review site I could find and when he advertised on the radio I wrote a letter to the station showing them the complaints and asking them not to help him find more victims. After a few years of that he retired.
There should be some practicing law against these tyes of butchers who only want to rob their pateints and then leave them in the worst place to spend more money to recover from what they had done.
Filing a complaint to a state dental board does not involve much cost and time other than providing the details of your complaint. They are required to investigate it. Most patients do not even know that you can file a complaint against a state dental board, so a lot of problems never get investigated.
So if it is a legitimate complaint, it is likely worth it, as it will be of no real cost to you, other than you providing details of your complaint. If it is found that your complaint has merit, then you would likely have your problem addressed. Don't see the down side. You took time to document on here; why not do the same thing and potentially have your problem rectified. What's the downside????
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