OT: dentist left me with no crowns

[newname]

Went to have a crown that fell out re-cemented. I gave the crown to the dentist. When she was supposed to be cementing it in, she actually removed 2 other crowns next to it and would not put them back. Her bullyish director came in and said I could not have them because they were not paid for yet. Reason for non payment yet: I have been waiting for a year for them to credit my account for a crown they billed me for by mistake. They added an extra crown to my bill and I kept asking them every visit to fix my bill. Evidently it wasn't that important to them because they just did not put the credit through. They were billing me for a crown on a tooth that I had removed thirty years ago!! They knew they made a mistake, but didn't bother to fix it. (over $1,000).
Now I have 3 metal abutments hanging in my mouth and they are cutting my tongue.
The crowns were on implants.
It's difficult finding another dentist willing to work on something previously done by another dentist.


what can I do legally to this dental school??

[ems]

I would call the Dental Association in your state.

[Emilia]

That has to be the craziest thing I've ever heard. I'd be slapping them with a malpractice lawsuit so fast their heads would be spinning. Not to mention your pain and suffering. Billing errors, etc., should be handled as a business matter...... this isn't a car that can be repossessed. Your teeth and any crowns on them are part of your body..... come to think of it, I'd have filed a complaint with the police for assault on the yahoo dentist.

I hope you can find another dentist to remedy this for you....even temporary crowns for now would be a blessing so you can eat and function.

[Buford]

Their may also be an issue of unauthorized medical procedure, Say you need a crown, you never gave permission for a breast exam?

Same principle, you never authorized the crown removal. They need your informed consent, signed before any medical procedure.

EMS gave good advise, this is a medical issue, a legal tort, and a criminal issue.

I'd fire all 3 barrels.

Someone will not graduate.

Some teacher will lose their job and medical license.

I'd guess the dean will lose his/her job.

A school will lose their accreditation. So who cares if anyone graduates. Degree yes, practice dentistry? No. They will have a whole lot of unhappy tuition payers if they lose their accreditation.

And you may get a building named after you.

Something nice about an arrest on campus, handcuffs, mug shot, newspaper coverage. A students worst nightmare since they will have a criminal record on file when applying for their medical license.

I'd get a very good attorney. Someone starting at the Dean office and propagating down will have a very bad Tuesday.

What they did is not only unprofessional is a very unkind thing to do, after raising hell do not answer the phone, all related matters go through your counsel.

[archangle]

The local TV station news would probably be interested.

[zeeclass]

Can you take this to small claims court?

I run a dental website and I can tell you, what they did is unethical, especially since they have not credited you for their mistake.

Please contact your state dental association and make a formal complaint.

Another dentist could fix the problem, but of course you'd need to pay to have the new work done. But that is an issue you could bring up in small claims court if the dental school is not giving you any satisfaction. They sound like sadists, not dentists over there.

If you paid the original bill with a credit card, you can contact your credit card company and see if they'll do a chargeback for you. Amex is the best for this; they have terrific customer service (if you charged it on Amex).

I agree that you could also contact your local TV station (especially if they have a consumer reporter). Who knows, there might be other people with similar complaints about this school.

[LinkC]

Call Judge Judy!!!

[Starlette]

I'd take your bills to the Insurance Commission in your state (letter and attached bills).
I had to do this several times for my husband and won every time.

Starlette