My girlfriend recently sent me this frightening article about a dishonest dentist. I don’t like to dwell on the unpleasant but I had something similar happen to me so I felt I should share it.
Growing up I always had my 6 month cleanings. So when I moved to L.A. in my early 20s I went looking for a dentist. A friend recommended her dentist in Marina del Rey. It was a nice, clean, busy office and looked very reputable. When I had my appointment and X-rays the dentist told me I needed several fillings and a root canal. I was shocked! I had had a couple fillings in my life but all in all I thought my teeth were really healthy. They wanted to do it right away but it was very expensive and honestly something just didn’t feel right. So me, being me, I wrote down exactly what I was told I needed. Each exact tooth and the cost to take care of each thing. If memory serves there were 6 fillings and a root canal! I decided I felt great and I was just going to wait a bit. After that, for the first time in my life, I didn’t get my next 6 month cleaning. I think I just didn’t want to face having all that work done. But after putting it off for over a year I was feeling really guilty about not having a cleaning. I decided I really needed to get back in and face this mess inside my mouth! I went back to the same office but they couldn’t find my file. They said they looked and looked but it was gone. They took a new set of X-rays and the dentist proceeded to tell me all the things I needed done. I, again, was told I had several cavities and needed a root canal… but all in DIFFERENT teeth!! Thank God I wrote it all down the first time. I made a few calls to notify someone that they were scamming people but there really wasn’t anyone to listen. I found a new dentist and poof! No cavities. I am 50 now and I still have never had a root canal. Shame, shame, shame on these butchers who do such horrible things. My heart goes out to everyone who put their trust and health in their hands. As a grown woman I only wish my 20 year old self could have found a way to expose them.
Minutiae Management 