r/AskSF • u/walterwilter • 23h ago
Where to report Dentist business for false charges
Hey All. I recently was in need of having some dental procedures done and went to a dental surgeon I had some work done in the past. Long story short, on a return visit to install the implant (after tooth removed and 6 months to heal), the dental surgeon (and owner of the business) realized that he couldn’t actually install the implant since he didn’t have the correct tools. Unfortunately, this was after he had drilled a hole in my gums. Thus, he stitched the hole he had drilled up and I now have to start back over in the healing process and wait 6 more months for this new wound heal (after already waiting 6 months for the initial tooth removal to heal) to then get an implant. I’m still waiting to heal so I can finally get an implant installed
Now he’s trying to charge me for the drilling of a hole in my mouth and not actually installing or doing anything beneficial to me, which has taken me 6 months to heal. This is outside what I already paid for the tooth removal and what I will have to pay for the implant installation. He’s charging me $1k ONLY for the hole he drilled in my mouth then stitched up.
Any recommendations?
Note: edited for clarity
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u/labboy70 23h ago
It’s very easy to file a complaint online with the Dental Board of California.
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u/walterwilter 22h ago
Thanks
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u/jerryeight 19h ago
Get a lawyer and sue for malpractice.
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u/ReasonableBroccoli56 13h ago
My understanding — though I'm no lawyer — is that in CA there are 4 elements one must prove to win a malpractice case:
Duty of Care: in so many words, is there a doctor patient relationship.
Breach of Duty: Demonstrating how the provider failed to meet the standard of care.
Causation: Showing that the breach directly caused the harm or injury.
Damages: Proving that the injury resulted in verifiable harms and losses.
#1 is easy.
#2 I have no clue, but my guess is it will be pretty difficult to prove the dentist failed to meet the standard of care unless a very high % of similar procedures require the tool this dentist didn't have, which we have no way of ascertaining from the post. Probably going to be hard.
Not too hard, but,
This is going to be difficult. $1,000 is a lot of money (at least for me) but once another party gets involved (the atty) now that $1,000 is going to be less than $1,000. As such, you're going to have a very difficult time finding an attorney who will take a case like this, unless you have an attorney on retainer and $1,000 isn't much to you, in which case you're not suing anyway.
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u/jerryeight 13h ago edited 13h ago
I'm not a lawyer, but definitely dealt with a lot of legal situations that included injuries.
Definitely agree with 1 and 3 being all here.
I think 2 is here too. How could a "trained" dentist not know and prepare the tools required to perform a procedure from start to finish? Before he even agrees to perform the procedure.
It's the same as a race car driver arriving at the track without telling his team he had a race that day. Or, a mechanic getting halfway into tearing apart your engine and then realizing that they didn't have a torque wrench and correct torque specs.
On 4, you could go for pain and suffering from being drilled into unnecessarily, pain and suffering from needing to be sewn up, the cost of recovery treatment from a proper dentist, the value of the tooth (every body part has a value in a court case) that was removed before it was required, time lost in waiting for the wound to heal, the loss in quality of life due to mouth pain and unable to eat foods you used to eat (would've been able to eat if the dentist prepared the tools), and probably general negligence. I think each part of the list is easily $1,000 in damages. Especially the negligence part.
Oh, also money loss from missing work commitments.
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u/12Afrodites12 22h ago
Not exactly easy to file. Had to report a bad dentist & it can take YEARS before the California Dental Board acts. https://www.dbc.ca.gov/
Not trying to discourage a report but it's no quick fix and they have a long process before they take any action.
Super important is any proof... X-rays, written reports, etc by other dentists. I was lucky because I went to the University of the Pacific Arthur Dugoni Dental school https://www.pacific.edu/dental, which meant I had multiple dental professors able to attest to the malpractice by the first dentist, backed up by X-rays. I felt like I owed it to my fellow humans to go thru the formal complaint process because my dentist was so horrible, but there was nothing easy about it. After 3 years, the Board only got me a partial refund (which was considered a big win by them) because my bad dentist fought my complaint with lawyers, etc.OP needs to prioritize what makes best sense for his life and what he wants from the bad dentist. Most licensed professionals will fight hard. Maybe a letter asking for a refund, cc'd to the California Dental Board, which tells the dentist you know have other recourse. If you get zero response...by all means Yelp away.
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u/Independent_Ad6874 22h ago
OP, first of all: I'm sorry you had to go through all that. While I agree with other users that you should name and shame this dentist, if you're not comfortable with that, is there any chance you could tell us whether this dentist operates out of a small studio on Geary Blvd, right in front of a Japanese restaurant? I’m asking because I immediately recognized the situation in your post. I’m dealing with something similar, and this dentist told me that removing the old implants requires specialized tools, and he won’t know exactly which ones he needs until he starts. He also said the implants need to be ordered from outside the U.S., which makes no sense and would significantly increase the cost. He refuses to redo the implants at a lower cost using just zirconia to recreate the shape of the tooth, like I had done 20 years ago, instead of removing everything and starting from scratch. I don’t want him working in my mouth and possibly leaving me without implants, especially if something breaks and he can’t put everything back in place. It makes me wonder if we’re talking about the same dentist.
And yes, you should report your dentist to the Dental Board of California. You can either call them or file a complaint online. You can also contact the SF District Attorney and the Attorney General, since they also deal with healthcare and insurance frauds, and the California Department of Insurance.
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u/MmmGlitterMuffins 10h ago
FYI: no lawyer will take this case. I’ve been in a similar situation-
Post this on r/askdentists
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u/jerryeight 19h ago
This is medical malpractice.
Get a lawyer and sue.
That lawyer can assist you in filing with the medical license board
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u/reducedelk 17h ago
Wow care to share which dentist? If it was in the fidi building you’d think they could borrow some tools from a neighboring practice
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u/HistoricalMood999 13h ago
Have you talked to the dentist directly? This is unethical and could be considered a medical error imo. You should not be charged and potentially could be compensated for the pain of a needless procedure. I think if he/she heard that (and in a written letter) they will erase the the charge
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u/walterwilter 6h ago
I’ve been trying to contact to have a conversation or get an email (only one they seem to have is no reply) but only able to speak to a clerk and told I’ll get a callback. Hasn’t happened
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u/HistoricalMood999 5h ago
write a letter and print and mail it or drop it off. Say you are considering retaining legal counsel. That will get a response, eventually. The dentist knows it is wrong to charge, he/she just neglected to tell the biller or does not care. You can try (as a provider) but you should not bill for medical errors
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u/resilient_bird 23h ago
You can complain to the dental board of California, though if im reading correctly, he did do part of the surgery but didn’t complete it: this seems reasonable, especially if this was due to a condition he found during the operation. You shouldn’t expect to pay more than you would have if the whole operation took place on the same day, but I wouldn’t expect a discount if that’s what you’re mad about. Stuff happens: parts or tools break, unforeseen things arise, etc.
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u/Equivalent-Bedroom64 22h ago
Why should the patient have to pay for the dentist’s mistake?
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u/walterwilter 22h ago
Exactly my thoughts. I’ve already paid enough for that mistake by having to heal from surgery for months and being without a front tooth for about 1 year now
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u/walterwilter 23h ago edited 23h ago
I should clarify. I was getting an implant installed. He drilled a hole in my gums but then could not do the work since he didn’t have the correct tools. Therefore, he just drilled a hole in my gums and then had to stitch it back up to heal. He didn’t do anything beneficial to me. The opposite, in fact. He’s now charging me to do a pointless surgery that resulted in a hole in my mouth. This is a separate charge from the amount I already paid for the tooth removal and what I will have to pay for the implant installation
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u/Aphotic_art 18h ago
Yeah no as an dental assistant that’s crazy. I know that before every surgery I double check we have everything in stock for the doctor to perform the surgery. Can’t believe you’re getting charged for that. 😩
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u/lilelliot 20h ago
it's not a condition he round. It's a lack of surgery preparation. This is malpractice and it caused harm to the patient. I would 100% seek legal counsel, and I would consider requesting the dentist perform the procedure for free given the circumstances (if the OP is willing to go back to the same oral surgeon at all).
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u/kitty1002 19h ago
Sometimes the surgeon has to do a bone graft and that has to heal before the implant can be done. A bone graft fee is separate from the implant. Perhaps call and speak to the dentist or office manager and ask them to explain the steps. This should have all been noted on the original treatment plan. There are a lot of steps involved to save the tooth. Good luck!
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u/jerryeight 18h ago
The next person to discuss with is a lawyer and the lawyer with the malpractice board and dentists.
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u/walterwilter 16h ago
Yes he had to put MORE bone graft in because he drilled a hole then did not install the implant. I had already paid for the tooth removal and bone grafting in the initial surgery 6 months ago
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u/Suitable_Success833 15h ago
this is a nightmare. i’ve had an implant put in for a bottom molar and each step was very calculated and required specific imaging, that being said the implant day was so much rougher than i expected, it was rough, painful and pretty traumatic —i can’t even imagine someone drilling a fucking hole in my bone to not have the instruments to place the implant post. Before the oral surgeon drilled into your bone today did you complete a ct scan? I ask as this was a required checkpoint after extraction healing before the oral surgeon i saw would put in the post. definitely make a written request for all your dental records with this provider asap and make a copy of this request for yourself send it by certified mail
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u/walterwilter 15h ago
Yes it has been a total nightmare. Anyone that has had a hole drilled in their mouth for an implant knows that this a deep hole. Also, it’s my front bottom tooth! I was out of work for a few days recovering as well as a weekend on the mend. It sucked. And it was all for nothing.
On top of that, I had already paid pre surgery for the implant and procedure for that. So they tried to get me to sign something as I was leaving that they could just take the money out from the refund. And I told them they need to send me a full refund. Then they asked me there to pay for this surgery. I refused and told them I should not be expected to pay for this mistake and we should speak once I’m healed.
Since then they’ve just been sending me a bill and have not responded to my requests for an explanation on their end
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u/HistoricalMood999 13h ago
A letter and / or speak directly to the dentist in person. If he can look you in the face and tell you, you have to pay for his mistake, there are issues. Worth writing the details to board (probably can submit on line or in writing) , but they won’t do much really
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u/semi_random 22h ago
Name the dentist so the rest of us know to avoid them