ComplaintsforFamily Dental Care

• Initial Complaint

  07/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This business started a root canal back in March of this year but has yet to complete the root canal. They put a temporary filling in its place of the tooth that they started the root canal on and the filling has mostly fallen out which in result the tooth is hurting now. They also told me to temporarily pack it myself if it falls out. They also told me that they would get back to me when my insurance approved the work that needed to be done on my teeth. To which I didn't hear anything back from the office and when I called my insurance to see what the holdup was my insurance told me that they approved it back in March for all the work that needed to be done and they didn't understand why the dentist office didn't call me back to schedule. So I was waiting for an appointment to be made to even be seen for finishing the root canal. However every time that they schedule an appointment for me they either call and cancel it and I've had to call them back to reschedule because they tell me I don't have an appointment set up that they JUST set the day before. And just today July 24th 2024 they set up an appointment for 5:00 p.m. today and I showed up at 4:50 p.m. and the door was locked. So I called their business, no one picked up the phone and the voicemail said that for Wednesdays their hours of operation were from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. However yet no one was answering the phone or the door and it was locked during my appointment time. I honestly just want to be completely done with this business. I do not want to go back but apparently no other dentist will touch a started root canal so I am stuck in a place of I just want this done and I don't want to be in contact with this business anymore. I want them to have repercussions for wasting my time all these months with no work done and pain in my mouth.

  

  Business response

  07/25/2024

  Complaint ID ********

  When ****** came in for her initial exam on 3-6-24 the treatment that our associate dentist (Dr. *********) had treatment planned was for an extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth, replacement of a stainless steel crown, and two fillings. The two fillings were completed that day. The replacement crown and impacted wisdom tooth extraction required prior authorization from her insurance.

  All Ohio Medicaid insurances that we accept send determinations via postal mail and always send a copy to both the patient and to our office. We advise all patients that they will be contacted by our office once the determination is received but always advise the patient to call our office to schedule an appointment if they receive an approval in the mail prior to hearing from us. Our office processes over a thousand determinations annually and occasionally determinations have gotten lost in the mail and we do not receive them. This is why we advise the patients to notify us upon receipt of the approval letter if they have not heard from our office.

  ****** was seen for an emergency visit on 3-18-24 for a toothache, given a prescription for antibiotics and a painkiller and scheduled for a root canal on 3-27-24. On 3-27-24 Dr. Michalski began the root canal procedure (pulpectomy) and left the pulp chamber open to allow the infection to drain. This is typical for an infected tooth. The root canal procedure did not require prior authorization or approval by her insurance so I am confused as to why a completion appointment was not made. Normally this would have been made the day the procedure was started and there was nothing restricting the patient from scheduling or following up for the procedure.

  The next time ****** was seen at our office was for a routine cleaning and exam on 7-11-24. I did her exam and advised her that I would resubmit a prior authorization claim to her insurance to replace the stainless steel to make sure it gets approved. She did not notify me of any frustration or grievance she may have had.

  Normally the dentist who treatment plans a procedure will complete the procedure. When it was brought to my attention that the root canal Dr. Michalski had treatment planned a few months back was not completed I had made an exception to do the root canal myself in order to complete it as soon as possible. ****** is still scheduled  Monday, July 29th at 11:00am with myself to finish the root canal.

  ****** had a follow up appointment scheduled with Dr. Michalski on Wednesday July 24th.  Dr. Michalski is the only dentist in the office on Wednesday evenings until 6pm. That Wednesday around noon we had received a phone call that Dr. Michalski had a medical emergency and was hospitalized. We attempted to call every patient in her schedule, including ****** in an attempt to reschedule and to notify her that the office had to close early due to an unforeseeable medical emergency.

  As of receiving this complaint we had attempted to contact ****** to understand exactly what had happened, to better understand where this apparent confusion occurred, and to also confirm that she is still coming for her scheduled treatment on the 29th of this month.  A voicemail was left for her this morning asking her to call back and confirm but she did not call us back.

  Lastly, porous temporary filling material (similar to clay) was placed in the tooth after the pulpectomy to prevent food impaction. This material is soft and temporary. It can be purchased at any pharmacy and used over the counter. A root canal procedure was never billed to her insurance (only an emergency pulpectomy was performed) so any dentist who accepts her insurance could do the procedure and be reimbursed in full. 

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  10/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  09/26/23 Went in for a cleaning and bit guard. Two leeks later I go to pick it up. It does not fit in my mouth. Same gal but different from 9/26 came back into the room mixed the stuff in front of me and tried to do another bite guard. There was not enough product on there and she did not hold it in right and therefor did not get my back teeth. Another two weeks go by and I pick up this second bite guard. It was short and did not cover my back molars. I left unhappy again. I was told that's how they are. NO, I've had bite guards before and this is not correct. After a few days of thinking on it I called and asked to speak to a manager. She was very nice and was wanting to correct the problem. She made me an appt for 10/6/23 1030am. 10/5/23 930am the dental office called to confirm my appt. 10/6/23 I arrive early to my appt. 1015am check in and sit down. 1045am I get call up to the window and get told that the doctor will NOT be making me a third one but if I turn in the others that I will get refunded on insurance. The female at the window was so rude and accused me of lying about who did my guard impression. After wasting my time and getting called a liar was heated. I tossed the guards on the desk and walked out but not before that horrible female stood up and yelled "You just threw those at me I'm calling the police". Her exaggeration was unreal I have a witness that I just happen to be on the phone with the entire interaction. Never in my life have I ever been treated like that and I'm appalled and discussed at her actions and wasting my time.

  

  Business response

  10/09/2023

  Our office makes between 150 and 200 occlusal guards (aka “night guards”) per year for our patients who may benefit from them. Nearly all of these cases have been without complication and the treatment outcomes are nearly always successful with overall patient satisfaction. The use of this type of occlusal guard is a form of suggested preventative treatment. Occasionally there are individuals who cannot tolerate the sensation of retentive pressure on their teeth or an artificial material in their mouth. In these less common situations long-term use of an occlusal guard may not be possible. Each case and each patient are unique. Not every mouth is the same and there are situations where there may be inadequate space to completely extend over the second molars (i.e. soft tissue impinging on the distal border of the prosthesis, hyper eruption of teeth, inadequate occlusal clearance, inability to achieve proper tripod occlusion, etc.). An occlusal guard does not need to encompass the entire surface of a second molar to properly function for bruxism prevention. 

  Our office employees multiple dental assistants who are well-trained and very experienced in taking alginate impressions and pouring stone models for fabrication of removable prostheses. Each impression and each stone model are examined and approved by a licensed dentist before fabrication of a removable prosthesis and each completed prosthesis is examined and approved by a licensed dentist prior to being delivered to the patient. 

  Regarding treatment history for this patient our office fabricated the original occlusal guard in August of 2022. When she returned in February of 2023 for an initial cleaning she had advised us that she was not using the occlusal guard. We had taken an impression for second occlusal guard in August of this year and it was fit and delivered two weeks later after fabrication. After a short while (in September) she claimed she did not like how the second occlusal guard fit. A new impression was taken and a new (third) occlusal guard was remade free of any charge (at the expense of the office). Shortly after the third occlusal guard was given to the patient she again returned claiming she did not like how it felt. Any accusation that the assistant used inadequate material, took a poor impression, fabricated the occlusal guard incorrectly, etc., is unsubstantiated and simply untrue.

  Since there were no fabrication errors in either of the occlusal guards it was decided that we would likely not be able to satisfy her expectations with an occlusal guard and advised her that we would refund the money to her insurance. This way she could have an occlusal guard made elsewhere if she decided to. The first and second occlusal guards were paid for in full by her insurance since the frequency limitations on that procedure are one per year based on procedure date. The insurance refund would allow her to have it remade almost immediately without cost at any office that accepted her insurance and/or to get a second opinion. The patient paid no money out of pocket for any treatment rendered.

  When I interviewed the receptionists who encountered this patient on 10-6-23 they had explained to me that she became angry when it was suggested that we were going to refund the insurance payment so she could have the occlusal guard made elsewhere. Unfortunately there was a longer than expected wait to address the patient when she came in since our office does take emergency patients and we were extremely busy that day, but this is often beyond our control. The office receptionist stated that the patient started using profane language and threw the existing occlusal guard on the desk temperamentally with force. At this point she was asked to leave and advised that the police would be called if she did not.
  

  
  To reiterate: 

  An attempt was made to provide the patient a form of preventative treatment with an occlusal guard.

  When the patient was unhappy with the outcome our office attempted to remake the occlusal guard twice at no cost to the patient. Our office absorbed the cost of labor and materials for the second remake.

  When the patient was still unhappy with the outcome our office (out of good will) offered to refund the insurance payment for the prosthesis in order to give the patient the option to have the treatment rendered elsewhere in the hopes that another facility could somehow satisfy her expectations. 

  The patient paid $0.00 and her insurance is being refunded for the prosthesis. The patient was made aware of the refund prior to filing this complaint.

  If the occlusal guards we provide our patients were somehow generally flawed in design we would have seen a pattern of remakes or patient complaints. We have seen none.

  I am truly sorry that there was an apparent altercation between the receptionist and this patient and perhaps there was some misunderstanding that I am unaware of. I did not witness this altercation directly since I was treating a patient when this happened. I can, however, vouch for the integrity of my staff. 

  Our office performed its due diligence in attempting to satisfy the patient, and when it was apparent that this may not be possible we refunded the insurance payment making it possible for her to have it made elsewhere.

  It is unfortunate that the interaction became heated for whatever reason, especially over something as minor as a preventative occlusal guard which was free, but irate behavior and the use of profanity in our waiting room cannot be tolerated as it is unfair to our other patients. 
  

  
  

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