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Charles D. Kirksey

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Charles D. Kirksey Reviews (2)

Review: I went in on a Sunday morning as a new patient for emergency services. I needed a tooth pulled. I was in excruciating pain. I was told over the phone that I could come in and have my tooth pulled for $250. The dentist took X-rays and then took unnecessary photographic images of my teeth in addition to the X-rays. He proceeded to recommend a root canal which would cost about $2,700 according to him. This is a lower back jaw tooth. I repeatedly told him that I cannot afford a root canal and would like the tooth pulled. That is what I requested when I called. That is why I came in. This is when things became very unprofessional and abusive. My fiance would be paying for the service so I asked him to have her come back to office to discuss what to do. She told him that same thing I had - that we couldn't afford a root canal. He asked my fiance what she does for a living. She told him she is a CPA. He offered to let us put the charges on a credit card. She told him we do not have one available. He said "I have never seen a CPA that doesn't have a charge card" She explained that we do have credit cards but there is no available balance at this time. He asked if she has a corporate card through her employer. She said yes but it is only to be used for business purposes. He continued to pressure her to use the corporate card even after she explained that type of use is against company policy. He said it would be OK - she should use it and then pay the company back. When she refused to do this he then started asking if we had any friends or family that we could borrow money from. We declined. He continued to push this issue so we explained that our family is not well off and we have been working to get where we are (good job, education, etc.) - which is none of his business anyway. Then he moves on to questioning my fiance about how long she has been working at her current employer. She told him almost a year. He started to ask her why she doesn't have any co-workers to borrow the money from. She said no. He stated "Well haven't you made any girl friends since you have been working there?" She said yes but she would not ask them for money. It is a professional relationship. Then he asked her if she could call her supervisor from work and request to borrow the money from them. She explained that she would not. He indicated that they have known her for almost a year and that it should be OK. She explained that her supervisor changes from client to client but in any case it is not appropriate to borrow money from co-workers. This whole exchange went on for perhaps twenty minutes. I wish I would have stopped and told him he was being unprofessional and this personal information was none of his business. He declined to pull my tooth - even though we could pay for that. So we left without receiving any service. The charges for the visit were $300. He only wrote me a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication after being repeatedly asked. I assume this was another pressure mechanism to get us to consent to a root canal. He also continued to ask my two small children to separate from us and stay in the waiting room without a parent present so he could talk to us.Desired Settlement: I would like the money that I paid him back as I did not receive any relief. He was rude and unprofessional to myself, my fiance, and my two small children. I need that money to see a different dentist to get my tooth pulled.

Business

Response:

September 30, 2013

**. [redacted],

We received your letter on September 15, 2013 regarding individual [redacted] otherwise known according to our records as [redacted]. We appreciate your efforts in this matter.

We will provide you with information regarding our experience with **. [redacted] as per your request. The information provided is reflected in the written patient clinical record which was signed by the individual in two places, the personal history form and a written statement of how and when he wanted to proceed after he was married and had obtained dental insurance (attached).

**. [redacted] has provided you with incorrect and incomplete information. He has spun his story in such a way that it is not reality. As noted above he has omitted certain key information that was documented in his clinical chart in writing and signed by him.

**. [redacted] called our office on Sunday morning and asked us to come in and open the office because he had tooth pain. I called one of our assistants and asked him to come in and assist me with **. [redacted]’s emergency visit. The assistant dropped what he was doing at home and came into the office to help me. I likewise dropped what I was doing and proceeded to the office. The assistant and I met the patient at approximately 11:00 am that Sunday morning. We opened our office for **. [redacted] and turned all of the equipment on. Review of the **. [redacted]’s medical history was unremarkable with no recent illnesses, no allergies and no current medications according to the individual.

The patient filled out the Personal History Form (attached). Part of the form has a section whereby the patient authorized us to take photos and radiographs to be used as diagnostic images. This is standard for all new patients. The x-rays and photographs (attached) were necessary to evaluate which tooth or teeth were having a problem. The images also document the patient’s condition so there is no mistake which tooth or area of the mouth has the problem. Further these diagnostic ite** are essential to evaluate the occlusion, condition and position of the teeth and the teeth’s effect on overall appearance of the patient.

The cost of the periapical x-ray was $25, the cost of the Panelipse x-ray was $100.00, the cost of the nine photos was $75.00, and the cost of the after-hours Sunday visit was $100.00 which totals the $300.00 that the patient was charged. No charge was made for the examination that was performed. No additional charge was made for the extended consult regarding the various treatment options that were presented for consideration by the patient. The female companion was introduced by the patient as his “fiance”. We did not charge for the time we spent on the phone with the female companion’s mother during the appointment, as one of the options for financial arrangements described below. Travel time round trip for my assistant and me combined was approximately one hour. Additionally, we spent another hour and a half in our office addressing **. [redacted]’s dental problem.

Our dental assistant was present during our entire experience with **. [redacted], his female companion and two young children of approximately 7 and 3 years of age, who had accompanied them to our office. Our assistant offered fruit juice and cookies for the children, to the female companion who stated that she was their mother. She readily accepted these items and told that children that if they behaved they would get the juice and cookies in the car on the way home. Meantime the children played together with some building blocks in our reception area which is just across the hall from the treatment room where we were consulting with the **. [redacted] and his female companion. Our assistant stood outside the open door of the treatment room and was able to simultaneously witness both our consult with the individual and female companion as well as visually monitor the safety of the children in the reception area while they played with the building blocks. We could all hear the children while they played with the blocks. As a result of being occupied with the toys the children were not an issue.

**. [redacted] is further mistaken about which tooth he indicated was having the problem. **. [redacted] was examined carefully. The examination was coordinated with the radiographs and intra-oral photos which indicated that his upper right first molar was the tooth giving him pain at the time. The tooth was diagnosed as having deep large areas of decay that can be seen in the photo of the upper arch. The decay had been present for several years and had deepened into the nerve of tooth #3. The tooth was abscessed and causing the pain. We explained all of this to the **. [redacted]. We explained that this was one of his main chewing teeth and he would not chew well without it. While the tooth could be extracted, we explained that is is actually less expensive to save a tooth rather than take it out and have to replace it later with an implant or fixed bridge. He was given the following options:

1. Extraction tooth #3.

2. Endodontic (root-canal) treatment tooth #3.

3. Take antibiotics to give him time until he had obtained dental insurance so he could more adequately afford to save the tooth with endodontic treatment.

Both the he and the female companion stated that they did not have enough funds at the moment to afford the root-canal treatment that day. **. [redacted] stated that he understood the benefit of saving the tooth over extracting it. **. [redacted] stated that he and the female companion were going to be married in approximately two weeks on 8.15.13 and would have dental insurance. In addition to waiting two weeks, we explored with the couple, other alternative options by which they might be able to accomplish treatment that day:

4. Finance the treatment over a period of time. To explore the possibility of offering credit terms to the couple, we asked the female companion about her length and type of employment. The female companion stated that she was a Certified Public Accountant and had been employed as a consultant for about one year. Our questions were intended to determine if her credit score would be adequate for us to finance the work. From what we learned from the female companion it did not appear to be adequate.

5. Consult with a friend or relative who knew them and who had confidence in loaning them the funds for treatment. This is a very common means of funding emergency dental treatment by young couples. The female companion stated that this might be a possibility and called her mother and handed me the phone to explain the tooth situation. The female companion’s mother stated that she had given and given money to the couple and would not give them any more. Regarding **. [redacted]’s statement about the couple to be married in two weeks, she adamantly stated that was incorrect information and that her daughter was not getting married to **. [redacted] in two weeks.

6. After we hung up with the mother, there did not appear to be any way for **. [redacted] to have endodontic treatment started that day. However, despite what the mother of the female companion stated, **. [redacted] insisted that they were getting married in two weeks and that he would have dental insurance after the wedding which would enable him to save the tooth endodontically.

At that point my assistant and I did not know what to believe. However, we took him at his word and did what he wanted. I wrote in the clinical chart that he ultimately decided on Option (3) as what he wanted to do.

“Patient states getting married on 8-15-13 & will have dental insurance. Wants to wait until covered.”

**. [redacted] then signed the written statement (attached). Please see **. [redacted]’s signature in the attached clinical chart just below that written statement.

Consistent with the patient’s above documented choice to wait for dental insurance, I prescribed him three different medications designed to supress the infection and pain and give him additional time to arrange his dental treatment two weeks later (see clinical chart).

In summary, **. [redacted], his female companion companion and the two children were treated with the highest level of care and professionalism. As noted above, our assistant and I spent over two and one-half hours including travel time to come to the office and focus on **. [redacted]’s dental problem. We accommodated the couple and the two children in all respects. **. [redacted] documented his own wishes with his signature in the clinical chart. We earned every bit of the $300.00 he was charged. It does not even cover our overhead expenses for coming in for him.

As noted above, the individual has not been accurate or complete in his letter to you. If he continues with any further untrue and defamatory statements of any kind, we reserve the option of legal action if necessary.

If we can be of any further help to you in this matter please contact us.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that I will drop the matter at this time due to the unwarranted threat of legal action for defamation.

I do not fully agree to the other party's version of the events.

Regards,

I went in on a Sunday morning as a new patient for emergency services. I needed a tooth pulled. I was in excruciating pain. I was told over the phone that I could come in and have my tooth pulled for $250. The dentist took X-rays and then took unnecessary photographic images of my teeth in addition to the X-rays. He proceeded to recommend a root canal which would cost about $2,700 according to him. This is a lower back jaw tooth. I repeatedly told him that I cannot afford a root canal and would like the tooth pulled. That is what I requested when I called. That is why I came in. This is when things became very unprofessional and abusive. My fiance would be paying for the service so I asked him to have her come back to office to discuss what to do. She told him that same thing I had - that we couldn't afford a root canal. He asked my fiance what she does for a living. She told him she is a CPA. He offered to let us put the charges on a credit card. She told him we do not have one available. He said "I have never seen a CPA that doesn't have a charge card" She explained that we do have credit cards but there is no available balance at this time. He asked if she has a corporate card through her employer. She said yes but it is only to be used for business purposes. He continued to pressure her to use the corporate card even after she explained that type of use is against company policy. He said it would be OK - she should use it and then pay the company back. When she refused to do this he then started asking if we had any friends or family that we could borrow money from. We declined. He continued to push this issue so we explained that our family is not well off and we have been working to get where we are (good job, education, etc.) - which is none of his business anyway. Then he moves on to questioning my fiance about how long she has been working at her current employer. She told him almost a year. He started to ask her why she doesn't have any co-workers to borrow the money from. She said no. He stated "Well haven't you made any girl friends since you have been working there?" She said yes but she would not ask them for money. It is a professional relationship. Then he asked her if she could call her supervisor from work and request to borrow the money from them. She explained that she would not. He indicated that they have known her for almost a year and that it should be OK. She explained that her supervisor changes from client to client but in any case it is not appropriate to borrow money from co-workers. This whole exchange went on for perhaps twenty minutes. I wish I would have stopped and told him he was being unprofessional and this personal information was none of his business. He declined to pull my tooth - even though we could pay for that. So we left without receiving any service. The charges for the visit were $300. He only wrote me a prescription for antibiotics and pain medication after being repeatedly asked. I assume this was another pressure mechanism to get us to consent to a root canal. He also continued to ask my two small children to separate from us and stay in the waiting room without a parent present so he could talk to us.

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Description: Dentists

Address: 10611 Judicial Drive, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, 22030

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