Community Dental Care

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/10/30) */
I was very concerned when it was brought to my attention that a patient was not pleased with the service my team and I had providedUnfortunately, these concerns were not expressed to me during the appointment and it was only after the patients
had left that I was made aware that they were extremely dissatisfiedI strive for professional and caring doctor, patient relationships and I was very disappointed to hear a patient was unhappy
I did the exams for both patients and oversaw the cleanings that were done by a licensed hygienist and dental assistantTo my knowledge, this was the first ever visit to a dentist for both patients, and they were very cooperative during the exams and cleaningsFollowing their exam, I informed the boys' mother that they both had cavities and offered to take care of them at the time, since I had availabilityIf I came across as unfriendly or the staff seemed unprofessional, the mother was given an opportunity at this time to not continue with treatmentI was sure not to force or coerce the patients or care takers into getting the fillings done at this time, I was merely giving them opportunity to eliminate a second visit for future filling appointmentsThere are other dentists at my office and patients are welcome to reschedule a return and be seen by a different dentist
During the initial exam, I was unable to point out or identify the children's cavities on the x-rays because they were small enough they did not appear on the x-raysIt is common for small fillings to be administered without using any anesthetic, which was the case for both patientsThe alternative would be to numb the tooth, which requires a shotIf a child has never had dental work done (such as this case) I try to avoid giving a shot at the first visit because it usually scares him or her and I don't want anyone to have a bad first experience at the dentistI make sure to instruct the patient "if it hurts, please raise your hand and I'll be sure to stop." For children, my dental assistants know to watch the facial expression of the patient in case the child doesn't understand the instructions or might be scared to raise their hand (my sight is focused on the tooth and my assistants have a better view of the patient's eyes)I want to ensure to the patient that they have control in what is going on and that they know I will not ignore the pain if they have any
In the case of the patients on this day, I recall the point when they raised their hands which happened to coincide with me finishing my work on the current tooth that was causing them pain and being ready to move on to the next toothThe underlying cause of that pain was that the patient had a few cavities where the deepest part was right on the verge of what he could feel and thus he felt it for a second just as I was finishing with that toothI would never keep drilling on a tooth if a patient expressed that it was hurting
I distinctly remember that for the year old's appointment, the only issue thus far was that he had raised his hand a few times but there were no other concerns pertaining to the drilling procedure that were raised during the appointmentAlthough the patient had a loose baby tooth, I didn't do a filling on it as was assumedI only worked on permanent teeth this day(I was unaware with any problems at all during the year old's appointment.)
The first time I was aware of the year old being truly uncomfortable was after we finished the drilling and proceeded to put the filing in the toothIn order to place the filling, the tooth must be dryAny moisture (saliva or water) that gets on the tooth during the process can compromise the integrity of the fillingIn order to keep the tooth dry, we use cotton rolls to keep the tongue to the side and help soak up the saliva, a cheek shield to keep the cheek out of the way, and a mouth prop to make sure the patient stays openThis is a lot to go in to someone's mouth, but it's necessary to keep the tooth dry and insure the filling will lastWhen placing the filling, it doesn't hurt the tooth at allThere is a lot of material in his mouth and it is uncomfortable, but it would not be inflicting tooth painAt this point, the patient's gag reflex was triggered, which very likely scared or embarrassed him, and he started crying at this timeSince multiple small holes had been drilled into the teeth, it was necessary that we fill each of those holes to finish the appointmentOnce the patient was calm, we proceededThe patient cooperated during the whole appointment so we were able to finish the appointment as quickly as possible, despite the occasional gag reflexI tried to alleviate this issue as best as possible by giving him multiple breaks, encouraging him to breathe through his nose, and having a children's movie on in the background to help distract him
This was a long appointment, and moving forward, I will suggest scheduling appointments like these into two separate days (which was offered at this appointment before continuing on with the fillings)
I apologize that you felt like you were mistreated and there was not a second folltelephone callWe all strive to give the best possible treatment at Community Dental Care
***copied and pasted from email
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 9, 2015/11/02) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do no accept the response from Community Dental CareDr*** was obviously not this thorough with us in real personIn person, she was not professionally thorough as what she appears to be in her responseIt looks like Dr *** keeps trying to justify herself and not seeing the issue here, which is that it's not about what she "supposedly" told us, but whether as a dentist, did she treat her patient well and not neglect their worries or concernsAll she said was (and I quote) "They won't need anesthetic, because it shouldn't hurtThey shouldn't feel a thing." That's what she constantly told us and OF COURSE THAT IS WHY WE WENT AHEAD WITH IT, because we trust herwe felt neglected and mistreated when the child constantly raised his hands about 4-times total (I was very surprised because Dr *** gave us her word and told us they should not feel a thing) , and by this time I was very worriedThe child was crying by the 4th time, because there was something OBVIOUSLY hurting him.I want to add that the child did very well for his first time, as mentioned from Dr *** in her responseBut Dr *** neglected our worries and concerns we had at this pointBy this time I was very very concern and I had asked Dr *** multiples of time, "I thought you said it shouldn't hurtBut,it's obvious he's feeling a lof of pain."Instead of offering a solution, she just shush us up and said "It shouldn't hurtIt shouldn't hurt." Dr *** assured us that "he's probably just uncomfortable with the mouth gag, because it makes him feel like he can't breathe." Dr *** was also very unfriendly on how she used the mouth gag on the child.After the child raising his hands multiples of time already, Dr *** suggested to take a breakWhen the process was resumed, same thing was happening and THAT IS WHY WE DIDN'T FINISHED CAVITIES filings because he had That's how much it hurts and she knew it all along.She was actually the one to tell us to reschedule for the fillings since she knew that it was hurting the boy but we were not aware that she was giving us informationFrom her response, she mentioned that in the x rays, " I was unable to point out or identify the children's cavities on the x-rays because they were small enough they did not appear on the x-rays." She continued to say " It is common for small fillings to be administered without using any anesthetic, which was the case for both patients." At the end of her response she added " I recall the point when they raised their hands which happened to coincide with me finishing my work on the current tooth that was causing them pain and being ready to move on to the next toothThe underlying cause of that pain was that the patient had a few cavities where the deepest part was right on the verge of what he could feel and thus he felt it for a second just as I was finishing with that toothI would never keep drilling on a tooth if a patient expressed that it was hurting." Never once did she stop to be so "professionally thorough" as she did there in her responseAfter reading her response, I still feel like this dental really does not care about their patientShe clearly states that she acknowledged that the deepest part of his cavities was right on the verge of what he could feelNow that we know that, and we really felt we were lied toWe were mistreatedWe were not even aware of thisShe never once mentioned "oh, by the way, he could feel some pain because the cavities were deeper then I thought so if you like me to use anesthetic, I will" and she never once own up to her responsibility as a dentistBut instead, insistingly told us opposite of what she stated in her responseObviously if she was straight up with us, we would have known that it would caused the boys pain, and we would have went ahead and let them know that we would prefer anesthetic, but since we were not aware of the pain, we TRUST Dr ***But I am sadden to see that it took this far just to get them to give an explanation to their patientI talked with the clinical Manager *** there at Community Dental Care a few hours when we got home, and I was on the verge of crying while talking to *** because that's how much I felt we got mistreatedI felt so much better after talking to the manager *** because he told me he will do everything he can to address the issue to Dr *** about why she made the decision she did, and he will follow back up with meHe was very sympatheticHe was going to call me within a few daysA month went by, and I had no follow up from this dental place*** gave me his words and after speaking with him, I trust that he would be able to get down to the bottom of everything and to ease our mindThe response and care we've received only leads to showing that this Community Dental Care does not care at all about any of their patient and the service people receivedI've lost sleep over this, tossed and turned at night,emotionally distressed, worrying about why such clinic would lied to us, and hurt the boysI felt personally responsible for the pain they have caused the boys because the boys had not gone in to any dental work, and I had put my trust in Community Dental Care to treat them right and be truthful in their servicesI will not accept this responseI wish that there was a way where this Community Dental Care needs to be evaluated and be investigated by professionalsI know I'm not the only family who has gotten treated this wayI hope that other families comes out because this dental place is NOT professional in their work and as a business as a whole

We value the privacy of our patients and adhere to privacy standardsWe have reached out to the patient regarding their concerns.Thank you,Community Dental Care

I am rejecting this response because:
 I do not feel that they did anything for me in regards to this matter. They are...

not or were not willing to make any monetary funds do to the fact that I already received 40 % off the bill. This bill stands at 613.00 right now, which will take me several monthys to pay this off, living on my income. I am not or was not asking for a lot but something   like 100.00 would have been nice. I will not go back to them every nor will I let others on low income know about this company. Thank you very much for you time and effort in regards to this matter. [redacted]