East Fishkill Dental Group

Review: I am appalled at the service and the customer treatment at this dentist office. I came to this office as a new customer and the doctor told me that I needed a root canal because of a dead nerve. He then proceeded to drill out the permanent filling and putting in a temporary one in. I returned home and at night a small amount chipped off. I did not chew any food on that side and accidentally while chewing a soft banana that tooth cracked in half and both sides were moving. I came to the doctor's office and they did not even try to meet me half way regarding what the doctor had done. As a professional, if the tooth was weak, he should have known and noted that and told me. However, nothing was mentioned and I strongly believe that he had probably drilled out not only my old filling but deeper into the tooth and thinned it out. When I and my daughter, who came to the office with me, tried to explain the situation the employs could not give an explanation and called their office manager who then proceeded to scream at my daughter and me, in the face, literally not even one foot away like an unstable mental patient. This happened after we told them that we will complain to the Revdex.com if they cannot meet us half way for the poor service that the doctor provided. I have had multiple root canals on a variety of teeth and have never encountered such a problem. My first visit to this office and such horrible treatment and malpractice. Then they proceeded to quote me almost $3,000 for a bridge and almost $4,000 for an implant. I do not have such money to pay for my tooth and this is a tooth that I need for chewing. If the work was done properly, I would have been able to save it with a crown which would have costed less than half this amount. Without a choice, since I was in pain and it was a Saturday, I had to agree to have my tooth pulled by the oral surgeon and now I cannot chew nor can I even afford to do any other work on it. I also waited an additional 2 hrs to have my tooth pulled. Additionally, the office manager multiple times threw in my face that I have a cheap government insurance and had an attitude as if they were doing me a favor by treating me. Since when do humans will less money get treated as less of a human in this Country?I have never been treated in such a way by an office manager who is supposed to be trained in customer service and in handling a variety of issues with politeness and to try to meet customers at least half way. she practically attacked us while yelling in the entire office with over 10 people sitting in the waiting room. On top of that, 4 of the employees ran and surrounded the room as witnesses. I definitely did not feel like a human being and I did not feel like I was in the USA but in some third world country with no laws, rules or human treatment. I really hope that something can be done so no one else will encounter such treatment in the future.Desired Settlement: When I returned to check the pulled tooth, they told me that the implant would cost $4,000 (the prices in Manhattan aren't even that high) and because they basically broke my tooth where I had to have it pulled out, I need to have them pay for the implant or at least give me some sort of a credit to have it repaired elsewhere. I DO NOT wish to have ANYHING else done in that office. That is why I am requesting $2,000 which is a fair amount (half), when I should be requesting the full amount.

Business

Response:

To Whom It May Concern,

There are always at least two sides to a story. Although Ms. [redacted] is clearly upset and somehow feels wronged, mistreated and even stigmatized, I do not agree at all with her characterization. I will attempt to address each of her complaints chronologically. Ms. [redacted] initially came to the office with pain in her lower left first molar. The old filling was removed and it was apparent that her nerve was exposed and infected which was why her pain existed in the first place. A portion of the nerve was removed and medicated to relieve her pain on an emergency basis and Ms. [redacted] was informed that a root canal was indicated to save the tooth. A temporary filling was placed over the medication.

Approximately 5 days later, Ms. [redacted] returned with a hopelessly vertically fractured tooth that was unrestorable and needed extraction. Regardless of what Ms. [redacted] believes, the tooth did not break because of the treatment done earlier by the dentist she had seen. The tooth had a very large filling with compromised tooth structure preoperatively. It is possible that the tooth originally had an undiagnosed fracture or that it simply broke and was unable to be restored. Perhaps there was a lack of communication regarding all the post-operative possibilities.

All treatment alternatives were explained to the patient and her daughter. There was no screaming on our part. That aspect of her complaint doesn't even make sense. The only yelling anyone in the office remembers was by Ms. [redacted]'s daughter which was directed at our staff and which pretty much everyone addressed believed to be inappropriate. The quotations for replacement of the tooth given to the patient are reasonable alternatives. Her insurance unfortunately provided no allowance for replacement. This was simply explained to her in a matter of fact manner. We do not and did not characterize her insurance as cheap government insurance. None of us talk like that nor do we even believe it. This is either a figment of her imagination or her own internal stigmatization. As a matter of fact Ms. [redacted] never raised her voice or even spoke. She was very cooperative and respectful. It was her daughter that raised her voice and attempted to incite an argument where th ere was none just as she is doing with this complaint. I am sorry that Ms. [redacted] felt marginalized in any way. I am sorry that she had any pain or discomfort. I feel badly that she had to lose her tooth or experience any unpleasantness. Unfortunately that is simply a common occurrence in life that we all experience in some form at some point. I do not feel compelled to apologize for mistreatment as I do not believe there was any. We all work hard in our office to treat everyone with proper respect and dignity and I am comfortable knowing that Ms. [redacted] and her daughter were treated accordingly in this manner. This seems to be a fabricated story or at the very least an exaggerated one to deflect responsibility onto another person. It is not our offices’ fault that Ms. [redacted] broke her tooth and unfortunately needed it extracted. We were simply attempting to help her treat her pain.