Rite Family Dental

Review: I purchased a Permanent Partial Denture from Rite Family Dental in lieu of a fixed bridge and I paid for it in advance. When they delivered the partial it did not fit and caused severe pain and discomfort. When I returned for adjustment the office help told me they provided me with a temporary filler INSTEAD OF A PERMANENT PARTIAL DENTURE and it cannot be used for eating. The doctor asked me to come back in a month so he can make adjustments. When I went back to see the doctor, since he could not correct the problem he informed me that they had supplied me with a temporary filler called STAYPLATE and it was not good for eating. I therefore refused to accept the filler and gave it back to the doctor. They refuse to refund me for the product and services that they did not provide. Unfortunately, this business is nothing but a scam. Unethical practice by the doctor who forces his employees to do the same. They provide misleading and untrue information to the patient as well as the insurance company. They get the money first and do not provide the goods and services that they promise. This business is operating unethically. T.hey should be banned from practicingDesired Settlement: Since they did not provide me with any permanent partial denture that I paid for, they should refund me my money

Business

Response:

In respond to your letter regarding case id#[redacted], we have made mandibular (lower) partial - resin base denture to replace teeth #18 and #19 in accordance to patient's insurance. Treatment was completed under patient insurance standard option and patient was explained about his option prior to treatment in regard with difficulties associated with wearing dentures including food impaction, looseness of denture, lack of retention and need for adhesives. This matter was first reported by patient to his insurance and case was dismissed since treatment was performed in accordance to insurance guideline.Thank you for your help to resolve this matter and if you need further information please let us know.Sincerely,Rite Family Dental

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

To: RevDex.com of San Diego

Ref. ID [redacted]

Gentlemen,

Regarding my earlier written correspondence, I would like to

bring to your attention the basis for my claim against Rite Family Dental as

follows and hope you can resolve it to my satisfaction.

1. Rite Family Dental charged my credit card $347.00 for a Permanent Partial Denture and

$8.00 for office visit on 10/6/2014. However, they did not provide me with the

goods and services that they agreed on. They did not deliver the Permanent Partial Denture.

2. The Permanent

Partial Denture that I ordered was supposed to be replacing tooth #18

& 19 for all functional purposes that teeth are designed for. i.e. Eating,

Chewing, Covering the gum, etc. was never delivered to me.

3. Rite Family Dental provided me with a Temporary Filler which I did not accept since it was not

designed for eating or chewing with, as LATER ON explained by both Dr.

[redacted] and also one of the technicians

working for Rite Family Dental. I therefore,

gave it back to Dr. [redacted]. Since then I

had to get a referral from [redacted] and go to a

different dentist to order a Permanent

Partial Denture to replace tooth #18 and #19.

Rite Family Dental provided you with only some of their

office logs. It appears that the erroneous

information provided is neither complete nor comprehensible by a third party to

be understood fully. Unfortunately, you have made a decision based on an

incomplete record and misleading information. Following are the facts of this matter:

On 9/5/2014 I visited Rite Family Dental for consultation on

tooth #19 with a loose gold crown. Upon the X-[redacted] and examination by Dr. [redacted]

it was decided the tooth was decayed and had to be extracted. Therefore, I

authorized the Rite Family Dental to extract tooth #19. Dr. [redacted] recommended

to replace tooth #19 with a permanent bridge once the gum had been healed. My

wife was present and did join the discussion.

On 9/10/2014 we returned to Rite Family Dental for follow up

and X-[redacted] of the gum to make sure there were no bone fragments left in the gum

after the extraction of tooth #19. During this visit Dr. [redacted] provided us with

the cost estimate for a permanent bridge $1,500.00 to replace tooth #19 and

attach to tooth #18. My wife was present and joined the discussion.

At this point there were no other discussions

concerning tooth #18 nor did I have any pain or other problems with that tooth.

It appears that the office log has been written at later dates or modified in

order to support their imaginary story through fabrication.

On 9/26/2014 we visited the Rite Family Dental to arrange

and prepare for a bridge. I asked Dr. [redacted] to make sure tooth #18 is

sufficiently healthy since this tooth also had a gold crown similar to tooth

#19 that was extracted earlier. After removing the crown and taking an X-[redacted],

Dr. [redacted] informed us that we needed to visit an endodontist to have a root

canal done on tooth #18 for additional

$1,000.00 to $1,500.00 before placing a permanent bridge . Again there were no

pain or discomfort with this tooth. I informed Dr. [redacted] that I could not

afford the additional cost and since the gold crown has been removed I would

rather have that tooth extracted. I requested a cost estimate to replacing

tooth #18 and 19 with a one piece Permanent

Partial Denture similar to the one that I have on the upper right side.

Dr. [redacted] office provided us with a cost estimate of $347.00 for a Permanent Partial Denture and

$8.00 office visit. We were going to think about it and make another appointment for the extraction

of tooth #18 . My wife was present and joined the conversation. Again, up to this point I did not have any

problem with tooth #18. My only concern

was connecting a bridge to a tooth that had a crown on it and not knowing how

long it was going to last. Rite Family

Dental record is completely false in this regard.

On 10/6/2014 we returned to Rite Family Dental. We paid the

$355.00 in advance by charging it to American Express. Again there was no pain or discomfort with tooth

#18. Dr. [redacted] extracted tooth #18 and his assistant took an impression of the

gum with two missing teeth. Again my wife was present during the entire time.

On 10/17/2014 I visited the Rite Family Dental to try the

new Permanent Partial Denture. The office helper placed the denture and did

some grinding of the top surface to reduce the contact with upper teeth. When I

got home I was in severe pain and could not eat either. I called the office and

made them aware of the problem. They asked me to come back Tuesday for

adjustment.

On 10/21/2014 I returned to Rite Family Dental office. This

time they had another office personnel looking at the partial and asking what

was the problem. I informed her that the denture was different than I had on my

upper right side, the prongs punctured my gum on both sides of it and I could

not eat with it because of severe pain and some bleeding. She informed me:

1. This is a Temporary Denture and is not a

Permanent Partial Denture.

2. The supplied

Temporary Denture is just a filler and is not designed for Eating / Chewing.

She did more grinding to reduce contact between the

temporary denture and my upper teeth which did not help. When I complained

again she asked me to wait and see the Doctor. When Dr. [redacted] finally came in

he told me it has been such a short time between the tooth extraction and the

denture. He asked me to wait a month and at that time he would take care of it.

Again I was hopeful that they had made a mistake in ordering the partial and

Dr. [redacted] was going to make it right when my gums heal. Up to this point Dr.

[redacted] had not informed me that he had supplied me with a Temporary Partial

Denture instead of a Permanent Partial Denture.

The Rite Family Dental did not provide any more office log

describing my subsequent visit to see Dr. [redacted]. Based on their prior practice,

one can assume they will adjust their office records again to show my next

visit on 11/19/2014.

On 11/19/2014 I visited Rite Family Dental so Dr. [redacted]

could take a new impression and order the Permanent Partial Denture that I had

paid for a month prior to that visit. When Dr. [redacted] arrived, he asked me what

was the problem! He acted as though he did not know the reason for my visit. I

informed him that per his instructions I waited for my gums to heal and I was

there to see about my Permanent Partial

Denture. I reminded him that I experienced severe pain whenever I tried to use

the denture he had provided, and I was back for a resolution. At this point Dr.

[redacted], for the first time, informed

me that what he had provided me was a temporary filler ( STAYPLATE DENTURE). He advised me that this denture is not for

eating and chewing food with. I reminded him that I had ordered and paid

for a Permanent Partial Denture in order to replace tooth #18 & 19 so I

could eat with it and for no other reason. Dr. [redacted] advised me that he could

place a liner to make it more comfortable. He

also said "however, that it would not be a permanent solution and I could

not eat with it like a Permanent Denture." I left the temporary

denture with him and informed his office I was going to a different dentist to

take care of the problem.

Since then I have seen a different dentist that was referred

by Liberty Dental of California for a Permanent Partial Denture. I also did notify Liberty Dental after

visiting the new dentist in order to get a new Permanent Partial Denture.

In summary,

1. Rite Family Dental charged me for a Permanent Partial

Denture and tried to give me a Temporary Filler (Stayplate) instead.

2. Rite Family Dental never warned me that they were going

to switch the ordered appliance with something temporary and of no value to me.

3. Rite family Dental tried to deceive me by not telling me

they were giving me something different than what I had requested.

4. Rite Family Dental mislead Liberty Dental and American

Express by providing incorrect statements and evidence of services.

5. Rite Family Dental lied to Liberty and American Express by providing

them incorrect office logs and missing information. Obviously their records

were modified (re-written) subsequent to my complaints to cover up their scam.

6. This appliance is not functional or useable for eating as

they confirmed it according to their own statements made by Dr. [redacted] and his

assistants. I cannot see how Liberty's Dental Director,

by review of falsified paper work, and

without examining the actual appliance, can assume that what I was given was proper or

functional. For example, the record

shows I went to them on 9/10/14 complaining about "pain on tooth #18", and I was

referred to an endodontist. This is a

complete fabrication. At this point I

was interested only in a bridge to replace tooth #19. I did not have any pain or discomfort with

tooth #18 nor was there any discussion or recommendation by Rite Family Dental

to do any treatment of tooth #18.

There was never any mention of anything concerning tooth #18

until the day I was there for bridge preparation. On that day for the first

time, I questioned the integrity of that tooth. I did not want to pay for a bridge connecting

to tooth #18 without a full examination in order to avoid a potential future

problem which would result in needing to replace a bridge. I was the one who requested a thorough

examination of tooth #18 before proceeding with any bridge work. When he removed the crown on tooth #18 at my

request and took an x-[redacted], he suggested in order to prevent future problems, I

should have a root canal done by an endodonsist before the bridge work is

done. That was when I decided not to

spend that much money and to have #18 extracted. I never experienced any pain

or discomfort with tooth #18 as shown in two separate dates in Rite Family

Dental's report. I decided on the

extraction after he removed the crown and he recommended root canal for

additional costs. So I decided to just

replace #18 and #19 with a permanent

partial denture. I did not want to pay

$1500 to replace #19 with a bridge and replace it again if something goes wrong

with tooth #18 in the future.

To reiterate, Rite Family Dental reporting of pain in tooth

#18 is completely erroneous, false and misleading. I did not have any pain or

discomfort on tooth #18 as the Rite Family Dental's log indicates. I did not see Dr. [redacted] twice in September

for anything relating to pain or discomfort on tooth #18, nor did I wait

over a month until October 6 at which

time I decided to have it extracted. Again, the reason for my concern was I did

not want to pay $1500 for a bridge, and in the future l find out I may have a problem with #18 that is

connected to the bridge. I did not want

to go through replacement of the bridge later on, such as what I heard from

other patients at Dr. [redacted]'s office.

Thus the dental record for 9/10 and 9/26 is a fabrication. Dr. [redacted] was

ready to start working on the bridge for tooth #19 on 9/10/2014 after taking an

X-[redacted] to insure the absence of bone fragments in my gum and there were

absolutely no discussions concerning tooth #18 during that visit. None of the

office visit on 9/10/14 and 9/26/14 had anything to do with tooth #18.

Absolutely I never experienced any pain with #18 nor did I go to Dr. [redacted]

complaining about any pain and discomfort with tooth #18. He was ready to place the bridge and attach

it to tooth #18 as soon as the bridge was ready.

Rite Family Dental's log is erroneous and fabricated to

support their claim of proper treatment. Thus they take your attention away

from the main subject of this complaint

which is they tried to push a temporary denture that was not good for eating/

chewing as claimed by the dentist and also their technician instead of a

Permanent Partial Denture designed to perform in absence to tooth #19 &18.

They avoid discussing their failure in providing me with a Permanent Partial

Denture as it was agreed on and paid for on 10/6/2014

In view of the above, I am asking you to carefully examine

this information and those provided by the Rite Family Dental office. I am

certain a careful examination of these records will further expose the Rite

Family Dental's extent of deceptive practices.

I am appalled to see this type of organizations exist in our

country and are allowed to practice and continue taking advantage of the consumers.

Sincerely,

R. [redacted]

Cc: [redacted]

Regards,

Business

Response:

In response to Case#[redacted] allegation:1- Our office is in care of our patients for more than 12 years and since then we have not advertised in any way except the good word of mouth and referral through our patients. Case#[redacted] was referred to our office by his relative who are still continue to be our patients.2- Case#[redacted] first visit was emergency visit due to pain on tooth #19. After taking x[redacted], intra oral images and exam due to gross decay in to the tooth informed patient tooth could not be restored and the only option was extraction and replacement with implant, bridge or removable denture which patient chose to extract the tooth and he said he would decide later with his option for replacement of tooth #19. On the follow up visit after taking x[redacted] of the tooth #18 with existing crown informed patient tooth #18 had decay all around the tooth and need to remove the crown to evaluate the tooth. After removing the existing crown on tooth #18, because decay was into the pulp with calcified roots informed patient he has to be referred to root canal specialist for further evaluation and treatment through his designated insurance specialist which we did not have any control over selecting the specialist or fee charged by specialist. His allegation of our charges for root canal for $1500 is not true since we are not root canal dentist.3- Case#[redacted] allegation were dismissed both by his insurance company and by American Express.We reviewed Case#[redacted] carefully and we believed that all of the care Case#[redacted] received under our care was appropriate and under his insurance guidelines. We are sorry that here was a breakdown in our relationship. We valued our patients and believe to provide best care and service to our patients.Sincerely,Rite Family Dental