Thread by @empath_angry

"Pulling Teeth: The Deception of Aspen Dental"

Catchy name for a documentary, isn't it @AspenDental?

You have fucked with the wrong woman.

#StayTuned

THREAD:

PULLING TEETH: The Deception of Aspen Dental—"A Timeline"

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You've heard of "Don't F*UCK With Cats"?

Well, this is me, on November 2, speaking to a corporate representative of @AspenDental named Ashley...

This (long) thread details how I got here.

And don't worry. It doesn't end in a GoFundMe account.

I'm not asking for money.

I'm just asking that you read this and, if it pisses you off, RT it.

Because @AspenDental broke the second unwritten rule of the Internet...

Don't F*UCK With a Journalist

And, now, it's time to expose @AspenDental for the crooks that they really are...

Allow me to start at the beginning...

When I went to see @AspenDental back in January, I knew I was in for major work.

Let's just say, "Drugs are bad," and, while I had left them behind years prior, my teeth never got the memo.

I had just finished a round of emergency antibiotics, obtained from another dentist, for an infection in my lower teeth/gums that had caused the right side of my face to swell up.

It was time to swallow my lifelong—but, if you are GenX, totally reasonable—terror of dentists...

It was a terror about which I was very clear when I scheduled my first consult with the newly opened Citrus Heights Aspen Dental office.

The scheduler made me feel comfortable. She answered all my questions.

Having gone through their site, I was feeling good about my 1st visit.

I went in their *knowing* I needed upper and lower dentures.

I was realistic about what that meant for me going forward.

I wasn't expecting anything they weren't advertising.

I was also blessed.

My father was generously paying for this. Essentially, it was, he explained, an advance on what would be my inheritance.

Given my relatively young age, we both agreed I should go for what an office girl later called the "Rolls Royce of dentures," the Comfilytes—something that would last and I could feel confident wearing.

My first appointment did nothing to discourage me.

In fact, following x-rays and an examination, I was told by the dentist that he would keep six of my lower teeth (including, to my surprise, the one that had just been so badly infected).

He would fit me for a partial on the bottom, of the same Comfilytes line and quality.

I confirmed that I would receive a temporary partial and was assured it was part of the purchase.

Temporaries were, he said, a necessary part of the procedure, as my gums would shrink as they healed.

"This was just a necessary step to getting a final, perfect fit."

We didn't really spend much time discussing the implants option.

First, as I told him, I have a history of Cushing's Disease, which does a number on your bone density. I'm not sure my jaws could take the much pricier implants, even if I could afford them—which I can not.

And they couldn't ascertain whether or not I was a viable candidate for implants, anyway. That takes an oral surgeon, and, while I was told they would have one at their office "soon," they currently didn't have one on staff.

[In my entire experience with them, they never did acquire one.]

So, full uppers and a partial on the bottom was, we all agreed, the best course of action for the best outcome.

Reassured by their website and by the staff's enthusiasm, I returned on 1/12 to have impressions made for the temporary top denture and bottom partial.

It was at this second appointment that we paid IN FULL for my "million-dollar smile"...

$9,150— And for that, in addition to the million-dollar smile, I was assured I could relax, because according to @AspenDental, I would get "no surprises" and "they'd have my back."

A week later, I had all of my upper teeth extracted and was fitted with the temporary upper denture.

I do believe I was given antibiotics, both in the form of a prescription (at the previous appointment) and in the form of an injection as part of the extractions.

I can not confirm this, because, despite requesting it, I have not received a copy of my file.

Two weeks later, I returned for a cleaning of the six lower teeth that would be saved, cavity fillings in those teeth, and the extraction of the remaining teeth.

I was given a temporary partial. I was told that, although there were still signs of infection in my lower teeth, my upper gums were healing nicely.

Everything looked good.

Now came the wait. It would take six months for my gums to fully heal and for any swelling to go down. At that time, they would take the impressions for my Comfilytes.

I was to come back if I experienced any pain, sores or unreasonable discomfort, so he could make adjustments. It's a 90-minute drive, one way, to Citrus Heights from my tiny mountain town, but I told him I would.

On June 1, I went back for just such an adjustment. It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to eat and reinserting the partial after cleaning was nearly impossible. Plus, I was still experiencing pain in my lower remaining teeth.

I was told that this was simply because the dura was exposed on a tooth and it would be dealt with after I received my permanent dentures.

Everything else, I was told, looked great.

I quickly needed another adjustment on the partial. It had never fit correctly, and now it wasn't staying put at all, despite being anchored to two lower teeth. I was pretty much living off Ensure supplement drinks.

Three subsequent appointments for another adjustment were cancelled by Aspen Dental.

I was told the dentist had "hurt his ankle" and should be back soon.

I saw him for the last time on 6/29.

By my scheduled 7//20 appointment, at which I was to take the impressions for my upper and lower teeth, he was gone.

No explanation was given.

I was told they'd have a new dentist in a few weeks, or I could go to their Elk Grove location.

I decided, because I wanted continuity of care through the final stages of this process, I could wait a few more weeks. The scheduler thanked me for my understanding and loyalty.

My next appointment finally happened on 8/3, with a different dentist.

She examined my mouth, made adjustments to the partial, told me not to worry about the sensitivity I continued to experience.

She confirmed that my final appointment, the following week, was for a wax fitting of my new teeth. Any additional issues would be handled at that time...

...by another dentist, because she, too, was out of there.

On the morning of 8/10, I received a call saying that they would not be able to see me until the beginning of September, when a new, permanent dentist would be starting.

September soon became October.

And on 10/5, instead of a wax fitting, I was given new X-rays.

The new, "permanent-for-realz" dentist then informed me that my remaining teeth had degraded (new cavities, more bone loss) since my first consult and she refused to fit me for my partial, because she had "integrity" and a lower partial was certain to soon fail.

Additionally, she stated a partial could make things worse, as it would be anchored to and pulling on unstable teeth...

Like the one I'd been left wearing for months?

Whatever.

I now had two options: A full, unanchored denture on the bottom or implants.

She made it clear she thought I should see an oral surgeon about implants, despite the fact that they would cost a minimum of an additional $5,000 per implant.

It was also made clear that, regardless of a second opinion or which option I chose, I would have to pay for it.

This didn't, she stressed, happen overnight.

Clearly I was not committed enough to my oral hygiene practices.

I see. This was my fault.

Not that of the dentist who examined me on four subsequent visits and said nothing of any developing problems.

Not that of the substitute dentist who examined me and was quite happy to proceed.

I asked, if the rescue of my remaining teeth demanded such a rigorous regimen, why were my claims of continued pain ignored?

Why was I allowed to go so long in between appointments without a check-up to ensure they were stable?

Why were two out of three dentists happy to sell me something that was doomed to fail?

She had no answers for me. She implied it really didn't matter, because this was were we were now.

It was agreed I should go home, weigh my options, and I would contact the officer manager, Maninder, and the regional manager, Margarita Garcia, when I knew how I wanted to proceed.

The news was devastating to me, but on 10/11, after careful consideration, I sent them both the following email:

After receiving no response, I called Margarita Garcia.

She, like Dentist #3, told me to get a second opinion. I told her I didn't feel I needed one, I trusted the new dentist's assessment.

My issue was with the financial obligation of Aspen Dental, on a corporate level, to complete the process I had begun under their advisement: Fit me for full lower Comfilytes and give me the "million-dollar smile" I signed up for, at the agreed upon and fully-paid price.

She told me that wasn't going to happen.

Furthermore, she told me I wouldn't be satisfied with full lower dentures.

According to her, "they are only good for around six months, then they don't fit properly and move around, even with adhesive."

So... you routinely sell patients full dentures that you believe suck?

I mentioned this was feeling a LOT like bait and switch, and given my difficulty even eating, they had me over a barrel.

Still, I also stressed that I didn't want this to go to court, but added if it did, as a former editor, I knew how to create a media storm around it.

She hastily ended the call.

On October 25, much to my surprise, I received a check in the mail from Aspen's corporate office.

No explanation. No enclosed note.

Just a check for $1,241.20.

I immediately sent the following email, along with a photo of the check, to Maninder and Margarita, to which I received no response.

On 11/5, I spoke with Ashley, at Aspen Dental's corporate office, via telephone.

She informed me that the check was sent for services not rendered; I had been dismissed as a patient from Aspen Dental (I am still waiting on the promised letter that is meant to explain this); no one else would speak to me about this matter...

...and if I were to sue anyone, it would have to be the Citrus Heights location, not Aspen Dental Corporate.

So, to recap, I have paid nearly $10,000 upfront for something I never received.

Instead, to show for it, I have six painful, degrading teeth in my skull and two ill-fitting dentures that were never intended to be anything but temporary, until my gums healed.

And Aspen Dental feels that $1,241.20—an amount for which I still have no understanding or explanation—is all that I am entitled to receive.

To punctuate their insult and injury, they have fired me as patient and now refuse to discuss my case with me.

Which brings us to this phone call...

...and to my original point:

I may have gone into your office naive and trusting, @AspenDental. That was definitely my bad.

But you have re-awakened the investigator in me.

You don't F*CK with journalists, @AspenDental...

Because once we put our digging boots on, there's no telling what we may unearth.

#StayTuned
#PullingTeeth
#AspenDental

/end

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