Awful story on 20/20 about Small Smiles - torturing children

[Anonymous]

Has anyone else seen this? This makes me so sad for these children.

[Anonymous]

Gross. I'm never letting my kid go with a dentist or doctor alone.

Here's the video:

http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read/1414752/Do_you_take_your_child_to_Small_Smiles_Caution_This_video_is_emotionally_hard_to_watch

[Anonymous]

Yes, saw it on the news yesterday. One boy had 16!!!! baby root canals done in 1 go. This shakes trust in the whole medical establishment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, saw it on the news yesterday. One boy had 16!!!! baby root canals done in 1 go. This shakes trust in the whole medical establishment.

Exactly!!!!!!!!! Every dentist across this nation should be outraged, and silent no more.

[Anonymous]

That was horrible. Listening to that 4 year old made me want to vomit. Don't understand how people can be so callous.

[Anonymous]

I ran into problems with my son at a pediatric dentist here in MD. They let me go back with my children but the filled teeth that didn't need to be filled and when I asked for x-rays and records they wouldn't give me the complete set of records. They did, most likely, unnecessary fillings on my four year old and when I took him back for his six month check up every filling had fallen out. Seven of them. I didn't question it at the time because he is a biter and it's hard to brush and floss his teeth. When the fillings had all fallen out I began to think that I had been had. When I questioned the treatment practices at that clinic my children were kicked out of the practice. It got ugly because they owed me some money and when I went to the office to collect it (because they refused to talk to me on the phone) the told me they had called the police on me and that I was trespassing and I needed to leave. The police never showed up and I left with a full refund.

I took my son to my dentist and his teeth were just ruined. My dentist came up with a treatment plan but didn't feel comfortable doing all that work on such a young patient and refered us to a pediatric dentist. The pediatric dentist that we saw agreed with most of the work my dentist recommended but also thought he would wait and see on one small cavity. The pediatric dentist and I discussed the practice where my son had been treated before and he said he was familiar with them and that they gave the staff a bonus for every patient that went through the door. He said that a couple of the fillings they had just put the drill on the tooth to break the surface so they could fill it. He said that everything the old practice had done was most likely unethical but proving it in a court of law would be difficult. My course of action now is working through the insurance company that paid for all the services that were provided.

[Anonymous]

I am in health care and I find this report to be a bit distorted.
First, the unnecessary filling of teeth is always unacceptable. That could cause permanent damage. All parents should try to take a look themselves before anyone drills a permanent tooth.
The fact that medicare pays so little for these children to receive care, must be very frustrating to the dentists. They often average less than $10 an hour when you consider all the work that goes into it. That is why these cases should be spread out. No one dentists should try to care for all of these kids.
The boards that they use to strap the children down are not unreasonable. They are used to circumcise babies, and anesthesia has its own risks. I hold my child down in a wrestler's grip to get him trough a dental visit. I will not allow use of drugs and he will outgrow his fear, but we need to get through the appointment. We could be there all day talking, and it will not make a difference. When it is over, he is cool since nothing really hurt. I am not suggesting that adults not try to talk the child through it, but sometimes it does not work. That said, they should have allowed the parents to be with the children to help allay anxiety.
The case with the child crying while receiving an anesthetic gas was complex. The child might have been disinhibited by the gas, so the screams are difficult to judge. He might be completely amnestic, in those cases, it is best not to have the parents around, since they might not understand the situation.
Dental care in this demographic is problematic, but the parents need to take some blame. Yes, blame. Many of these children never brush their teeth and eat a ton of sugar. It seems like the poorer the child, the more candy! That has to do with ignorance rather than money. Parents need to educate themselves about caring for their own children. If they can't afford the care, then they should take measures to prevent the problems. Harsh I know.
It is a messy viscous cycle.
Medicare should pay dentists more so that these kids can go to regular dental offices and avoid these mills. Parents should be educated, and stop believing that they have no power to keep their children healthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I ran into problems with my son at a pediatric dentist here in MD. They let me go back with my children but the filled teeth that didn't need to be filled and when I asked for x-rays and records they wouldn't give me the complete set of records. They did, most likely, unnecessary fillings on my four year old and when I took him back for his six month check up every filling had fallen out. Seven of them. I didn't question it at the time because he is a biter and it's hard to brush and floss his teeth. When the fillings had all fallen out I began to think that I had been had. When I questioned the treatment practices at that clinic my children were kicked out of the practice. It got ugly because they owed me some money and when I went to the office to collect it (because they refused to talk to me on the phone) the told me they had called the police on me and that I was trespassing and I needed to leave. The police never showed up and I left with a full refund.

I took my son to my dentist and his teeth were just ruined. My dentist came up with a treatment plan but didn't feel comfortable doing all that work on such a young patient and refered us to a pediatric dentist. The pediatric dentist that we saw agreed with most of the work my dentist recommended but also thought he would wait and see on one small cavity. The pediatric dentist and I discussed the practice where my son had been treated before and he said he was familiar with them and that they gave the staff a bonus for every patient that went through the door. He said that a couple of the fillings they had just put the drill on the tooth to break the surface so they could fill it. He said that everything the old practice had done was most likely unethical but proving it in a court of law would be difficult. My course of action now is working through the insurance company that paid for all the services that were provided.

You don't have to sue. There is another route. Just call the board of medicine and report him. It will be investigated. It is not always about money, sometimes just ethics.

[Anonymous]

23:35, you need to tell us the name of those thugs who did that to you. They must be stopped. But you've got to tell us who they are. Don't be part of the problem by keeping their dirty secrets. I am so sorry that happened to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ran into problems with my son at a pediatric dentist here in MD. They let me go back with my children but the filled teeth that didn't need to be filled and when I asked for x-rays and records they wouldn't give me the complete set of records. They did, most likely, unnecessary fillings on my four year old and when I took him back for his six month check up every filling had fallen out. Seven of them. I didn't question it at the time because he is a biter and it's hard to brush and floss his teeth. When the fillings had all fallen out I began to think that I had been had. When I questioned the treatment practices at that clinic my children were kicked out of the practice. It got ugly because they owed me some money and when I went to the office to collect it (because they refused to talk to me on the phone) the told me they had called the police on me and that I was trespassing and I needed to leave. The police never showed up and I left with a full refund.

I took my son to my dentist and his teeth were just ruined. My dentist came up with a treatment plan but didn't feel comfortable doing all that work on such a young patient and refered us to a pediatric dentist. The pediatric dentist that we saw agreed with most of the work my dentist recommended but also thought he would wait and see on one small cavity. The pediatric dentist and I discussed the practice where my son had been treated before and he said he was familiar with them and that they gave the staff a bonus for every patient that went through the door. He said that a couple of the fillings they had just put the drill on the tooth to break the surface so they could fill it. He said that everything the old practice had done was most likely unethical but proving it in a court of law would be difficult. My course of action now is working through the insurance company that paid for all the services that were provided.

You don't have to sue. There is another route. Just call the board of medicine and report him. It will be investigated. It is not always about money, sometimes just ethics.

And this creates a traceable record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in health care and I find this report to be a bit distorted.
First, the unnecessary filling of teeth is always unacceptable. That could cause permanent damage. All parents should try to take a look themselves before anyone drills a permanent tooth.
The fact that medicare pays so little for these children to receive care, must be very frustrating to the dentists. They often average less than $10 an hour when you consider all the work that goes into it. That is why these cases should be spread out. No one dentists should try to care for all of these kids.
The boards that they use to strap the children down are not unreasonable. They are used to circumcise babies, and anesthesia has its own risks. I hold my child down in a wrestler's grip to get him trough a dental visit. I will not allow use of drugs and he will outgrow his fear, but we need to get through the appointment. We could be there all day talking, and it will not make a difference. When it is over, he is cool since nothing really hurt. I am not suggesting that adults not try to talk the child through it, but sometimes it does not work. That said, they should have allowed the parents to be with the children to help allay anxiety.
The case with the child crying while receiving an anesthetic gas was complex. The child might have been disinhibited by the gas, so the screams are difficult to judge. He might be completely amnestic, in those cases, it is best not to have the parents around, since they might not understand the situation.
Dental care in this demographic is problematic, but the parents need to take some blame. Yes, blame. Many of these children never brush their teeth and eat a ton of sugar. It seems like the poorer the child, the more candy! That has to do with ignorance rather than money. Parents need to educate themselves about caring for their own children. If they can't afford the care, then they should take measures to prevent the problems. Harsh I know.
It is a messy viscous cycle.
Medicare should pay dentists more so that these kids can go to regular dental offices and avoid these mills. Parents should be educated, and stop believing that they have no power to keep their children healthy.

I meant Medicaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I ran into problems with my son at a pediatric dentist here in MD. They let me go back with my children but the filled teeth that didn't need to be filled and when I asked for x-rays and records they wouldn't give me the complete set of records. They did, most likely, unnecessary fillings on my four year old and when I took him back for his six month check up every filling had fallen out. Seven of them. I didn't question it at the time because he is a biter and it's hard to brush and floss his teeth. When the fillings had all fallen out I began to think that I had been had. When I questioned the treatment practices at that clinic my children were kicked out of the practice. It got ugly because they owed me some money and when I went to the office to collect it (because they refused to talk to me on the phone) the told me they had called the police on me and that I was trespassing and I needed to leave. The police never showed up and I left with a full refund.

I took my son to my dentist and his teeth were just ruined. My dentist came up with a treatment plan but didn't feel comfortable doing all that work on such a young patient and referred us to a pediatric dentist. The pediatric dentist that we saw agreed with most of the work my dentist recommended but also thought he would wait and see on one small cavity. The pediatric dentist and I discussed the practice where my son had been treated before and he said he was familiar with them and that they gave the staff a bonus for every patient that went through the door. He said that a couple of the fillings they had just put the drill on the tooth to break the surface so they could fill it. He said that everything the old practice had done was most likely unethical but proving it in a court of law would be difficult. My course of action now is working through the insurance company that paid for all the services that were provided.

You don't have to sue. There is another route. Just call the board of medicine and report him. It will be investigated. It is not always about money, sometimes just ethics.

It's not about money for me either. They of course did this all to my special needs child and not my other child which makes me more upset. They sedated him and he became violent so they used the papoose (sp?) on him and when they wanted to refill his teeth that's the course of action they wanted to do again. I refused and asked them to consider a different treatment plan and that's when all hell broke loose.
I thought if I went through the insurance they would investigate for fraud and it could be done that way.
23:41 I am not protecting them I just don't feel comfortable sharing the name of the practice at this time. Not until I have everything in order. Then I will shout from the roof tops about this dentist who has damaged my child.

[Anonymous]

This story is just awful!

[Anonymous]

I had a horrible experience at the dentist. I will never allow my children alone with a doctor. It was non sexual too so when you think about what could possibly happen that could make an adult women NEVER step feet in a dentist it doesnt have to be about sex! I absolutely loathed a man and had no idea why until he told me he was a dentist lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I ran into problems with my son at a pediatric dentist here in MD. They let me go back with my children but the filled teeth that didn't need to be filled and when I asked for x-rays and records they wouldn't give me the complete set of records. They did, most likely, unnecessary fillings on my four year old and when I took him back for his six month check up every filling had fallen out. Seven of them. I didn't question it at the time because he is a biter and it's hard to brush and floss his teeth. When the fillings had all fallen out I began to think that I had been had. When I questioned the treatment practices at that clinic my children were kicked out of the practice. It got ugly because they owed me some money and when I went to the office to collect it (because they refused to talk to me on the phone) the told me they had called the police on me and that I was trespassing and I needed to leave. The police never showed up and I left with a full refund.

I took my son to my dentist and his teeth were just ruined. My dentist came up with a treatment plan but didn't feel comfortable doing all that work on such a young patient and refered us to a pediatric dentist. The pediatric dentist that we saw agreed with most of the work my dentist recommended but also thought he would wait and see on one small cavity. The pediatric dentist and I discussed the practice where my son had been treated before and he said he was familiar with them and that they gave the staff a bonus for every patient that went through the door. He said that a couple of the fillings they had just put the drill on the tooth to break the surface so they could fill it. He said that everything the old practice had done was most likely unethical but proving it in a court of law would be difficult. My course of action now is working through the insurance company that paid for all the services that were provided.

Can you please post the name of that first pediatric dentistry practice? I want to know. I am looking for one, and want to avoid it.