My Dentist Lied about giving me an X-ray, ruined my teeth, now stuck with them because Insurance.

[DepressedAWD]

A little backstory: I was raised with neglectful parents my teeth weren't taken care of as a kid, as I got older I was an idiot and didn't brush them plus have SEVERE dental anxiety and need to take medications just to make it through the appointment. They almost all have cavities and are in very bad pain so I finally decided to the dentist.

I've been seeing a dentist for about 5 visits this past year. The first visit before he even really exams my teeth he immediately says I'll need braces even though I've never been told this the few times I did go to the dentist in the past nor do my teeth even remotely look that crooked except for the front 2 and its a very small slant, nothing poking out.

He then probes my teeth and reads off numbers to the hygienist who logs them, I assume saying which teeth need work on but I don't know for sure as he never takes any time to explain anything to me and is a rush to get me in and out of there. He then sends me to get a cleaning, (and Idk if I just had very bad plaque and was overdo but I left there with way larger gaps in between them than I ever had before) The next several appointments he fills various teeth.

With each appointment my mouth stays in more and more excruciating pain after the fillings are over. Last filling I brought this up at the appointment and pointed to a tooth that was giving me particular trouble. He said it was fine but proceeded to drill and "fill" it more, and I believe in the process of either filling that one or the one next to it he damaged another tooth.

This tooth in particular didnt have a deep cavity and he made it so sensitive I can barely floss it without jumping. This tooth gave me no pain or sensativity prior to this appointment nor could I even see a cavity with this particular tooth.

It's now been 2 months, I've been eating Ibuprofen like candy and my teeth are in WORST condition than before they were filled. All of my teeth are now hot and cold sensitive, I can barely chew with any of them not so much as a soft food like SLICED black olives it would send me through the roof. They sometimes hurt for no reason, or air hurts them or chewing wrong hurts them, or breathing hurts them. They literally hurt more than if I never got them filled.

So I call and make an appointment for a new dentist at the same office. She sits down with me and I tell her about all the issues my teeth are giving me and how the last dentist shook them off.

I know im not a dentist but before you defend the old dentist, He lied about giving me an X-ray.

New dentist goes over my chart and informs me the old dentist gave me an X-ray back in march according to the computer, He did not and never has. I've gotten X-rays when I've had to get teeth extracted and she GAVE me one this appointment, he did not give me one then nor ever.

Im trying to keep calm and plead with her just to please fix my teeth as I can't take this pain, I even say I don't want the others filled before the ones giving me trouble are fixed because if THOSE also give me issues, I will literally have no other teeth to chew with.

She tells me she can't

According to her, I can't change dentists at this place because of insurance, she doesn't really explain but I ask her If I wait a large amount of time (thinking maybe it's because I just got the last dentist) THEN can I switch because I do not want to go back to that man.

She fakes concern and says "yes but we want to get your teeth fixed now".

If anyone needs to know said insurance its Masshealth which was with tufts but now it's called Care plus? I'm on SSI and too poor to pay out of pocket.

Is there anything I can do? I don't want to go to this dentist again but I'm popping Ibuprofen so much and want this pain gone.

 

[Busybee]

Have you discussed your problem with the insurance company? If the practice have lied about your x rays perhaps they have lied about the insurance terms too. Because it seems to me that the second dentist simply does not want to have to fix her colleague's mistakes. It's not unusual for that to be the case in a practice. So I would ask your insurance company what to do in your circumstances.

 

[MattKW]

If Dentist2 said that Dentist1 took an Xray of you in March, then it should be on the computer too (not just the item number). Did she find the Xray and show you? Did you ask to see it?

 

[DepressedAWD]

All she did was look up on the computer and say when he did the X-ray, The computer was behind the chair and i was so upset I didnt think to ask to see it. She ended up taking one and now I'm worried if I ask for it, they'll just give me that one to cover their ass. I have another appointment coming up and Im not even going to let the guy fill my teeth and am just going to ask for "both" X-rays, is it possible to tell if its the same one or not? like are fillings apparent on X-rays so I can tell if they just gave me 2 copies of the same one?

I figure If i can get the X-rays and have proof they lied I can call insurance since I have "evidence" versus just my word.

 

[Busybee]

Yes fillings are apparent on x rays so any treatment you have had will be recorded. I don't know the rules in your country but you should normally be entitled to all your medical records including x rays. In any case there must be an external body in your country that can investigate your concerns if you think that the practice is behaving unprofessionally. Any dental authority should be able to audit all your records and check whether any impropriety has taken place.

 

[MattKW]

Sure, ask for digital copies of both of them and post them here or on Imgur. Sometimes it's possible to tell Xrays apart just by looking at them, and usually they come with attached metadata that gives the date.

 

[DepressedAWD]

Will do, thank you!!