I went to Aspen Dental to have an old root canal removed where the tooth underneath had not only fractured but was also infected. I have a factor II blood mutation where my blood clots and I have had a stroke back in 2006 where the blood condition caused the stroke. Aspen is aware of this and has removed a tooth from me back in 2009.After my stroke I was placed on coumadin bumped my head developed a subdural hematoma, had a craniotomy was taken off of the coumadin and now am taking 325 mg of aspirin daily and cannot stop taking the aspirin in order to have any type of surgery, including oral surgery due to being too high of a risk and Aspen Dental is aware of this. I had one extraction by them as I stated earlier in 2009 and the condition that develops is opposite of a dry socket – the exterior heals very quickly and blood pools under the surface and lies on the nerve underneath, causing extreme pain, until the body absorbs the blood – which takes about two weeks. The tooth was infected and I had to wait for the surgery to be done and I had to wait for 8 days. In the meantime I was given antiobiotics and painkillers. After the 8 days I returned to the dental office and was given novacaine and prepared to have the surgery. The dentist that was going to do the surgery was new to the office and unfamiliar to my case and did not review my file before giving me the novacaine. When I reminded him of my blood clotting issue and how I would be having the same pain problem and the blood pooling under the surface, told me he was afraid to do the surgery himself and wanted to wait for the surgeon that came in once a month to do the surgery (it would be another three weeks for the surgeon to come for his monthly rotation – he went to each Aspen office once a month). In the mean time they kept me on antibiotics and rotated painkillers of extra strength vicodin and codeine #3 for the next three weeks. After the three weeks, the surgeon came in, removed the tooth and within a couple of days, I was in a LOT of pain. I called the office to report to them that I felt that the same problem had happened – that the blood had pooled and was causing me an enormous amount of pain and needed help. I was quickly told to go to my primary care provider for further pain treatment and to go to another dentist if I needed further care.. I told him that I not only needed help with pain but I also was scared that I would go into withdrawal if he didn’t help me and he said he didn’t care and he didn’t want to lose his DEA license because of me (I am also epileptic and this would cause me to go have seizures). He accused me of being an addict and he said that to me in front of two of his assistants and within earshot of other patients. The doctor that saw me told me if he wouldn’t help me SHE would. She called him and asked him what the story was and she told me that he told her the same story that I had told her. He then gave me two weeks of codeine #2. The pain continued to be extreme and I called Cigna insurance to get the name of another dentist and to report the situation to them. They said that they would do an investigation on them and they gave me the name of another dentist within the network of the insurance. I called the new dentist and got an appointment with them the next day after explaining the situation to them. He took an x-ray and found that there was a reason for my pain and sent me immediately to another oral surgeon. The new oral surgeon also took x-rays and saw something odd and got authorization from the insurance to do an exploratory surgery, in addition to removing an infected wisdom tooth on the same side of my mouth, but NOT before having to wait an additional 8 days.not only for another infection to heal, but to wait for the oral surgeon to speak to my cardiovascular surgeon and my hematologist. In the meantime, he placed me on antiobiotics and painkillers. On the 8th day he did two separate surgeries. I have severe fibromyalgia and he knew this before doing the surgery. The surgery was done on a Friday and Monday I called the office wanting to know why the pain was as bad as when the novacaine had worn off after surgery on Friday. I asked him for pain meds and his assistant said that the message was “no more meds because he didn’t want the drugstore bothering him because he had given me pain meds twice before the surgery and he wanted me to “tough it out”. The next day the pain was so bad I called again and said I wanted to come and have him take a look because something was wrong. The following day I had him take a look and he said that he thought it was just the fibromyalgia trigger points that had flared and to tough it out. Friday night I was vomiting and Saturday morning I was at the hospital ER. The meds that they gave me didn’t work and I was back at the ER on Sunday morning. I called and left Dr. Pak a message begging for help. I am in EXTREME PAIN as I am writing this and need help.
Do not worry. You can get the compensation you deserve. The dentists at Aspen Dental had a duty to review your history.They had duty not give you medication or surgery that would worsen your current health problems. They had a duty to give you a course of treatment suited for someone with your medical history. They did none of these things. You will need a dental expert to examine you and review your records. If he signs an affidavit stating that these dentist were negligent, you will have a strong case. Gather all your related medical records and bills. Sue for dental malpractice and breach of contract. Hire a local medical malpractice lawyer.Go on www.martindale.com. Good luck and remember to press accept so that I may get credit.
Are you saying that the dentist was negligent in giving me novacaine and then stating that he neglected to review my file and then back out of the surgery and make me wait an additional three weeks? In the meantime, they left an infected bone graft, a pus filled sac, an infected wisdom tooth and they never even x-rayed me to find out why I was in pain - even to CYA themselves? They make me drug dependent in the process and now I ended up having very painful additional TWO surgeries because of them. Do you think that is why Aspen tried to get rid of me so quickly? The new oral surgeon seems to want to get rid of me also....but he seems to be more afraid of pain meds. I should NOT have had to make two ER visits on top of it all. Are you suggesting that I get a NEW dentist to review all of this mess? I am willing to pay you extra money for the extra information. I am willing to pay whatever it takes to get this done. I am in ENORMOUS pain and my sense of taste is different and I have had a migraine headache since the surgery and nobody wants to hear about it. I feel like I am being passed around by the medical profession.
Unfortunately, you are correct. I am saying Aspen Dental did all of these things and they were negligent. You will need another dentist to review everything. They are acting this way because they do not want a lawsuit.
Will I be needing to find another dentist in addition to the dentist that just did the additional two surgeries and is avoiding giving me pain relief and drove me to the ER? Is that a separate case altogether? Is the second oral surgeon an issue at all?I would like to pay you extra for the additional question - please allow me to do so.
You will need a separate dentist to review everything. The lack of pain medication is part of this matter. Make sure the dentist who reviews everything, reviews what the second oral surgeon did to see if he was negligent.
May I please give you a little bit extra money for your time?
You may, just ask customer service
one more thing before I ask customer service........do personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis?
Personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis.
Thank you. I just sent customer service the question of paying you additional money and until I get an answer I am going to accept your very, very good answers. Thank you so very much.
You are very welcome.