Having problem with my dentist!

[drrkamra]

New York. I live in New Jersey, but the dentist against whom i have this complaint is in Rego Park, Queens, NY-11374 In Nov or Dec 2002 I went to see my dentist with a complaint that a tooth on the right upper jaw was sensitive to cold. She took some X-rays and couldn't find anything wrong there. Instead she found something wrong with a tooth on the left upper jaw. I told her that there was no problem with that tooth as I had a root canal done on it in Jan 2002 in India. She refused to listen to me. She said that she didn't see any root canal on the X-ray and that it was something else. When I asked her what it was, she didn't know. She couldn't name any process like infection or something. She said that there was something there that she didn't know what it was. I kept telling her that I don't have any problem with it. In India they follow a different process. Here, in US they do root canal and then cover it with post and crown. In India they do the root canal by creating a cavity in the tooth and then they fill the cavity. The post and crown is put on when the tooth breaks. She scraped off the filling inspite of my telling her repeatedly that there was no problem with the tooth on the left side and I had problem on the right side. But without paying any heed to what I had to say she went onto scrape off the filling, didn’t even take my consent for it. My tooth was filled with Composite Restoration material in India. When she saw it she said that she didn't even know what the material was. She said that this material is not used here in US. I told her that it was Composite. She gave me a look as if I was blabbering and I didn't know what I was talking about. Then she hit upon the root canal and now she felt very uneasy. She went out of the room to look at the X-rays and kept coming back to see the tooth again and again. She then simply told me that there was a root canal and offered no apologies. I too didn't accuse her and simply asked her what we will do now. She said that she will fill it up as there was nothing to do. She filled it up with silver amalgam (my tooth was filled with Composite Restoration in India and she filled it with silver amalgam which is toxic and becoming obsolete in parts of India. She had also not seen it before). She charged my ex-husband for the filling and sent me home. The tooth got infected and the infection spread to the next tooth. After taking pain killers for two months or so we went back to her and she informed me about the infection. She said that it got infected when she had scraped off the filling. Again she offered no apologies for the pain I had gone through or her negligence. She prescribed antibiotics and told me to come back for a root canal, post and crown on the other tooth which had nothing wrong with it before she did her unnecessary manipulations on my tooth. My dentist was negligent and inspite of my telling her that I didn't have any problem with the tooth she worked upon a tooth which resulted in infection in Dec 2002. Two years later in Nov 2004 it resulted in breaking of the tooth for which I needed a post and crown. My dentist in India tells me that when she would have to refill the tooth she had to smoothen the inside of the cavity using the air rotor hand piece which further thined the tooth that composed the wall of the cavity and made it suseptible to break. That resulted in early breaking of the tooth within 2 years of the manipulation. Otherwise the tooth would have held for 10-12 years. I was separated at the time (Nov 2004) and I didn't have the money for the treatment. My ex-husband promised that he will pay the dentist, but later went back on his word. The issue was also not resolved at the time of divorce settlement. My lawyer told me that it will be my ex-husband's debt as it was his account and I didn't have an account with the dentist. The dentist presented me with a debt collection notice of $550 in May 2006. My lawyer now charmingly explained that I will have to foot the bill and that she was sorry. I tried appealing to the dentist that I didn't have the money and her manipulations upon my tooth did result in weakening the tooth and so if she could spare me the bill which she won't. I asked her to give me a discount which she also refused. I asked her to spare me her time and effort and charge me only the cost of the post and crown. She also refused to this. She gave me the offer for $50 payments. I tried to explain to her that I won't be able to pay beyond 4 months when my alimony ends. I wanted to ask her if it was ok that I pay her when I get my residency. I'm a doctor from India and I'm taking my USMLE board exams and will get residency in a year or so. She wouldn't even listen to what I had to say. I wanted to tell her that we could draw a legal agreement, but she wouldn't even listen to me. So I asked one of my friends who understood my situation and was willing to pay $550 to the dentist. On June 28, 2006 I went to the dentist's office to pay her the money. I also wanted my records. She refused to give me my X-rays that I have paid for and then even refused to take the payment from my friend who was waiting for my phone call so that she could give the dentist her credit card number for the payment of her bill. She yelled at me, insulted me and told me to get out of her office as she didn't want my money. She said it was only $500 and I could keep it. Then again she presented me with the debt collection notice on July 14, 2006. I had come from India in 2002 and had dealt very softly with her when I saw her in a tight spot. I had thought that she had not done it intentionally and it was a mistake for which she was feeling uneasy. But now I see that she had very happily chrged us for her mistakes. My ex-husband was very upset and had wanted to sue her then, but I talked him out of it. When she had messed up with my teeth she had happily informed us that I might even need surgery for which we would have to pay $2000-3000. But I was just lucky that the infection resolved with antibiotics which gave me pseudomembranous colitis which is a terrible diarrhea that one gets with using Clindamycin. It is not possible to keep anything in the stomach and it goes on and on month after month and if it stops it keeps coming back now and then. Today she refuses to consider my position and inspite of all my problems I went to pay her and she refused to accept the payment and continues to serve me with notices. I would appreciate it if you can find a way to nail her down now. I understand that I should have sued her in 2002 for negligence and doing an unnecessary job on my tooth. Now I don't qualify for that compensation, but can something be done since she refused to give me my records and X-rays and also her conduct when I went to pay her. She refused to accept the payment and then served me with the notice again. I’m writing to this debt collection agent and even leaving messages on their voicemail, but no one calls back even though the message asks to leave a phone number and someone will call. I will appreciate all the help that i get here.

 

[moburkes]

If you will break up your posts into paragraphs, and use spaces between paragraphs, it will be easier to read, and you will receive responses. I didn't even try to read it.

 

[janimal]

Paragraphs

Are

Your

Friend

 

[barry1817]

New York. I live in New Jersey, but the dentist against whom i have this complaint is in Rego Park, Queens, NY-11374 In Nov or Dec 2002 I went to see my dentist with a complaint that a tooth on the right upper jaw was sensitive to cold. She took some X-rays and couldn't find anything wrong there. Instead she found something wrong with a tooth on the left upper jaw. I told her that there was no problem with that tooth as I had a root canal done on it in Jan 2002 in India. She refused to listen to me. She said that she didn't see any root canal on the X-ray and that it was something else. When I asked her what it was, she didn't know. She couldn't name any process like infection or something. She said that there was something there that she didn't know what it was. I kept telling her that I don't have any problem with it. In India they follow a different process. Here, in US they do root canal and then cover it with post and crown. In India they do the root canal by creating a cavity in the tooth and then they fill the cavity. The post and crown is put on when the tooth breaks. She scraped off the filling inspite of my telling her repeatedly that there was no problem with the tooth on the left side and I had problem on the right side. But without paying any heed to what I had to say she went onto scrape off the filling, didn’t even take my consent for it. My tooth was filled with Composite Restoration material in India. When she saw it she said that she didn't even know what the material was. She said that this material is not used here in US. I told her that it was Composite. She gave me a look as if I was blabbering and I didn't know what I was talking about. Then she hit upon the root canal and now she felt very uneasy. She went out of the room to look at the X-rays and kept coming back to see the tooth again and again. She then simply told me that there was a root canal and offered no apologies. I too didn't accuse her and simply asked her what we will do now. She said that she will fill it up as there was nothing to do. She filled it up with silver amalgam (my tooth was filled with Composite Restoration in India and she filled it with silver amalgam which is toxic and becoming obsolete in parts of India. She had also not seen it before). She charged my ex-husband for the filling and sent me home. The tooth got infected and the infection spread to the next tooth. After taking pain killers for two months or so we went back to her and she informed me about the infection. She said that it got infected when she had scraped off the filling. Again she offered no apologies for the pain I had gone through or her negligence. She prescribed antibiotics and told me to come back for a root canal, post and crown on the other tooth which had nothing wrong with it before she did her unnecessary manipulations on my tooth. My dentist was negligent and inspite of my telling her that I didn't have any problem with the tooth she worked upon a tooth which resulted in infection in Dec 2002. Two years later in Nov 2004 it resulted in breaking of the tooth for which I needed a post and crown. My dentist in India tells me that when she would have to refill the tooth she had to smoothen the inside of the cavity using the air rotor hand piece which further thined the tooth that composed the wall of the cavity and made it suseptible to break. That resulted in early breaking of the tooth within 2 years of the manipulation. Otherwise the tooth would have held for 10-12 years. I was separated at the time (Nov 2004) and I didn't have the money for the treatment. My ex-husband promised that he will pay the dentist, but later went back on his word. The issue was also not resolved at the time of divorce settlement. My lawyer told me that it will be my ex-husband's debt as it was his account and I didn't have an account with the dentist. The dentist presented me with a debt collection notice of $550 in May 2006. My lawyer now charmingly explained that I will have to foot the bill and that she was sorry. I tried appealing to the dentist that I didn't have the money and her manipulations upon my tooth did result in weakening the tooth and so if she could spare me the bill which she won't. I asked her to give me a discount which she also refused. I asked her to spare me her time and effort and charge me only the cost of the post and crown. She also refused to this. She gave me the offer for $50 payments. I tried to explain to her that I won't be able to pay beyond 4 months when my alimony ends. I wanted to ask her if it was ok that I pay her when I get my residency. I'm a doctor from India and I'm taking my USMLE board exams and will get residency in a year or so. She wouldn't even listen to what I had to say. I wanted to tell her that we could draw a legal agreement, but she wouldn't even listen to me. So I asked one of my friends who understood my situation and was willing to pay $550 to the dentist. On June 28, 2006 I went to the dentist's office to pay her the money. I also wanted my records. She refused to give me my X-rays that I have paid for and then even refused to take the payment from my friend who was waiting for my phone call so that she could give the dentist her credit card number for the payment of her bill. She yelled at me, insulted me and told me to get out of her office as she didn't want my money. She said it was only $500 and I could keep it. Then again she presented me with the debt collection notice on July 14, 2006. I had come from India in 2002 and had dealt very softly with her when I saw her in a tight spot. I had thought that she had not done it intentionally and it was a mistake for which she was feeling uneasy. But now I see that she had very happily chrged us for her mistakes. My ex-husband was very upset and had wanted to sue her then, but I talked him out of it. When she had messed up with my teeth she had happily informed us that I might even need surgery for which we would have to pay $2000-3000. But I was just lucky that the infection resolved with antibiotics which gave me pseudomembranous colitis which is a terrible diarrhea that one gets with using Clindamycin. It is not possible to keep anything in the stomach and it goes on and on month after month and if it stops it keeps coming back now and then. Today she refuses to consider my position and inspite of all my problems I went to pay her and she refused to accept the payment and continues to serve me with notices. I would appreciate it if you can find a way to nail her down now. I understand that I should have sued her in 2002 for negligence and doing an unnecessary job on my tooth. Now I don't qualify for that compensation, but can something be done since she refused to give me my records and X-rays and also her conduct when I went to pay her. She refused to accept the payment and then served me with the notice again. I’m writing to this debt collection agent and even leaving messages on their voicemail, but no one calls back even though the message asks to leave a phone number and someone will call. I will appreciate all the help that i get here.

I can't follow your time frame, but when you speak of things happening in 2002 you may have problems with statute of limitations.

I am also confused about where the original treatment was done, seems you are having treatment both in the US and in India

Feel free to contact me directly, and I will have more time to read and reread your complaint to see what advice I can give you.

[email protected]

 

[You Are Guilty]

I'm not reading past "2002" but that's enough for me to say you have no case.

§ 214-a. Action for medical, dental or podiatric malpractice to be
commenced within two years and six months; exceptions. An action for
medical, dental or podiatric malpractice must be commenced within two
years and six months of the act, omission or failure complained of or
last treatment where there is continuous treatment for the same illness,
injury or condition which gave rise to the said act, omission or
failure; provided, however, that where the action is based upon the
discovery of a foreign object in the body of the patient, the action may
be commenced within one year of the date of such discovery or of the
date of discovery of facts which would reasonably lead to such
discovery, whichever is earlier. For the purpose of this section the
term "continuous treatment" shall not include examinations undertaken at
the request of the patient for the sole purpose of ascertaining the
state of the patient's condition. For the purpose of this section the
term "foreign object" shall not include a chemical compound, fixation
device or prosthetic aid or device.