- Report: #415212
Complaint Review: Western Dental Services Inc. - Western Dental - Dr. Shakur - Cathedral City California
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Western Dental Services Inc. - Western Dental - Dr. Shakur
69160 Ramon Road Cathedral City, 92234 California, U.S.A.
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760-969-5469
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Western Dental Services, Inc. - Western Dental - Dr. Shakur, All Other Staff Dentists And Assistants Employed And Working On My Case Since May 11, 2007 SCAM Operation in Western Dental, Cathedral City, California
I made an initial contact with Western Dental on May 11, 2007 for just a few issues (I felt a cavity) in my mouth. They ran x-rays and came up with a boat-load of things that needed to be done, inclluding replacing gold crowns and doing root canals and partials. I was surprisedl, to say the least. However, I gave them the insurance information I had that would only pay for Western Dental Services. They drew up a contract and I signed it.
Then, they pulled a bunch of teeth in my upper right side and told me to come back to make an impression for the partial. I came back, waited 3 hours, and they proceeded to then tell me about other problems and never made the impression. When I came back (another 2-3 hour wait) they made an impression. In fact, they kept making the impression wrong so I had to keep coming back and waiting for hours in a roomfull of noisy and unruly children whose parents thought they were just being cute and "age appropriate."
They then began other work and this went on and on for several months. In the meantime, I was without any teeth on the right side of my mouth and could only eat on my left side or chew with my front teeth like a rabbit. They took out gold fillings and crowns and replaced them with white fillings and crowns. I asked for the gold back. They told me they had to clean them out first and they would be ready when I came back, AGAIN. Well, guess what? They lost the fillings.
Also, during this initial 5 month period, I was in the middle of a procedure and they stopped the procedure to make me sign a new contract because they goofed up the first one. I cried hysterically because I had been waiting and waiting, my teeth were now in horrible shape since I had first come in, and it wasn't my fault that they screwed up the first contract. It was their problem but they refused to continue anymore treatment, including the treatment I was in the middle of, until I signed the contract. I was under the influence of valium at the time as well because dentist's make me nervous and they had prescribed it for me. Everytime I asked for nitrous instead, it was never available. The tanks were always empty.
It is now January, 2009. I still do not have the permanent partial and since 2007 have never had a permanent because it keeps getting sent back because they never fit. In the meantime, all my teeth on the left side had to be pulled because of the non-fitting temporary partial that I finally got late last year and because all I could do was eat on that side. At the beginning of 2007, because I could not eat food regularly, I went from 145 pounds down to 102 pounds in a six month period of time and was losing weight very rapidly. We were even planning my funeral.
102 pounds on a 5'8" woman's frame is skeletal, to say the least. I had no power and could not even step up a curbside without someone lifting me up. My doctors couldn't figure out why I was losing weight other than I couldn't eat anything. I've been drinking hi protein and hi calorie nutritional shakes (yuk!) and had gone up to 120 pounds; however, I'm dropping again and I'm down to 116 after just one week. I'm doing my best to keep my strength up by walking the dogs up the hilll behind my house, etc.
When I went in to see the one doctor I thought I could trust, she admitted that my front teeth would eventually have to be replaced and a full top denture put in. The was just a bandaid. She didn't know how long it would be before those teeth were in jeopardy of falling out. She also admitted that the reason that the two Zoom! procedures they had done didn't work because my teeth had so little enamel left on t hem that they were translucent. That cost me $400 and they won't credit my account for that.
In fact, they have sent me to collections and my credit report says I owe them over $5,000 which is about $3500 more than what the first contract was for. There are so many contracts in my file that they say I signed, that I don't have copies of or remember doing, that it's ridiculous. They have gone through FOUR different office managers and have made many, many changes to their office staff in the last 2-1/2 years. They say that they have documented all the times they called me and left voice mail messages for me to come in and I didn't return those calls. Total lie.
Did they also document the many, many times my husband and I came in, waited for hours to see the dentist, only to be finally told that they didn't have the appliances in and my time was for not? Nope. Her people wouldn't behave like that. But this latest office manager wonder just arrived and just replaced everyone. I asked her if she even knew any of these supposed wonderful people that she replaced over the last 2-1/2 years? Nope.
I finally have a new insurance plan and went to see my new dentist who is a graduate of USC dental school, one of the finest schools in the United States. He took xrays and told me that because of the unnecessary and shoddy work they did that my entire mouth has to be reconstructed. I cried and cried and he said he was very sorry and if I needed another opinion he would be welcome to that. But, I believe him. He said we could split up some of the procedure so that the cost wouldn't be so bad.
He said the top had to be done right away and a full denture put in because the front teeth had holes in them and were ready to fall out at any time. I need two implants up there in order to hold the denture in because my pallet has a very low bone structure and the denture would end up being very painful if he went any other way. He feels I've been through enough torture.
Okay, so the cost? $21,500 for a complete reconstruction. Where am I going to get that kind of money? I am currently on permanent disability and only receive a social security check. My husband already works two jobs and has taken a pay cut in one because of the economy and is in danger of losing the other, again, because they are now "streamlining" (the new pc word for downsizing) jobs in the area. It will cost $11,500 just to do the upper portion of my mouth and that was after all the discounts and insurance he gave me. I can apply for CareCredit, which I will do today, but I know I will be declined because of the false information that Western Dental has sent to all three credit bureaus.
Attorneys don't take contingency cases anymore so I just don't know what to do except start making complaints with every agency I know. If you have any suggestions, I would gladly love to hear from you. My emal addy is (((email redacted))) Thank you for listening.
Patti ****, s****.>
Then, they pulled a bunch of teeth in my upper right side and told me to come back to make an impression for the partial. I came back, waited 3 hours, and they proceeded to then tell me about other problems and never made the impression. When I came back (another 2-3 hour wait) they made an impression. In fact, they kept making the impression wrong so I had to keep coming back and waiting for hours in a roomfull of noisy and unruly children whose parents thought they were just being cute and "age appropriate."
They then began other work and this went on and on for several months. In the meantime, I was without any teeth on the right side of my mouth and could only eat on my left side or chew with my front teeth like a rabbit. They took out gold fillings and crowns and replaced them with white fillings and crowns. I asked for the gold back. They told me they had to clean them out first and they would be ready when I came back, AGAIN. Well, guess what? They lost the fillings.
Also, during this initial 5 month period, I was in the middle of a procedure and they stopped the procedure to make me sign a new contract because they goofed up the first one. I cried hysterically because I had been waiting and waiting, my teeth were now in horrible shape since I had first come in, and it wasn't my fault that they screwed up the first contract. It was their problem but they refused to continue anymore treatment, including the treatment I was in the middle of, until I signed the contract. I was under the influence of valium at the time as well because dentist's make me nervous and they had prescribed it for me. Everytime I asked for nitrous instead, it was never available. The tanks were always empty.
It is now January, 2009. I still do not have the permanent partial and since 2007 have never had a permanent because it keeps getting sent back because they never fit. In the meantime, all my teeth on the left side had to be pulled because of the non-fitting temporary partial that I finally got late last year and because all I could do was eat on that side. At the beginning of 2007, because I could not eat food regularly, I went from 145 pounds down to 102 pounds in a six month period of time and was losing weight very rapidly. We were even planning my funeral.
102 pounds on a 5'8" woman's frame is skeletal, to say the least. I had no power and could not even step up a curbside without someone lifting me up. My doctors couldn't figure out why I was losing weight other than I couldn't eat anything. I've been drinking hi protein and hi calorie nutritional shakes (yuk!) and had gone up to 120 pounds; however, I'm dropping again and I'm down to 116 after just one week. I'm doing my best to keep my strength up by walking the dogs up the hilll behind my house, etc.
When I went in to see the one doctor I thought I could trust, she admitted that my front teeth would eventually have to be replaced and a full top denture put in. The was just a bandaid. She didn't know how long it would be before those teeth were in jeopardy of falling out. She also admitted that the reason that the two Zoom! procedures they had done didn't work because my teeth had so little enamel left on t hem that they were translucent. That cost me $400 and they won't credit my account for that.
In fact, they have sent me to collections and my credit report says I owe them over $5,000 which is about $3500 more than what the first contract was for. There are so many contracts in my file that they say I signed, that I don't have copies of or remember doing, that it's ridiculous. They have gone through FOUR different office managers and have made many, many changes to their office staff in the last 2-1/2 years. They say that they have documented all the times they called me and left voice mail messages for me to come in and I didn't return those calls. Total lie.
Did they also document the many, many times my husband and I came in, waited for hours to see the dentist, only to be finally told that they didn't have the appliances in and my time was for not? Nope. Her people wouldn't behave like that. But this latest office manager wonder just arrived and just replaced everyone. I asked her if she even knew any of these supposed wonderful people that she replaced over the last 2-1/2 years? Nope.
I finally have a new insurance plan and went to see my new dentist who is a graduate of USC dental school, one of the finest schools in the United States. He took xrays and told me that because of the unnecessary and shoddy work they did that my entire mouth has to be reconstructed. I cried and cried and he said he was very sorry and if I needed another opinion he would be welcome to that. But, I believe him. He said we could split up some of the procedure so that the cost wouldn't be so bad.
He said the top had to be done right away and a full denture put in because the front teeth had holes in them and were ready to fall out at any time. I need two implants up there in order to hold the denture in because my pallet has a very low bone structure and the denture would end up being very painful if he went any other way. He feels I've been through enough torture.
Okay, so the cost? $21,500 for a complete reconstruction. Where am I going to get that kind of money? I am currently on permanent disability and only receive a social security check. My husband already works two jobs and has taken a pay cut in one because of the economy and is in danger of losing the other, again, because they are now "streamlining" (the new pc word for downsizing) jobs in the area. It will cost $11,500 just to do the upper portion of my mouth and that was after all the discounts and insurance he gave me. I can apply for CareCredit, which I will do today, but I know I will be declined because of the false information that Western Dental has sent to all three credit bureaus.
Attorneys don't take contingency cases anymore so I just don't know what to do except start making complaints with every agency I know. If you have any suggestions, I would gladly love to hear from you. My emal addy is (((email redacted))) Thank you for listening.
Patti ****, s****.>
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Earlene
Palm Desert,California,
U.S.A.
Me too!!
#2Consumer Comment
Mon, May 25, 2009
Ihad work done originally by Dr Simeran who has since left without notice. Dr Shakur took over. Cleanings, teeth pulled completed. Then on june 10th 2008 my vaneers were ordered. They made up a 2nd (replacment)contract since I added 4 vaneers in front. Due to the pulled tooth I needed a bridge, they were going to use vaneers (hugger bridge)they tried this and it would not work. So Dr Simeran said it had to be a bridge I put down $1500, and 3 payments of $400. I am a cash patient. I have been making monthly payments.of $115.00. Then the fiasco begins with the office staff and Dr Shakurs no shows to my apts. She had told me she wanted only her to take care of me. Dr Shakur repeatedly left when I had an apt, leaving me to go back home. office staff would call and say bridge or vaneer were in when they weren't and took too long to call when they were. They repeatedly did the impressions wrong, when the bridge came it would not fit, not meeting the gums, Dr Simerin, saying he would not deliver them like that because they were not wright, the same thing happened when Dr Shakur took over. The assistants wrote in each time "patient unhappy with bridge or vaneer". lie! The dentist said it was wrong. My vaneers in the front were delivered and I only ordered 4 in the front. One cracked the first week. Dr Simeran said it could not be fixed until they were finished with the bridge. It eventually fell out making my front teeth look terrible, different size and different color. Now dr Simeran is gone for good. Dr shakur continues to order impressions and they continue to come in ill fitting. The office manager changed so many times I do not know how many. I was told when arriving for apts dr was not therre, or my order had not come in (even tho I was called) or I would have to wait 2 to 3 hrs in the waiting room then it would be a 3 hr procedure after I get in the chair, so I can come back if I want. I left. Randy called me on the freeway, almost home and said thats not what the girl said. They continually lie and put false statments in the charts. by March of 2009 I am very annoyed. I told them they have breached this contract and want a credit or money back and I will go elsewhere. I filed a complaint to corportate, which disagreed with me, they gave me a $200 credit for my inconvience. My last apt dr Shakur had left again as she did so often. I was always given a variety of different reasons by different people. On my last day there (In April 2009) I told them it had better be right because I have to move from the area as I have been out of work and have to move in with a friend out of town. Again, different dr, Dr Park said they did the impression wrong so it will not fit. OMG, I cannot beleive it. They want to do another impression. I said I cannot drive back and forth from Oceanside, a 2 hr drive. Dr Parks orders the assistant to do about 10 xrays, he kept saying they were not good, he seemed annoyed at me. They said they will get the ok to transfer it to oceanside. I have now been with a missing front vaneer for over 9 mths. I also told Dr Park that now that the temporary bridge has been in sooo long it hurts and i cannot eat on that side. Hot and cold is very painful too. He pulls it out and touches it with an insturment, asks if it hurt which it didnt'. He puts in the permanent bridge, after I have it in the same pain is back. I am now living in Oceanside and call their office. The girl says they dont' do other offices work. I told her corporate ordered it, she said she would call me back Monday. She did not. I waited afew more days and called and she said, I told you we are not going to do it. I again mentioned that it was approved. She said she will call me back. I call Cathdral city and they say they dont' understand. Corporate calls and says I broke repore. Huh? That sounds like an excuse not to take my case because they will have to do it for free I was told. Now they want me to go to Murrietta, too far of a drive. In the mean time I get a bill for over $1200 more than I owe. Fallen (another new office mngr) took it upon her self to charge me more and will not listen to reason. I have the chart copies as I asked for them when I filed the complaint. The manager Fallen, (another new office mngr) said she changed it. For what? I have not had any extra work added on since the vaneers. Looking at the chart its obvious she is charging me for the bridge and the hugger bridge (vaneers )they were going to put there origianlly. I asked for an accounting twice in the last 6 mths. She said I will not get one. She refuses. She said I can have chart copies, I already have those. I keep getting calls from Alma from Corporate telling me I have to go to Murrietta after I have told her it is too far and I can't go there. They should have put in my bridge and replaced my broken vaneer in less than 1 year. I am still in pain, and very upset about the tacking on of over $1200 to my bill. (the 2nd contract) I cannot get this resolved since Dr Simeran was the only one that knew what was happening and no one else is compentent, or cares. Including corporate. I HATE WESTERN DENTAL and I'm furious that I did not know how horrible they are before I started getting my teeth worked on there. Why should I pay for work that has been shoddy at least and incomplete. They do not work with you, or keep promises. I faxed corporate a letter of complaint about the tacked on $1200 plus, theres been no answer. At this point I have stopped making my payments, they are going to screw up my credit for their incompentence and arogance. Earlene Caves
