Substandard care, and unprofessional. I had started seeing Dr. Carabatsos because he took my dental plan. The last few visits went like this:
I sat down in the chair, and Dr. Carabatsos immediately told me there was nothing wrong with me before I even opened my mouth. I told him I had a filling that fell out and several small cavities developing along the gum line. I got him to replace the filling and take care of two other spots in the two teeth adjacent to the one with the missing filling. The three fillings all had rough edges and promptly fell out.
I went back to him, and he only replaced the largest filling. He didn't even notice the other two were gone. Doesn't he keep charts? I didn't even see my chart in the room.
I had also drawn his attention to other spots that were developing along the gum line. Some of these were ones that I could catch my fingernail on, and I could tell they were actually holes in the tooth.
His unconcerned response: "Just stop brushing so hard." Really? And that will make them go away?
Next, I had a tooth pulled and was in the process of getting an implant with the dental surgeon. I noticed the tooth behind the now missing tooth had a huge black spot above an existing metal filling. I didn't know how long it was going to be before I could get my crown done, so I asked Dr. Carabatsos to "fix all the black stuff" because it was very noticeable.
After the procedure, I went to my car and looked in the mirror. The metal filling was replaced with white, but the big black spot above it was still there. I made another appointment and went back.
I pointed out the big black spot to Dr. Carabatsos, and without even checking it or doing an x-ray, he tried to tell me that it was just a stain. I said, no, I can scratch it with my fingernail, it's soft.
He started drilling. For a long time. At the end, even though I had Novocaine, I could feel sharp pain. He tells me that the cavity was so deep, he could see pink pulp through what's left of my tooth. I will be needing a root canal.
Just stain? Seriously? Do I have to tell him how to be a dentist?
The kicker was, as I was leaving this time, he started telling me how much work I needed and that all those cavities along the gum line needed to be addressed.
After being completely dismissive and unconcerned, now you care? Seriously? read more