Let me start by saying that the office staff Hannah and Kaitlyn are both phenomenal and friendly, I truly appreciated all of their hard work.
I was referred to this practice by my dentist who said his son had his wisdom teeth removed here and it was a great experience. When I called to get more information/estimate I was asked if I "wanted to be asleep for the procedure" I let them know I absolutely did since I was getting 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed and one additional extraction. They included the cost of anesthesia in the estimate and I was under the impression that I would be completely knocked out, just like so many of my friends/family have been.
The day of my appointment the assistant walked me through the procedure and how things were going to be handled that day. When she explained the anesthesia, she told me that I wouldn't actually be asleep, but in a "dream like state" and that if I didn't concentrate on "being asleep" and stay calm, that I could wake myself up during the procedure. All sorts of red flags went off but at this point I couldn't back out of the appointment- I already requested off of work and I needed the surgery done ASAP to remove a cracked tooth.
After the presurgery instructions were done and they took my payment for the procedure I got to meet the doctor for the first time. The only things she really said to me were "So the Kaitlyn went over all of the expectations for the procedure?" which I said yes to, then they immediately began to prep for IV placement and before they even tried to place it she asked if I had ever experienced any issues having blood drawn, which I hadn't. Before they even tried to place the IV she had the tech put another tourniquet on which was done so harshly I had a bruise afterwards. Again, red flags, but they got the IV put in without a problem.
Then they told me to pick a Pandora station on their iPod and placed headphones over my ears. I chose a classical music station, so I could try my best to relax. Except...the Pandora this office uses is the free version that plays ads. You know, ads that are meant to get your attention, that are usually loud and obnoxious. I don't understand how you could have such a lavishly decorated office and not have at least a Pandora One subscription if you're going to force people to listen to it. After a few minutes of being on the IV anesthesia I heard the doctor ask for a mask but right around that time I actually fell asleep, so I don't know if a mask was ever used.
Then I woke up to horrible pain and was able to feel them removing one of my teeth, I tried to stay calm but the pain was so much I started crying. They told me I needed to calm down and fall back asleep, I tried pointing to the side they were working on and told them it hurt and I could feel it. They assumed I was out of it on the drugs and wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. After a few minutes I realized it wasn't going to get better, so I just had to close my eyes and deal with it until they were done. I could feel the teeth being removed, I could feel them jerking my face around, putting their hand on my forehead to shove it into the pillow while they yanked on my teeth to remove them. My head was jerking around so much it feel like I was on a terribly built wooden roller coaster. I was awake for the last two extractions on the left side of my jaw. I also heard the doctor speaking very harshly to one of the assistants, but I couldn't make out what she was saying since the music/ads were playing. I just know that she sounded angry.
Once they finished and pulled all of the devices out of my mouth/added gauze/applied vasaline to my lips I was able to get up and walk straight to the car, that's how completely awake I was. I was then able to walk into Walmart to get my prescription filled, etc.
I sat at home horrified about what happened. I was afraid to say anything or complain because I feared I wouldn't get the help I needed if I had a complication post-op. At my one week recheck, I told the assistant how horrible the experience was and what happened, I was so upset I was in tears. The doctor was (of course) out on vacation that entire week and so I couldn't speak with her about it. She also never called to follow up. The assistant told me that when I came back to have my implant put in that they would pre-medicate me and look at my anesthesia doses again to be sure I didn't have a similar experience.
Then I got a bill in the mail for $150 because the insurance didn't cover as much as anticipated. On my bill I was charged $460 total for anesthesia which was split across 4 different lines. I called the facility and asked to speak with the doctor about my bill and about my experience. Never heard from the doctor, only the assistant who removed the charge. I asked to be called back by the doctor regardless and that was two weeks ago, still no phone call. read more