I scheduled a consultation to get my wisdom teeth removed. On my visit, I let them know I had x-rays taken during a routine tooth cleaning just a few weeks before and requested they have the other office send them over. Instead, their assistant told me that wasn't necessary and took half an hour making me bite into uncomfortable hard plastic to take x-rays all over my mouth, frequently deciding that it wasn't quite right and taking another. Other reviews mention how uncomfortable that x-ray process was. Then, the dentist walked in and requested they do a pano instead, after having me go through all that. Again, none of this was necessary since I had recent x-rays, including a pano, to show them, but they would rather ring up the bill as much as possible than working with the patient's thoughts on their own care. They quoted the surgery + insurance as about $350 on my part.
After an an embarrassing pre-surgery conversation with the front desk where their famously arrogant secretary overquoted me by $600 and didn't know what anesthetic was being used on me today, the surgery began with eight shots to the face which numbed my pain. Of the two people working on my mouth during the surgery, their office manager, Filipe, had wonderful bedside manner, while the owner, Dr. Brendan McLaughlin, laughed at me when I asked him if he had any advice before the surgery began. The surgery itself was a sensory nightmare, but I got through it, despite the unprofessional choice of Dr. McLaughlin to pause to answer his phone (why would you have your ringer on during surgery?) which I can only assume was for some threat of emergency.
Meanwhile, my partner, who was waiting for me to finish in the lobby, had to ask the same secretary to wear her mask - a ridiculous thing to have to ask a medical worker during a pandemic. When she did put one on, she just put it on over her mouth and not her nose. You would think that she would, being in a place where people routinely have to take their masks off and expose workers to the threat of corona, want to be extra-cautious, but instead chose carelessness, the theme of this business.
After it was over, Brendan left the room immediately and told Filipe to finish up, again electing to do absolutely none of the emotional work of being a doctor, leaving that to his staff if they so chose. Filipe was again much kinder and more generous with his attention to how I was feeling, giving me time to ask questions and thank him. Whatever they're paying him is too little.
Day three I woke up at 3 in the morning in some of the worst pain I've experienced. Based on my own research, I assumed the obvious diagnosis was dry socket since the pain was severe, the first two days had some pain but nothing like this, and from others' accounts, there was no reason to suspect this was normal pain.
When I called their office the next day, I expressed that I could not bear how much pain I was in and needed to be seen for a follow-up. I avoided diagnosing myself, but I did not expect to be told by the secretary that I didn't need to be seen and that my pain is normal. That is not her opinion to make! She is not a doctor, didn't even know what kind of anesthetic they used, and can't be bothered to wear a mask during a pandemic, so I valued her medical opinion very little. She repeated my pain was normal while i begged to be seen. She said my doctor wasn't in for two more days. I asked if I could see someone else and she relented, told me to come in at 10.
I arrived on time and waited in the waiting room for a half hour before being called, and then waited in the examining room for 45 minutes to be seen. I assume that the secretary, rather than make me an appointment, decided to make me just come in and wait until the doctor had a minute and not tell me that was the plan. I saw Dr. Tran. After a quick check, he said everything looked fine. I asked why my pain then, and he told me that I needed to just endure, that days 3, 4, and 5 are the worst. I went home thinking I was just being oversensitive to what is expected from this surgery. The LAST thing you want to hear from your doctor is that you're just being oversensitive.
After a day more of my teeth feeling like they were on fire and my gums feeling like they were being tightened by screws, I was pushed by my family to get a second opinion. I'm grateful I was. I was treated by Dr. Toby Feldman at Commonwealth Oral & Maxillofacial Surgical Associates. She did such bare minimum work as a doctor to help me by not gaslighting the pain I was in. I would also like to thank Dr. Kaushish at Spring Hill Dentistry for getting me the appointment with Dr. Feldman. He was the first dentist I called for a second opinion and even though it was his day off and he wasn't getting paid, he gave me medical advice and spoke to Commonwealth on my behalf to help me secure immediate treatment. That is how you do this job. By caring about the patients. DentPlant does not do this. read more
