Headlines
1. Overly confident, at great fault
2. Pulls a Houdini when needed the most
Whilst Dr Wirig enjoys stellar reviews, they don't hold up in that 1% of cases where it goes wrong (like my situation). A high level chronological experience:
May 12: root canal. I paid the extra $$ for a 3D scan to ensure that the tooth was indeed not broken.
May 13: something feels awfully wrong: the same pain is back, and worse (or: it is not a recovery pain). I email Dr Wirig and he responds immediately that "This is all very normal". This was his first opportunity to ask more questions or even have me quickly come back in. So I toughen it out.
May 22: I develop a massive infection right before Memorial Day weekend. I email Dr Wirig; no response (yet: basic email trackers show that the email was opened). Thankfully my general dentist (Marina Park Dental) jumps in and prescribes antibiotic while I wait (4 days) for offices to reopen.
May 26: still no response, so my general dentist reaches out and twists his arm for me: a new appointment that day with Dr Wirig. This time, it seems that the tooth was broken after all (which also means that the root canal and crown was a complete waste of time and money). There is no advice from Dr Wirig on where to go from here, so once again, my general dentist is coming to the rescue. I get a same day tooth extraction scheduled. In that procedure, I am told that the infection had spread significantly and more tissue than usual had to be cleaned / removed.
May 26-28: I feel better. Hurray!
May 29: the pain creeps back in .. and I email Dr. Wirig. Knowing that I track emails, this time he responds and calls me. Whilst one might consider that progress, his overly confident approach once again gets the better of him. He asks no real questions and after 20 seconds in the call, he states: "You are within 3-5 days from a tooth extraction, this is normal. Wait till next week and give me a call then". I know this wrong; having lost complete confidence in him, I reach out to another endodontist immediately after our call.
May 29 continued: I am seen immediately by Dr Wong Ralan who spends 20min asking questions and listening. He thinks the surgery may have caused a leakage to my sinuses, triggering new pain. This is indeed immediately confirmed with another 3D scan and addressed with a bunch more of antibiotics. Meanwhile, Dr Wirig must have had an inkling that maybe, just maybe he could have done better and he calls me back - essentially "a day late, a gesture short". I politely explain to him that I have lost my confidence. I ask for a copy of his 3D imagery and he promises to share it with me. FWIW, he never did and when I even stopped by the office a week later (Jun 3), his staff was clueless. I am honestly starting to wonder if he is intentionally holding it back to avoid any malpractice claims from me.
Today is Jun 27. I still have a whole in my mouth. So much tissue was removed from the infection that there was not enough left for things to heal as it should. Dr Wirig might be out of my life but I am still dealing with the consequences from it.
When everything goes well, I suspect Dr Wirig is good enough. But when it doesn't go well, he not only fails to step up but also can't remedy (or even acknowledge the issue). This is the exact feedback articulated in the other 1-2 star reviews. In my case, this is has led to an infection that never should have been there in the first place, a bone grafting in jeopardy, a lot of time and money lost, and just sheer agony for weeks. None, absolutely none of it, would have been the case if I had worked with the right endodontist from the start. If you think you can fall in that 1%, I recommend you go elsewhere. read more