We were referred to First Smiles by family dentist for our five-year-old daughter. It was concluded that she needed some extractions, some baby root canals, and some fillings. Full anesthesia is required to perform all of the above with one visit to the dental office.
The dentist, Dr. Kao estimated that the procedure will take 45 minutes to an hour after patient is sedated. There is one single anesthesiologist that Dr. Kao works with, Dr. Edwin Lee. Dr. Kao said the two have worked together for over ten years. He would not perform the procedure with any other anesthesiologist. Dr. Lee also does not do any insurance claim filing for procedures he performs.
We consulted at a different dental office whereas they use Bay Anesthesia. Based on scheduling needs, it could be any board certified anesthesiologist from this company that's assigned to your case.
At the time, we felt that since Dr. Kao has been working with Dr. Lee together for many years, it sounds like there is more assurance. So we picked First Smile despite the logistical burden on us with the insurance company.
On the day of the appointment, we arrived at 8:07 a.m., a few minutes late due to heavy fog. We met Dr. Lee, and the little one was put to sleep within five minutes. We were then led into Dr. Kao's consultation room to chat with Dr. Kao while supposedly, Dr. Lee put an IV line in and the assistant needs to take X-rays. It sounds like it should only take a few minutes, but for some reason Dr. Kao was not asked to go in and get started until about 9:00 o'clock. And the procedure did not finish until after 10 o'clock.
We were asked to go into the treatment room when the little one was ready to wake up. She immediately started crying and coughing, we were told such is normal and we expected it. However, as she coughed, she kept choking up thick bloody mucus, and she was gagging. Dr. Lee, however, was indifferent, and asked us to pick her up and leave right away to let her recover in our car. Upon my request, he performed suction by forcefully and bluntly shoving the suction tube into her mouth and sucked once. He did not care that thick bloody mucus continue to come out of her mouth. He did not check any vitals and just asked us to leave right away. When my husband tried to pick up the little one and attempted to avoid hurting her. Dr. Lee said: let me do it. He clamped down on her thighs and carried her to our car while she continued to cough up bloody mucus. While we were trying to use tissues to wipe away the mucus that kept coming out, Dr. Lee reminded us of his fees. We paid him. He gave us a receipt without procedure code or billing code. He said he will provide more information in three weeks. If not, he needs a reminder.
My daughter continued to cough up thick bloody mucus for the next 30 to 40 minutes during the ride home and after she got home, She seems to be doing ok, and she does not remember anything after she was put to sleep on that day. However, I can not stop wondering what happened in that room. I have worked in dental office before, suction is an ongoing process throughout dental procedures like this. Why did she have so much mucus accumulated? Why did the preparation take so long? Why did the procedure take so long? Why didn't Dr. Lee check her vitals after she woke up? Why didn't he seem to even care that there was so much bloody mucus? Why did he only perform suction upon my request? Why did he show no interest to help her?
After this traumatic experience, in hind sight, we should have picked the other dental office who uses a reputable company whereas the dentist does not have any locked in relationship with any individual anesthesiologist, which hinders quality oversight, and conduct monitoring. I seriously considered filing a police report and order a forensic lab report on the sticky stuff. I wish I actually did it.
By the way, Dr. Lee did not send us any detail for insurance claim as he had promised. He sent nothing even after two separate reminders. Nor did he respond. He did not respond to BlueShield agent either.
So if your child needs general anesthesia at this dental office, beware! read more