First, let me say that I have been seeing Dr. Powers at Premier Dental Care for years, and spent thousands of dollars, without incident. I always felt that Dr. Powers went above the call of duty to make me comfortable during and after procedures. I recommended Dr. Powers to several people because I was always so pleased and felt comfortable sending my friends and co-workers there.
My issues with neglect and very poor follow up care only started when I elected to use Dr. Birkhead for a root canal when my usual dentist, Dr. Powers was on vacation.
I had the root canal procedure done on Thursday June 12th 2014 and was not prescribed any antibiotics after the procedure. And I never received a follow up call to see how I was feeling like I always did with Dr. Powers. By Saturday, only 2 days later, I knew something was very wrong. I was in a great deal of pain so I called the emergency number on Dr. Birkhead's voicemail... but never received a call back. Monday I called the office as soon as it opened and made an appointment to come in. I was surprised to see that Dr. Burkhead never intended to examine me... I just heard him tell his assistant from across the hallway to "let me know if you need me". The assistant adjusted my "bite," and told me I should feel better. I tried to be persistent, by telling her that I was experiencing 2 types of pain. One from the bite misalignment, and another deep throbbing pain that radiated all the way to my ear and NEVER went away. I asked her to PLEASE x-ray my tooth and she said that was "unnecessary"... the antibiotics, steroids, and pain pills that they were going to prescribe me would help. She went on and on trying to convince me that my pain was normal. I got the feeling that everyone I spoke to thought I was being over dramatic because I have a documented history of dental anxiety.
One week later, I had taken all antibiotics and pain pills... but my face was still swollen and I was in extreme pain. On Monday the 23rd I called and demanded to be seen by the dentist. I was told to wait on a call back. And of course... the assistant, not the Dr. calls me back. She said "Dr. Birkhead told me to tell you his wife needed 2 rounds of antibiotics after a root canal so we are going to call you another prescription in. Even if you need a retreatment... no one will work on that tooth for another couple of months." AGAIN, the assistant was trying to convince me that everything I was experiencing was totally normal. She wasn't concerned at all. At this point I was emotionally exhausted and livid that the Dr. wouldn't examine me. After conveying this... the assistant said "I don't think we can help you anymore, you should see a specialist." And I thought thank you lord... maybe the next person will finally believe me.
I saw the specialist that very same day and to no surprise... Dr. Birkhead had missed a canal during the root canal. I finally found out what I already knew 2 days after the procedure... SOMETHING WASN'T RIGHT!!!! Now I have to have the whole procedure re done. And directly contradicting what Dr. Birkhead's assistant said... the Endodontic Specialist can fix my tooth right away. He has no idea why the assistant would tell me it couldn't be fixed immediately. And the most disturbing part is that Dr. Birkhead is not refunding me the entire amount for the botched root canal he performed. Only giving me back a partial amount. I have to live in extreme pain, or live like a zombie on pain killers, until I can afford to fix his mistake.
I understand that canals can sometimes be missed. But I am appalled with the aftercare process that I received. I should have known weeks ago that the root canal was not complete. Especially since I avidly told his staff something was wrong. And I shouldn't have to pay one more penny to have it fixed. read more