UPDATE: Dr. Miller was formally disciplined by the Texas Board of Dental Examiners after I reported him and detailed his actions: http://www.tsbde.state.tx.us/documents/board_orders/2014_05_09_BoardOrderList.pdf
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I'm posting this review of Dr. Terry Miller in the hopes that others will consider my disastrous experience.
I came to his office with a basic cervical cavity. He did not take any X-rays, but instead began drilling right away. It only got worse from there. Dr. Miller did not use novocaine or any anesthetic and quickly began using the "slow drill" directly into my tooth. Furthermore, he was not wearing "optics" (the magnifying glasses) that other dentists use. I was in tremendous pain, and he then filled my tooth with a glass ionomer, rather than the more modern composite filling. It looked awful, because ionomer is just a white cement that isn't matched to the tooth color, unlike composites. Cheap ionomers also need to be replaced more often, as I later found out.
That night, my pain became horrible and interrupted my sleep. This continued for weeks. One month later, I visited his office and described my pain. Rather than do anything to alleviate it or take X-rays, Dr. Miller took a cursory glance at it and told me it'd be fine. The pain (sharp, stabbing, throbbing) made it impossible for me to get through the day without aspirin.
In desperation, I visited another dentist who described the filling as "loose" and "badly overfilled," and said it needed to be filed down because it was digging into my gum. He also explained how abnormal it was for a dentist not to use X-rays, novocaine, or optics. This second dentist feared that drilling a new filling could result in a root canal. I asked him to file it down and waited, and he prescribed painkillers. The pain in my gum subsided somewhat, but the sharp night pain continued unabated.
I visited a third dentist, seeking another opinion as to whether the tooth could be saved. This third dentist repeated many of the same things I'd heard from the second dentist: the filling was loose, and it was highly unusual for a dentist not to use optics, novocaine or X-rays. This third dentist said the only chance at alleviating the pain was to drill again and re-fill the tooth, even with the risks. He substituted a composite filling and did a phenomenal job, and thus far, the tooth has survived and the pain is gone. When he was drilling, this new dentist also remarked at how deeply Dr. Miller had drilled, and how painful that must have been without novocaine. Even writing this review, I practically have PTSD just thinking about those awful weeks of pain and sleepless nights.
Normally I would hesitate to write such a negative review about a doctor, but the standard of care I received was inexcusable. Sometimes Yelpers say, "I'm only giving one star because negative stars are not an option." That's exactly how I feel about Dr. Miller. read more
