ComplaintsforNEO Dental Centers, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  01/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We have been going to Neo dentist and orthodontist for 2 years. My 11 year old was put in a permanent expander the covered the entire roof of her mouth in October 2022. She had issues with it swelling it we were told it was normal. We had an orthodontist appointment December 14, 2022 where I showed Doctor ****** a white spot I was concerned about under the expander and told him her gums had been tender. We were told it could be food and to now worry about it. January 10th my daughter woke me up in the middle of the night nether gum were throbbing. I looked in her mouth and her gums were so swollen they were pushing through parts in the metal of the expander. I called Neo the next morning and demanded an appointment. My daughter had a terrible infection under the expander and when they took the expander out part of the tissue came out with it. So where the white spot was under the expander was now a wound due to an infection and the tissue had broken down. My daughter was put on 2 rounds of antibiotics 10 days each round to clear the infection and she had to use a mouth wash twice a day for weeks to keep the wound clean. We continued orthodontic treatment because unfortunately we had already paid for it. My daughter has a sever over bite and after 18 months of treatment her teeth and overbite looked the same. Doctor ****** advised me to tape my daughters mouth shut at night to help correct her over bite. He also told me that she should be forcefully holding her jaw in the correct position at all times. My ******************************************************* October 2023. We thought everything was fine until today when we were told by her new dentist that she has a brody bite that was never mentioned or corrected by Doctor ****** the entire year she was under treatment with orthodontic or while seeing Dr. ***** the dentist at his practice. I have contacted *** the financial advisor and he refuses to refund the money that has been paid for failed treatment

  Business response

  02/21/2024

  Dear ******,
   
  Thank you for your notification of this consumer complaint to the Better Business Bureau.  The following is my response to her complaint.
   
  In regards to the 11 year old we used a removeable expander which is made of acrylic that covers the roof of the mouth and clasps to the teeth.  There were multiple attempts to wear the removeable appliance but it had been broken several times. Because of the excessive breakage when the patient had it out of her mouth, **************** decided to do a fixed expander that was cemented in the mouth.  It is not uncommon for food to get caught under an expander.  In her case  an infection occurred with impacted food.  This was noted  in her chart and ****************** our pediatric dentist prescribed antibiotics and mouth rinse to resolve the issue.   Patient has an estimated ***** month treatment plan given the severity of her case which was to be complete between January and June of 2024. We last saw her July of 2023, so treatment was not complete.  
   
  To address forcefully holding her jaw in the correct position at all times, We recommend to all patients to be conscious of proper oral posture.  Which is lips together, tongue on the palate and breathing through the nose.  It may feel unnatural to patients whose jaw tends to go back to maintain correct oral posture, hence we remind them how to keep their jaw in the correct position as much as possible.  These are basic instructions during orthodontic treatment. 
   
  The 13 year old patient completed treatment at NEO Loveland.  We took off her braces and scanned for a bite ramp (to help jaw position) and a clear retainer to maintain tooth position.  She did not come for a scheduled follow up appointment, so we have not been able to see evidence of and shifting of teeth.  We would like the name of the dentist who told the patient of a Brody crossbite so we may consult with them and see any photos they have, as we have seen no evidence of this condition. 
   
  Concerning her request for a settlement, the financials for treatment have previously been discussed with the practice owner.  
   
  Sincerely,
   
  S *********************, DDS, 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  02/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21095552
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Hello ****************,
  Thank you for your reply. ************* recommended the expandable retainer to my 11-year-old with the knowledge of her grinding her teeth at night due to her severe overbite. The expanders broke due to no fault of my daughter. After my daughter broke the second expander, it was clear that a 3rd expander would not work. I requested a different appliance with the hope of something else working. After two years of working with **************** and seeing minimal movement in my daughter's mouth, we saw Dr. **** in the ********* office. She measured and acknowledged minimal change in the expansion of her bite and zero change in her overbite. Driving to ********* from Loveland was challenging and very inconvenient. This was when we talked to ****** about my frustrations, and she took very detailed notes. *** was contacted, and I had very many phone conversations with him. He told me repeatedly he would stop charging us and contact the financial person about refunding some of the money we had spent since it was evident the treatment was unsuccessful. We returned to the ******** location, where *** met us at the office multiple times. *** and I agreed that *** and **************** were not a great fit for my daughter and me. We stopped coming in July as we went to another orthodontist. *** told me on multiple occasions that he would refund us since the treatment we were promised was not what we received. He has not refunded us; he has only agreed to stop payment when we stop treatment. 
  As for my 13-year-old, she had her braces off in October and then came in on 11/7 for her retainer liners. We also came in on 12/5 to do a retainer check. We were not told we needed to come back in after this appointment. We talked to you in the office, but we were unaware of the ****** bite until she had her cleaned, and the new dentist noticed and showed me on 12/18. We also got a second opinion from another orthodontist on 2/19 to verify. After being made aware of the ****** bite, we noticed that the mold that was made at your office for our 13-year-old retainers showed the miss-aligned teeth, and also, the retainer was designed not to cover all of her top teeth. 
  
  I am asking that you pay for the out-of-pocket expense we have already had to pay for our 11-year-old and for the out-of-pocket costs we will be paying for our 13-year-old to fix the mistakes you did not notice. We are also asking that you stop monthly payments for our 13-year-old since treatment ended in October, and we are still being charged. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Customer response

  02/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21095552
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Hello ****************,
  Thank you for your reply. ************* recommended the expandable retainer to my 11-year-old with the knowledge of her grinding her teeth at night due to her severe overbite. The expanders broke due to no fault of my daughter. After my daughter broke the second expander, it was clear that a 3rd expander would not work. I requested a different appliance with the hope of something else working. After two years of working with **************** and seeing minimal movement in my daughter's mouth, we saw Dr. **** in the ********* office. She measured and acknowledged minimal change in the expansion of her bite and zero change in her overbite. Driving to ********* from Loveland was challenging and very inconvenient. This was when we talked to ****** about my frustrations, and she took very detailed notes. *** was contacted, and I had very many phone conversations with him. He told me repeatedly he would stop charging us and contact the financial person about refunding some of the money we had spent since it was evident the treatment was unsuccessful. We returned to the ******** location, where *** met us at the office multiple times. *** and I agreed that *** and **************** were not a great fit for my daughter and me. We stopped coming in July as we went to another orthodontist. *** told me on multiple occasions that he would refund us since the treatment we were promised was not what we received. He has not refunded us; he has only agreed to stop payment when we stop treatment. 
  As for my 13-year-old, she had her braces off in October and then came in on 11/7 for her retainer liners. We also came in on 12/5 to do a retainer check. We were not told we needed to come back in after this appointment. We talked to you in the office, but we were unaware of the ****** bite until she had her cleaned, and the new dentist noticed and showed me on 12/18. We also got a second opinion from another orthodontist on 2/19 to verify. After being made aware of the ****** bite, we noticed that the mold that was made at your office for our 13-year-old retainers showed the miss-aligned teeth, and also, the retainer was designed not to cover all of her top teeth. 
  
  I am asking that you pay for the out-of-pocket expense we have already had to pay for our 11-year-old and for the out-of-pocket costs we will be paying for our 13-year-old to fix the mistakes you did not notice. We are also asking that you stop monthly payments for our 13-year-old since treatment ended in October, and we are still being charged. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Business response

  03/08/2024

  Good morning ******,
  
  Thank you for your help appropriately placing  these documents.  As promised,  here are the word documents regarding this case so you can add to my response.  The attached files show the successful treatment of child #1 and #3 and the handling transfer patient #2.  
  
  Our business manager ************************* is handling the small refund due for patient #2.  He is copied on this email.  Please let either of us know if further attention is needed.
  
  Kind regards,
  
  Kent
  
  **********************************;
  **************** & TMJ
  **************************************
  *********, ********
  Main ************
  Direct ************
  www.NewEarlyOrthodontics.com
  
    
  

  
  

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21095552
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Thank you for sending pictures and addressing one of my concerns, and while my biggest concern was child 1s overbite, our overall goal was to get her bite and jaw aligned correctly to prevent any TMJ or jaw problems in her future. This is why we did a full phase of braces, to make sure we would address any and all issues related to her teeth alignment and jaw positioning. The full phase should have corrected any problem with her bite, including the ****** and crossbite, not just concentrated on her overbite. Doctor ****** said that she had successfully completed her full phase of braces in under a year but never mentioned that she had a ****** bite or that she still had a crossbite. The completed pictures I received still have her braces on, and can see the crossbite on both sides of her mouth where her teeth are not aligned correctly. After our new dentist noticed the ****** bite, we went for a 2nd opinion with another orthodontist, who confirmed she still has crossbite along with a ****** bite. Her bite was not correctly fixed, as a dentist and an orthodontist confirmed with documentation and photos. Since this was her second round of braces and a full phase, these issues with her teeth alignment should have been appropriately addressed and corrected during her treatment as that is the purpose of braces.
  Child 2 was under your care for two years with minimal change in her bite aside from the expansion. The severity of the infection was much more significant and had been festering due to the size of the wound and part of the tissue came out with the emergency removal of the expander. My daughter got a small piece of food stuck back behind her her 6-year molar between the back of the tooth and the gum, which was not even on the side of the infection or where the damaged tissue was and due to the type of expander she had that area was fully covered by the plastic retainer, as shown in the previous picture. The food item was removed that night, and we were at the dentist less than 24 hours after the incident. An infection to that degree was not due to the food she ate less then 24 hours early, as infections that created that big of a wound, along with tissue loss, happen over time, not less than 24 hours. I also talked to you about white spot under her retainer as I was concerned and was told it was probably food and was not a big deal. After the infection cleared, we continued to go once every 6 to 8 weeks as instructed. Doctor ****** had a three-month wait at the Loveland location, so instead of waiting, we decided to go to ********* and see Doctor ***** as we had heard good things about her and I wanted a second opinion on child 2 and to see our options since the buttons **************** suggested were not working. Doctor **** took measurements, confirming my suspicion that her overbite had not changed after a couple of months of using rubber bands as instructed with the buttons. I would also like to note if her buttons popped off (due to her teeth size), it would take 2 to 4 weeks before the button could be replaced as **************** was only at the *************** twice a month, and no one else in the office was trained in orthodontics. 
  The progression pictures taken have child 2 pushing her jaw outwards where it should be but not where it is, as you can notice in the middle top picture. Looking closely at the progress photos, you can see the excessive overbite forward facing. Still, from the left-side view, her overbite "looks" better only because she is pushing her bottom jaw forward. In the picture of her facing right, you notice the change in gaping. I assume her jaw is tired from holding it in an unnatural positions to make the overbite look as though it has improved. I have attached a picture from 9/2023 of her smiling the day she got braces from her new orthodontist, which shows how excessive her overbite still is, only four months after these progression photos were taken by ****************. 
  I have also acquired photos from the new orthodontist showing the concerns I am addressing with **************** and ***. I hope you have a nice day.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

  Customer response

  03/13/2024

  These are the pictures from the orthodontist. I have circled the areas to show the miss placement of teeth and how the jaws on both children are still showing their overbites. Child 1 still has a mild overbite and her top teeth are misaligned with her bottom teeth. I also have X-rays that were taken as well if you would like to look at those. I appreciate your help in the hard situation my family is dealing with. Have a nice evening.

  Business response

  04/08/2024

  Dear ******,
  
  I believe we have come to a resolution with ***************** regarding this case.  We will be issuing an agreed upon check to her at the first of next week.  We will let you know when this has been completed.  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
  Kind regards,
  
  Kent
  
  ****************************;
  **************** & TMJ
  **************************************
  *********, ********
  Main ************
  Direct ************
  www.NewEarlyOrthodontics.com
  
    
  

  
  

  Customer response

  05/17/2024

  Hi, I am writing to let you know that although ************ and *** have agreed to reimbursement, but they have not followed through and are not replying to any of my messages after almost a month. What can I do since they are not following through? I have responded in writing to the agreed upon amount.
  

  Thank you,

  *********************

  Business response

  07/10/2024

  The final payment has  been mailed to on July 9th to give a final resolution.  We do apologize for the delay in getting this to you.  Kind regards, **** and ***.

  Customer response

  07/14/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩