ComplaintsforBroomfield Family Dentistry

• Initial Complaint

  04/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The dental relationship started in 2021 and the recommendation for invisalign happened in Feb 2022. I'd never been advised to 'fix' my teeth, cosmetically or structurally. ****************** said I had a twisted tooth and pushed for invisalign with scare tactics that my bite would get worse and I'd crack teeth. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my bite but I listened to the professional. After a year of invisalign my teeth are horrible and the treatment in the office was consistently subpar. I was told to be patient and that my teeth looked straighter every time I went in. I kept reminding the Dr. that I had no issue with how my teeth looked and now my bite was awful with tips touching and the spacing was so wide food stuck between every tooth. These were never issues before treatment. I was told the spacing was inherent yet I never had problems before the invisalign. Each time I was in the chair I would have water sprayed up my nose, my cheek was ripped to bleeding by the Dr., and my bottom right canine was shaved off flat. I was devastated by the way my mouth was turning out and told the Dr. at every visit that it was not right. By the time the last tray was worn he said I'd get a night guard for free, for my trouble. I never received the retainers necessary for treatment and there is still 'glue' on my teeth. I have headaches daily now, still have to floss with any food, it feels like there are cavities in multiple places, my teeth don't bite correctly, the night guard and bottom retainer make the bite worse, and there is nothing good about my teeth anymore. The office manager and the assistants encouraged me to keep asking for a refund and turn ****************** in so I asked multiple times and ultimately was told my teeth are perfect and he wouldn't give any refund because he gave me the night guard. I never want this dentist in my mouth again and I'd like a full refund to pay another dentist to align my teeth back to the original bite and spacing, I need a good bite.

  Business response

  05/13/2023

  To BBB,

  Please be advised this is a medical/legal issue with potential HIPAA ramificationjs and I am not sure why you are involved.  There is a lot of misinformation and slander in the message provided in order to receive a financial gain.  I am requesting that this either be dismissed on those grounds, if not put on hold until my attorney can respond appropriately in a HIPAA way that I am uncertain of.

  Also, I just received this message as the email you sent it to receives a lot of spam emails that is not monitored by me and ones like these are often overlooked by my staff as we have never received any messages from you.  Moving forward should you need to contact me, please update email address to:  ******************** or better yet, reach out to me on my cell phone at: ************.

  Sincerely,

  Dr. Samuel J. Sweeny DMD, FAGD

  Customer response

  05/13/2023

   
  Complaint: 19988203
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I have nothing to gain financially, I have a bite to fix that wasnt bad before the invisalign. Had ****************** been professional I wouldve received the necessary care each time I was in his office. I actually have nothing to gain by providing misinformation and Im giving facts about my experiences in the office directly with ****************** and his staff. I dont need to lie about my teeth or the medical malpractice because my teeth are proof. As far as I understand HIPAA covers the medical information of the patient and Ive already opened myself to discussing this case through the BBB to rectify the problem after being turned away by ****************** multiple times. All Im asking for is a refund for the invisalign treatment so I may find a qualified dentist to fix the mess that was made by ******************* 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******************

  Customer response

  06/16/2023

  See attached authorization form

  Business response

  06/23/2023

  See attached letter and consent form for treatment.

  Customer response

  06/30/2023

   
  Complaint: 19988203
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  ****************** may be very well educated in dentistry however, Ive had my teeth for over **************************************************************** my mouth  and have always had proper oral hygiene without issue. As for being happy after every visit-maybe what was noticed was my aversion to conflict and the fear that I would have more mistreatment for the duration of the time necessary to fix my teeth. I had complained at every visit and even had a private meeting with ****************** requesting a refund, stating my fear with allowing him to work on my teeth any further, and stating all the facts of the poor condition of my mental state along with my mouth/teeth. At that meeting he begged me to allow him to finish treatment and take the night guard for free as a concession. I wore the night guard once and it ruined the alignment of my teeth, as did the one retainer he provided. I had more scans done for another retainer and never received that. Beyond the invisalign ****************** and his ever changing team did such poor jobs that I had to return to have a regular cleaning completed and never got follow up for my 6 month check up. I know all of this doctors education because there was never a visit that I didnt hear how special/wonderful he is and how much he does to educate other dentists. To that I replied-Id love to have any of the dentists hes taught fix the mess he made with my bite. The contract states retainers for a year and the office said free teeth whitening at the end of treatment also-I received neither. There is too much work to be done from this alignment to even consider wearing retainers now and Id like to have a proper orthodontist align my bite to healthy, ****************** is not welcome inside my mouth ever again. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******************

  Business response

  07/15/2023

  Please speak to the consumer's outstanding issues:
  1)  "I had more scans done for another retainer and never received that."
  

  The night guard acts as the upper retainer and we dont make scans for retainers, we make impressions in our office and made her a lower retainer which was completed on 2/8/23.
  

  2)"I had to return to have a regular cleaning completed and never got follow up for my 6 month check up.
  

  It is the patient's responsibility to schedule cleaning appointments, I am not sure what this means.
  

  3)"The contract states retainers for a year and the office said free teeth whitening at the end of treatment also-I received neither." 
  

  We are happy to give her bleach, most people choose to do it at the completion of treatment.

  Customer response

  07/31/2023

   
  Complaint: 19988203
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1) The night guard that was made fit improperly, as did the original retainer made for the bottom teeth, and that was disclosed to the dentist. Wearing those two devices made my bite worse, tip to tip, and he in fact had another scan done when notified my bite was wrong. ******, an employee at the time, completed the second scan with the large xray device and had to try again after not being able to reach around the wisdom teeth on the right side. I was told this was to make a new retainer. I could not wear either the retainer or the night guard without causing further damage to my teeth.

  2) I called and left a message on the day I had a reminder in my calendar asking if this was for something to do with the invisalign or if it was for a regular six month check, after cancelling all further appointments while in the office. Once I made it clear that ****************** would no longer be allowed back in my mouth I was shut out and ignored by everyone in the office. 

  3) Bleaching my teeth right now would be detrimental, in my opinion. I would prefer to have a proper dentist complete the invisalign treatment with the retainers and subsequently actually clean the 'button' residue off before whitening my teeth. Why offer to give me bleach knowing my treatment hasn't been completed?

  Never in my life of consumerism have I had to defend myself for a faulty product or have such rude and disrespectful treatment by a professional. I'd given too many chances to this dentist to make the issues right, while being treated lesser than. I can't get back the shaved canine tooth or my original 'perfect for me' bite from before invisalign. I would like the opportunity to fix this current awful bite and bad spacing with another dentist and am simply asking for the money back for the product that didn't work. For as educated, experienced, and wonderful as ****************** has told me he is, I'm sure I'm the only customer that he didn't do an excellent job on and I don't see why it's so difficult to return the money I paid out of pocket for a horrible procedure that affects my daily life in such negative ways. I'd like to get a refund for the invisalign and move on and away from this dentist and practice. This has gone on far too long and I'm suffering. I used to be proud of my teeth and would happily go to the dentist regularly and smile often, now I'm frustrated and need to fix my teeth from the damage done. It's not an attack that needs defending, it's a procedure gone wrong that can be fixed.
  
  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. ↩