Monday, March 03, 2008

Kids Little Smiles, Bullhead Arizona Another Dental Torture Chamber


Here is a story of Kiely. A child who visited Kids Little Smiles Dentistry For Children, Bullhead, AZ.

I don't know if Kids Little Smiles is another one of FORBA/Araptica Bank's torture chambers but if it walks like a duck, it could be one. However, it could be just another dental chop shop for children that has found a way to actually make money torturing children.


Kiely's Trauma Story at the hands of the dentist, Dr. Mike Kort pictured above:

On 02/27/08 Kiely had a dentist appt with Dr. Michael Kort with Kool Lil Smiles Dentistry for kids on Miracle mile.
When the nurse came to get Kiely and take her back Kiely wanted me to go but the nurse said that she had to try and go w/o me and told her “I will come and get mom in a minute if you still want her.” Well she never came back to get me.

When Kiely came out from her procedure she was dripping sweat, her eyes were swollen and she had these small red dots all over them. The nurse said “She had a little bit of a hard time.” She also said “we gave her the nitros but she didn’t like it so we gave her some oxygen to flush it out of her system.” I asked what was wrong w/her eyes and the nurse told me she will take her back and call me in to talk to the dentist in a minute, well she only took Kiely back and came back a second later and said that the Dr said it’s a Latex allergy but they think it might be from the nitros mask. I told them “She doesn’t have a latex allergy.” The dentist wouldn’t come talk to me.
They told me to watch it and if it gets worse to let them know. So I called them about an hour later b/c her right eye was turning blue and bruising and the dots traveled to behind her ear and her eyes were still swollen. The same nurse then told me “It’s just a latex allergy and it’ll go away.” I asked if I could speak or come and see the Dr and she told me “He already left for the day but if it is still there in the morning to bring her in and we will treat her as an emergency.” I asked if I should be giving her some benadryl since it’s an allergy and she said “I can’t give you that kind of advice but if you feel you need to.”

So I hung up and I did NOT give her any medication except the tylenol w/codeine for her pain. So I took her to BHCFD [since my dad is a captain there and he was on duty]. I had 4 paramedics tell me it’s petichiae from someone putting too much pressure on her face [they see this in the ER when a child had been suffocated w/a pillow]. So then we are eating dinner and she starts telling us that they were ignoring her when she told them it hurt [when they were drilling] and that when she asked them to get me they ignored her again! Then she told us that they didn’t put a mask on her but they put a white jacket that held her arms down. And that it hurt her and she was scared.

The nurse did NOT tell me nor did they ask me if they could use this type of treatment on my child. Even after the fact they didn’t tell me. So this morning [2/28/08] after She woke up I took her straight to her pediatrician [Dr. Nalia Tariq].
She confirmed that it was petechia from too much pressure. But she thinks it’s from the jacket b/c Kiely was trying to get out of it and freaking out. So I went to the dentist office and got copies of all her medical records and consent forms. They are useless and don’t say a thing. So I asked if I could talk to the dentist and they said he isn’t in yet and won’t be until 1030 but I could come back at 11 and he should have a few minutes to talk to me. So i will be leaving in a few minutes.
Ca Ching!

I would suspect since Dr. Charles Lucero and Dr. Nate Urquhart work there they would be guilty of this type of treatment as well or they wouldn't be working there.


My heart goes out to Kiely and her family and I'm so sorry she had to suffer like this at the hands of a dentist. I hope that Kiely's parents file formal complaints with the following and join in the movement to put an end to this:

The Arizona Attorney General
The Better Business Bureau In Arizona
The Dental Association of Arizona
And File a Police Report!

I also hope that Dr. Nalia Tariq, who examined Kiely after this event files a complaint.

Here is the contact information for Kids Little Smiles
Kids Little Smiles
2401 S Miracle Mile
Bullhead City, AZ 86442
(928) 704-5573
kidslittlesmiles_bullhead@frontiernet.net

9 Must Read Comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting my daughters story. It is horrible what she had to go through. Thank you for posting those places that I should write. I have done the last two. The first two are next on my list!!!! I appreciate any and all help/advice/support!!!!!!

.Ashlie. Maxwell
Kiely's Mother!

PS Sorry I'm anonymous but I couldnt figure out how to use my wordpress sign in....

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

HI
Im a dentist in NJ I agree with a lot of your points but some things your a little off. Id love to talk. reply to rgrunstein@gmail.com
Robert Grunstein

Comment by rgrunstein — April 1, 2008 @ 9:12 pm

Anonymous said...

Being that you are from Hayward, CA and actually googled Ashlie's name why do you care to point out any slack in parenting.

Sounds like this is personal to me.

Anonymous said...

For one, All children should see the dentist at age three, to not do that is truly neglectful. You have to be a special kind of stupid to publicly scrutinize someone for taking care of their children by providing them with the state recommended health care.

My son has state aided health insurance, in order to keep the insurance, he MUST see a doctor for well check ups 2x a year (regardless of how many sick visits he has had) and MUST see the dentist 2xs a year.

Having said that, I took my son to kool lil smiles in Lake Havasu. He was only three years old, it was his first visit. When they called him in for his turn, I went to follow and they told me I was not allowed to come in. When I asked them why, they told me it was because children behave better when they are not accompanied by their parents. They took my 3 yr old back there and I waited while he had his checkup. They came back and told me that my baby needed 4 fillings! I was shocked. We have always taken good care of his teeth and he didn't eat sweets, not that it wasn't offered, he just didn't like sweet stuff. Anyhow, they come back and tell me he needs these fillings and I say ok, this being my first child and my first dental experience with a child, I had to trust what they were telling me. I then ask if I can then go back for the procedure and they say no. I ask what they will do for him for pain management and they say laughing gas. I then ask what if he is allergic to the gas or has a bad reaction and they say it isn't possible. I was skeptical but I was there and he needed the work so I allowed them to go ahead and do it. He came out about 15 minutes later and seemed fine. His bottom lip was sort of quivering it was like an involuntary quiver. I asked the nurse or assistant and she said that was normal and would only last a few minutes. Indeed it went away quickly. I asked him if he was in pain and he said no. He enjoyed his visit and can't wait to go back so he can "get another sticker" This was 8 months ago. My insurance company called me last week and said that he needed another checkup. When I googled Kool Lil Smiles to get there phone number, I found this blog and all of the other stories on this company. I do not want to take my son back. I interviewed him, he is now four, and I asked him if he remembers the dentist and he said yes. I asked him what the dentist does. He said they brushed his teeth and put a sucker thing in his mouth that sucks out the spit. I asked him if he heard a noise and made the sound of a drill as best I could and he smiled and said yes. I asked him if it hurt and he said no, it tickled. I asked him if they put him on a board or if they put anything on his arms or legs and he said no. I asked him if he sat in a chair, he said yes. I asked him if they asked him to sit still and he said yes. I asked him if they touched anywhere on his body except his mouth and he said that he thinks they listened to his heart. So I am torn. My son seems to have had a good experience there but I wasn't happy. I called my son's insurance company and surprise surprise, they are the only dentist in town that takes his insurance. I am thinking I am going to make an appointment and print out these blogs and news stories and take them with me. I am thinking I demand that I either be let in the room with my son as I hand them the horror stories or they will need to give me his medical records so I can drive down to Phoenix to find him a suitable dentist. I will also make sure the News Herald is made aware of this should they not comply.
They have the right to run their business any way they choose but when your business has anything to do with children's health, they absolutely should be handling our children with care and complying to the children's or the parents requests of having their parents in the room with them.
In this very litigious nation, it is a wonder they would even want to open themselves up to a potential lawsuit whereby, it would be the kids word against there's since there are no parents allowed. If a child calls foul on a staff member, who is the parent going to believe, their child or a group of strangers at a dentist office that has already left a bad taste in their mouths.

Anonymous said...

Great job! You have encouraged a mother to go after a group of professionals, who have no history of registered board complaints, for something based on speculation. As a Dr. I can assure you that petichiae could not be caused by a passive restraint device and would very likely be caused by a dentists nitrous oxide mask. That's fantastic that the local paramedic gave you his advice. Here is some from a real Dr., stop using this blog irresponsibly. If I showed you a video of me piecing together someone's fracture skull after an MVA you would very likely not understand the rationale behind my treatment approach. You want to know why......because your not a fucking Dr.

Anonymous said...

DR. Rhode Island:

Why were you even searching for the following:

kool smiles dentist the menice

and it's menAce.

Anonymous said...

Why does this three year old even have tooth decay? The mother should take responsibility for not properly caring for her child's oral health. These teeth are supposed to last a long time, some a life time. Why such hostile slander against a professional group (with such a pristine record) who try to help and serve the community and poor population? This office claims to no longer use papoose boards anyways.

Anonymous said...

I made a post a year ago about my feelings about this dentist. I was not at all comfortable about what had gone on but could not do anything about it as I had no hard evidence.
Finally a new dentist has come to Lake Havasu that accepts my insurance and I took my son (now 5 ) there along with his records from Kid's Lil Smiles.
The work they billed my insurance for was never done to him. The billed for 4 amalgam fillings. Only one tooth was drilled into and it was not amalgam. To add insult to injury the filling was not done properly and needs to be redone. When the new dentist asked me which sedation method I would prefer to use for his dental work. I had informed him that he had nitrous the last time at Kid's Lil Smiles. He asked me if he tolerated it well and I said yes but he was quivering a bit. (see my old post) He informed me that nitrous did not cause quivering. Quivering was something that is usually caused by general anesthesia and not the nitrous they had told me they used. So now I know for a fact that the work they billed for was not done and wonder if they knocked my kid out without my permission! Mommy of two do you really have to ask why such slander against a "professional group with such a pristine record"? Perhaps if they allowed the parents in the room with the kids, we wouldn't be left to wonder what was done to them!