If you would like to see the list of Small Smiles and Kool Smiles Clinics including dentists names who were employed with these clinics as of September 2007 according to Doral Dental Member Handbook for the State of Virginia and Surrounding Area Click here.
There are hundreds of them. I think you will be shocked at the number of dentists associated with Kool Smiles alone. I certainly found it shocking to think there are that many dentists in just one area that could potentially harm and traumatize your children. Note that Dr. Tu Tran, Dr. Thein Pham, Dr. David Strange, Jr. and Dr. John Ambose are very busy dentist since they seem to treat patients at every clinic in every city.
Some dentist on the list posted earlier have written and told me they have left employment with Small Smiles and some have even filed complaints against them. If your name is on their provider list might I suggest you contact the appropriate people and have your name removed. Contact me as well and I will duly note that you are no longer employed with these companies.
Again, I can't stress enough if you are no longer with either of these companies please email me immediately. Clickable Email Me Link
4 comments:
I can tell you from first hand experience that Kool Smiles and Small Smiles aggressively treat a lot of their patients....meaning a crown vs. a filling. I cannot say that they are completely in the wrong. Many of these children may require this due to their premature development of cavities or "high risk" status.
Unfortunately, these kids (sometimes as young as 2 years of age ) are strapped to a papoose board to complete this type of work. Often urinating on themselves during the procedure....very sad. The only time a papoose should be used is for an emergency procedure...draining an facial abscess or removing an infected tooth, etc. This is a device that is routinely used in a hospital emergency room. Since these clinics offer no sedation (except for nitrous), do not employ an anesthesiologist, or take children to a hospital for sedation or general anesthesia (which Medicaid pays for) they rely heavily on the papoose board They will rarely refer out to a specialist that has access to sedation because that is considered lost revenue. Kool Smiles is also a strong advocate of "no parents in the rooms where they render treatment".
I can also tell you that these folks could give a crap about "helping the children". Kids represent a dollar or a "unit"....using their own terminology. There are plenty of pediatric dentists practicing in the states where Kool Smiles, Small Smiles, and Ocean Dental operate. Please contact the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY (ONLINE) if you need help locating one of these clinicians. Few to none of the dentists treating these children are pediatric dentists. The dentist who started Kools Smile..Tran and Pham are not. The interesting thing is that these two jokers used to work for Small Smiles and admittedly stole their business model and opened up their own chop shop. While they no longer own these s@4t holes they are still working for the corporation that does. These corporations are using your children to fill their pockets. Few to none of the dentists who work for them are true pediatric dentists (a specialty of dentistry that requires an additional 2-3 years of training after one graduates from dental school). This is actually a big deal. Be suspicious of places that advertise themselves as general dentistry for children. They cannot legally say pediatric dentist on their sign...so if it lacks this wording they are not specialists (which makes a huge difference in how your children are treated).
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU PARENTS.
To author of this blog...I do think there is quite a bit you don't understand. It concerns me that you have now training in medicine or dentistry and are posting advice regarding treatment. You are in no position to critique things which you are unfamiliar with. i admire your intentions and agree that places like KS and SS should not exist.
I am a mother of 2 young girls, ages 5 and almost 7. Since they were really young, maybe 2,they've gone to the Portsmouth location of Kool Smiles here in VA. And I fully acknowledge that they do use restraints for unruly children. They give a FULL disclosure of what will occur if a child is being difficult to treat. And they give us parents the opportunity to sign documentation allowing the dentists, hygienists and assistants to treat our children. I find your blog and video to broad of a spectrum involving the kool Smiles offices, as only one video and interviews were conducted at one office. I am pretty sure that office is under new management. Yes, they do, separate us from our kids, yes I fully believe it is for privacy reasons because the patients records are on display on a monitor for anyone walking by them to see. So you can't say that isn't an issue because i've been in the medical field for many years, starting as a nurses assistant at 17 then a dental assistant. Patient privacy is a big deal in the medical field. However, when there aren't too many patients at the time, i have been, along with other parents, allowed in the treatment area with my girls. I do understand the use of restraints at times; some children are just unruly and can be a danger to the staff and themselves. A lot of times, dentists won't treat children who are difficult for that very reason. My youngest daughter had to be lightly restrained because she was being tough to handle. But after a bit of easy coaxing, she got her teeth cleaned and was on her way. I find it odd that the maker of the video didn't record the very beginning of that child's treatment, where he may have begun his tantrum. Where they may have tried to use gentler methods to treat him. Also, in the office I take my children. there is a large window that allows us parents to see our kids while they're being treated, but they can't see us from what i understand, i never tested that out. A lot of times, children act very differently when they're parents are around, they tend to become more upset. As a mother, I know that for a fact. So again, I find the video and your blog very biased. Try visiting more than one Kool Smiles/ Small Smiles clinic next time. I won't stop taking my kids to theirs. My girls look forward to their next checkup in 2 weeks.
Marsha:
You are their favorite type of client. I've spent over two years talking to parents, employees and professionals.... The video is just the tip of the iceberg...
Biased??!! OMG! I don't even have a dog in this hunt other than to expose the torture chambers for what they are.
I know sometimes it's hard to accept the truth, but just try to swallow a bit harder, try a little sugar to help the medicine go down..
To Marsha,
I for one have been to many Small Smiles clinics so I have sampled quite a few of them. Actually, all of them that are in the state of Colorado where they were created. So you may call me an expert witness. Oh and before I forget to mention, I worked at Small Smiles. I worked under both managements. The DeRoses and the new FORBA. I can tell you it has gone downhill fast since they were sold to the greedy mongers in Tennesse. I too understand the need to restrain children at times as my own child had a papoose board when she cut her head open. However, it was used correctly in the ER. What happens in Small Smiles is beyond a nightmare. Ever seen a childs wrist after they were strapped down and they could still wriggle their little hands trying to get free. Well just think of the worst rug burn you have ever seen and that is what happens to their wrists, their forheads etc. Ever heard grown dental assistants (and I use the term loosely) tell a scared 3 year old if they don't stop crying they will never see their mom or dad again? I have on a daily basis. Ever smell urine being dried with a hair dryer on clothes because a child wet themselves from being terrified? Again, daily happenings at Small Smiles. Ever hear a child scream because the dentist numbed the left side of the mouth and then take a drill to the opposite side that wasn't numb? I have. Ever been told by your manager that you need to just do your job and not worry about the kids? Have you ever seen a child scream and cry for hours while being strapped down that they have ruptured the blood vessels in their eyes, neck and cheeks? Yup, I have. Ever go home at night and cry for hours yourself because you have tried to fix the abuse and cannot get anyone to help you. I have. So is Dentist the Menace website being biased? No way! In fact, I don't think she knows half of the real terror that goes on behind their doors. Do I? I am afraid I do. Do I still have nightmares? I do. Do I want to see them closed down? I do. Am I ashamed of ever having worked there? I am. But I also know for real what goes on and I wouldn't send my worst enemy there. Do they threaten the employees to keep their mouths shut. Yes they do and they also use a form of brain washing. I watched it day after day until I couldn't stand it anymore. Now Marsha, I hope you read this and think twice about this site just having a biased opinion because it is anything but biased. Thank you for reading.
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.