Tuesday, June 17, 2008

United Health Care Still Using Small Smiles: What The Hell Are They Thinking?

Despite Doral Dental, a sub-contractor for Maryland's Medicaid System, terminating 4 dentists and suspending Small Smiles for another 3 months for highly irregular and questionable practices, United Health Care, another sub-contractor doing business as Americhoice, finding more than $250,000 worth of "questionable treatments" will still send it's medicaid members to the following Small Smiles dental Clinics in Maryland for treatment.


  • GRIGORYAN, OVSANNA
SMALL SMILES OF LANGLEY PARK PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • KING, TRACY S.
SMALL SMILES OF NORTH BALTIMORE PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • MILLS, LINISHA Y.
SMALL SMILES OF OXON HILL
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • PARIRENYATWA, SIMBARASHE
SMALL SMILES OF NORTH BALTIMORE PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • PARIRENYATWA, SIMBARASHE
SMALL SMILES OF BALTIMORE PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • PFEUFFER, DAVID J.
SMALL SMILES OF NORTH BALTIMORE PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • ROBINSON-WARNER, GILLIAN A.
SMALL SMILES OF OXON HILL
GENERAL DENTISTRY

  • TOLER, KENYATTA M.
SMALL SMILES OF OXON HILL
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • TOLER, KENYATTA M.
SMALL SMILES OF LANGLEY PARK PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • TYLER, DAWN L.
SMALL SMILES OF OXON HILL
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • UMEOZULU, OKEOMA N.
SMALL SMILES OF BALTIMORE PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY

In Washington DC they will gladly send you to:
  • MILLER, JULIAN P.
SMALL SMILES, PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • MUNDEY, SHAKEYA
SMALL SMILES, PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • STEPHENSON, KESHA J.
SMALL SMILES, PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY
  • VENIGALLA, LAKSHMI Informed They Are No Longer Employed With Small Smiles
SMALL SMILES, PC
GENERAL DENTISTRY

What the HELL is United Health Group thinking! Hopefully you are one of the lucky recipients of Doral Dental and won't be sent to any of the above dentists and your child will be spared the torture and abuse of unnecessary dental treatment and being tied to a papoose board just for the ease of it all.

I suggest if your linked up with United Health/Americhoice you exercise your American Choice and call, write or email United Health Group and demand better service for yourself and your children.

If you are a dentist and no longer associated with Small Smiles please email me, state when you left and I will note that you are no longer employed with Small Smiles.



Email Me

Update 9/9/2008

I received the following email and after weighting the request I decided there was no real benefit in not granting the request.

Dear Ms. Hagan/To Whom It May Concern:
As best as we are able to discern, the "Dentist the Menace" web site is maintained by a Debbie Hagan. This email is intended to reach all persons responsible for the content of the site.

This law firm represents Sanam Toufanian, D.D.S., whose name appears on the June 17, 2008, "Dentist the Menace" web site posting regarding Small Smiles entitled, "United Health Care Still Using Small Smiles: What the Hell Are They Thinking?". Dr. Toufanian no longer is employed with Small Smiles. During her employment at Small Smiles, Dr. Toufanian at all times acted in the best interests of her patients, and there is no allegation that Dr. Toufanian engaged in any improper conduct. Your web posting is false, misleading, and highly damaging to Dr. Toufanian's reputation. We therefore demand that you remove Dr. Toufanian's name from the June 17, 2008 posting immediately.

Sincerely,
Caroline Judge Mehta


Caroline  Mehta  202.778.1836 cmehta@zuckerman.com

2 Must Read Comments:

Anonymous said...

A few of the dentists listed on this particular blog have not been employees of small smiles for some time and are also not providers for United Health Care. I am an ex Small Smile dentist and complained about Small Smiles before the Roberta Baskin report! So to see my name here as a bad dentist when I am some of the few that stepped up to help this cause and make sure our children get the care they deserve, is VERY APALLING! Please verify your information before you post such hurtful comments to good dentists out there trying to help the children that so few lend a hand too. Please call Small Smiles or United Health Care and ask about some of these doctors and they will let you know that some of these doctors left on their own accord (some even filed complaints against the company) The most disturbing thing to me is that a few of the worst dentists at small smiles are not even listed and some of the very good dentists are listed!! It makes the ones that are doing good for the public feel very hurt and bad about the decision they made to use their education to help those who have no access to care. I appreciate the spreading of the word of bad practices but at the same time when a blog like this is slandering good dentists then I believe a post like this should be removed. I believe the true purpose of a blog such as Dentist the Menace is to get to the truth, but this blog is far from that.

Anonymous said...

This list came directly from United's Website, if you are no longer with Small Smiles, then you need to contact them as well as Doral and have your name removed.

I applaud you for leaving Small Smiles and filing complaints. If you are on this list and left because of the way they treated children, email me and it will be noted. If there are dentists whose name should be on this list who are not, email me those names as well.