What should mom do?

Below is an email from the mom of the child who had 9 root canals done on Thursday at Kids Dental Place in Phoenix. Now what? The child is sick and traumatized.

Tuesday August 16, 2011

Hi Deb,
My son is not doing good he now has a fever of 102 since 6:30am.

My mother and I took him to the Phoenix Children's Hospital ER department and they did not do anything.

They wanted to strap him down to look in his mouth & I refused. I explained what happened to him & they could not careless.

I do not know what is going on with these doctors! This is horrible. The doctor just refused to help & so we left!

He said there is nothing he can do since my son won't open his mouth. I am so frustrated you have no idea! The doctor literally walked out on me & told me to go back to the dentist! Who the heck does that?!?!

K

UPDATE. 8:00 CST
August 16,2011

Deb
I just got out of his pediatrician office all he did was look in his mouth & see the inflammation & drooling and he already knew. He even called the hospital and asked what happened & gave them a piece of his mind!

He said those young residents don't know what they are doing & should never put a child thru that! His fever was 104!!!

He prescribed him antibiotics for the infection. Let's hope that helps. If not he might need an IV. I feel so helpless again!

Thank you for ur kind words & all ur helo u are such a life saver I don't know what I would do if I never found ur blog!
K

Kids Dental Place under fire by upset mom after child received 9 root canals–Here is info on Kids Dental Place

Kids Dental Place – Kids Dental Place is a trade name for NBA Dental Group P.C. with offices in Phoenix, Glendale, and Mesa Arizona.

NBA Dental Group
d/b/a Kids Dental Place
3910 E. Equestrian T1
Phoenix, AZ 85044
714-651-6719
kidsdentalplace07@yahoo.com

The address on NBA Dental Group belongs to:

George R. and Aramouni Ayoub
3910 E. Equestrian T1
Phoenix, AZ  85044
Valuation - $349,000
The dentists’ bios mention their “passion” and “interest” in treating pediatric patients, one dentist has a father who treated children. However, only one dentist in the group is an actual Pediatric Dentist. I have to ask if they are/were so passionate why only one spent the extra 2 years of training to become a pediatric dentist?
Dr. Amy Heil
Dr. Walter Villanueva – pediatric dentist
Dr. Wissam Ayoub (George) (Manta website says this dude is the Principal of the business)
Dr,. Joseph Nielson
Dr. Jay Ayass

Comment from a Small Smiles patient

I went here and I'm 16, this dumb old whore kept making me bleed all over the place and when i jerked she would say shit like "dont move , maybe if you cleaned more often this wouldnt happen" umm bitch maybe i should stab you in your fuckin gums and see if you dont jerk your damn self.... its pititful and on top of that they did all the wrong shit to my teeth and now im paying for it

Orthodontic treatment increased nearly 50%. Why? Marketing?

From the Wall Street Journal- November 16, 2010
by  Nancy Keates at nancy.keates@wsj.com

The number of children 17 and younger getting orthodontic treatment has grown 46% over the past decade to 3.8 million in 2008,... figure available from the American Association of Orthodontists

The association doesn't break the number down further by age, but Lee W. Graber, the Association's president, estimates that in his own practice 15% to 20% of the 7- to 10-year-olds he sees get treatment.

"Fifteen years ago we rarely saw kids until they were teenagers," Dr. Graber says...

In the U.S., the shift to earlier treatment dates back to around 1990, the year the orthodontists association began encouraging the screening of 7-year-olds, with magazine ads and videos aimed at parents. Better diagnostic technology also has led to more early treatment. Increased insurance coverage has played a role, too...

[ Basically saying a market was created to rake in the dough?  Shocking! 
Question: Who created the market?  Answer: The American Association of Orthodontists. 
Question: Who convinced insurance companies to increase their coverage?  Answer: The AAO?  Question: How did they convince insurance companies to start picking up more of the tab? Answer: False or misleading information, junk science? 
Same questions to go out to Medicaid. ]

Dentist trades drugs for sex

I’m not really sure who is the most disgusting, the dentist or the women.  Geez.

Boston Herald
August 12, 2011
Larue J. Sweet
A disgraced dentist who “lost everything” because he overprescribed prescription painkillers and anxiety medication to at least nine female patients in exchange for fondling their breasts and slapping their bottoms avoided prison but drew six months on house arrest at his sentencing yesterday.

“I left my staffers suddenly unemployed. I left my patients without care. My children are in counseling because of my actions. My grandchildren are embarrassed and have distanced themselves from me. I have lost everything,” Dr. Steven Miller, 69, of Wareham yesterday told U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. in a breaking voice.

 

Read full story here

Arizona–New laws go into effect July 20, 2011

Business Entities (ARS 32-1213(N))
The following language was added to Business Entities. No individual currently holding a surrendered or revoked license to practice dentistry or dental hygiene in any state or jurisdiction in the United States may have a majority ownership interest in the business entity registered pursuant to this subsection. Revocation and surrender of licensure shall be limited to disciplinary actions resulting in loss of license or surrender of license instead of disciplinary action.

Investigation/Complaints (Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 32-1263.02)
Investigative Interviews have been eliminated. All cases will be investigated through the chief investigator or an outside dental consultant. The Board will review the summaries of the investigations and if it appears that the licensee engaged in unprofessional conduct the dentist may be invited to attend a formal interview before the Board. Additionally, the Board may resolve more cases through consent agreements.

Powers and duties; executive director; immunity; fees; definition (ARS 32-1207(C))
Language was added to allow the Executive Director or the Executive Director’s Designee to issue and renew licenses, certificates and permits to applicants who meet the requirements; initiate an investigation if evidence appears to demonstrate a licensee may be engaged in unprofessional conduct or unable to safely practice; initiate an investigation if evidence appears to demonstrate that a business entity may be engaged in unethical conduct; subject to Board approval, enter into a consent agreement with a licensee if there is evidence of unprofessional conduct; and subject to Board approval, enter into a consent agreement with a business entity if there is evidence of unethical conduct.

To read all the new changes, click here

Cashing In by Cashing Out–Small Smiles and the Corporate Practice of Medicine

Listen up!  If you currently work for a dental mill in any capacity this is a must read for you.  If you work for a “chain” dental clinic, it’s for you too.   It lays it all out for the “fake” owners and exactly what can and may happen if you continue to cooperate filling the coffers of Private Equity firms, like Arcapita and FFL.

Excerpt:     

…Children are strapped down to a papoose board to eliminate the time it takes to calm and reassure them before a procedure. Parents are banned from the clinic rooms because they might want to slow the procedure if their child is fearful or in obvious discomfort.

     Unnecessary procedures are performed because the corporation gets paid by Medicaid for every procedure performed, not just the necessary ones. And children get rushed, inadequate, and botched dental work because it’s faster than taking the time to do each procedure properly.

      As the blurred face of the stricken ex-Small Smiles dental assistant explains, it’s all about “production, production, production.” It’s a good mantra for a widget factory. It’s a torture sentence in a dental clinic.

      How are such practices permitted in this day and age? The simple answer is they aren’t –and haven’t been for over a hundred years. Unfortunately, the laws that prevent such practices aren’t systematically enforced, and private equity firms with desires for outsized profits are taking advantage of that fact. They’ve discovered a veritable gold mine in the systematic bilking of Medicaid for their corrupted brand of dental “care”. By inflating the profit margins of these clinics with shoddy and abusive practices, private equity firms can sell the business at an extraordinary profit, with the only fallout being traumatized children who are often too poor to seek recourse – or know that any is due to them…

Click here to read the rest of this brilliant piece!

Dentists Warn of Risks Associated with Sports Drinks

Yes, Church Street Health Management has found a new subject matter to comment on, in order to get press I suppose.

Dentists Warn of Risks Associated with Sports Drinks

1.  One of the founders of the Small Smiles Dental Centers was instrumental in  putting soft drink machines in our schools.  Dan DeRose

2.  Since Church Street Health Management and their illegal Small Smiles Dental Centers target the “underserved” (preferably Medicaid children under 10)I doubt those same individuals are heavy into sports drinks.

“As children of all ages engage in outdoor activities during the summer, there is a growing tendency toward the consumption of sports and energy drinks instead of water,” said Dr. Steven Adair, Chief Dental Officer of Church Street Health Management, which manages more than 70 dental centers for low-income families in 22 states.

Choking on the above statement-They illegally own and operate, not manage, 73 clinics in 22 states and the District of Columbia.  It appears CSHM will do what they can to put their “two cents” out there on a subject matter, press is press I suppose.  :

 “Cashing In by Cashing Out" – It’s a must read!!!

Church Street Health Management’s New Members for 2011

Church Street Health Management finally filed their annual report July 17, 2011 with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

Noticeable changes are the “Managers”,  A Carlyle Group member finally emerges from the shadows.

Two family homes; each profit from taxpayer dollars-Medicaid.

When it comes to discussion of these illegal dental mills, I get so dang sick of all the remarks about “Medicaid moms” and blaming them for the pure existence of these disgusting places.

I have a question for you.

Which one of these homes leave the worst taste in your mouth?  They both live off your tax dollar.