Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Saturday, April 6, 2013
(INDIANAPOLIS) - An Indianapolis man is furious after he said he visited an east side dentist to have three teeth pulled out but walked out with no teeth at all.
An Indianapolis man is furious after he said he visited an east side dentist to have three teeth pulled out but walked out with no teeth at all.
"I am going to look like a freak now," said Christopher Crist. "Honest to God."
Crist, who is Autistic, said went to the dentist with a toothache. His family said they told him exactly what to say to, "pull the three troubled teeth and nothing more."
"They pulled 32 teeth," said Crist. "They pulled every last one of them."
Fox59 went to Amazing Family Dental to hear their side of the story, but the office door was locked, despite a sign posted stating they were open until 5 p.m. The dental office's lawyer told Fox59 employees were inside the office, but did not want to comment on the incident
However, Fox59 did receive the following statement:
"Amazing Family Dental, PC and its Dentist comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by keeping patient information confidential. This dental office also cooperates with patients by making patient files available to the patient on the patient's request."
Crist's family said they had been trying to get those records for two days, but still have not received anything. Before his latest visit to the dentist, Crist was described to be fun-loving and quick to smile. Now, the 21-year-old man said he has no idea how to go on.
"I do not know how she is going to look at me, and I do not know how my friends are going to look at me now," said Crist.
Family members told Fox59 they plan on hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit against Amazing Family Dental.
Fox59 checked out the status of the dental office's license, and the license is current with the State of Indiana and there was no record of any other complaint filed against the company.
Dentists said there are cases where pulling a large number of teeth is the right thing to do. Fox59 spoke with Lynna Scott of Scott Dentistry, who said in extreme cases like trench mouth, where the patient's teeth are all rotting away, pulling them out is the best medicine.
"Sometimes teeth can be saved, other times they cannot be saved, but either way if they cannot be saved, it is best to get them out so you do not have other conditions going on," said Scott. "Things like infections spreading that will lead to heart attacks, or strokes, or other things that can basically be fatal. It really does depend on the person or situation."
Scott said before that many teeth are taken out, there needs to conversation between dentist and patient, as well as informed consent before it happens.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.