#1 ·
To whom it may concern,
First off—please excuse my lack of technical terminology and general dental expertise; my professional background is quite removed from this field, so I ask for your patience.
The issue is as follows:
Back in December, I decided to get veneers on my lateral incisors because they were appearing crooked. My dentist—who runs a hybrid practice, part private and part contracted through insurance—had them made within two weeks, charged me $350, and installed them. The problem? She failed to warn me about anything or even suggest an X-ray. I have impacted teeth growing above those laterals that haven't erupted yet, which have been pushing my lateral incisors out of alignment for years. Honestly, she shouldn't have needed a single scan to notice that—let alone have the moral obligation to advise against a procedure that I just spent $350 on, knowing full well these teeth would soon shift and look worse than before. These impacting teeth are visible just by looking at my open mouth; no X-ray required.
As I mentioned—I am no expert here—but regarding those specific teeth: six years ago, when I first noticed the misalignment (which was more of a personal observation than something others pointed out), my previous dentist sent me for scans and an orthodontist consultation. At the time, the specialist suggested surgery to extract the impacted teeth—if I recall correctly, that was also an additional cost, feel free to correct me.
Even though I suspected she was glossing over a major detail, I held onto a bit of hope that the veneers wouldn't shift—at least not until all my teeth were leveled out. My logic was that once everything was straight, there wouldn't be any room for movement. Beyond that, I simply lacked the time and the budget to juggle multiple specialists, so a "quick fix" for my aesthetic concerns seemed like the most logical path.
Now, it’s mid-July. After only six months with these veneers, one has shifted so much that my central incisor has actually cracked, and there's now a gap between my lateral and canine that looks large enough to fit another tooth. Even my lower teeth, which have always been perfectly aligned, are now a mess because the upper ones aren't providing the right structural support. All of this happened in just half a year. The other lateral is relatively fine, for now.
During my last check-up, I told her the tooth was moving. Her response? She claimed my lower teeth were creating the pressure, and then she immediately started grinding down my lower lateral incisor—without even asking. I didn't let on that I knew she was treating me like an idiot, because it felt futile. She ground the tooth down, and still, nothing changed. Generally speaking, she is arrogant and terrible at communicating; she practically refuses to speak to a patient unless you lead with exactly what kind of procedure will put money in her pocket.
I feel desperate, disappointed, and cheated. I'm out of money and feel powerless to fix this, even though I know both the aesthetics and the functionality are going to get significantly worse. It shouldn't be my responsibility to study dentistry—after all, the whole point of having specialized professions is for experts to complement one another. At least, that was the original intent of society before materialism took over everything.
My question is: do I have any legal standing to file a complaint and demand a long-term correction of this situation? What are the deadlines for such a claim, and if anyone has any comments or advice, I would be incredibly grateful!
First off—please excuse my lack of technical terminology and general dental expertise; my professional background is quite removed from this field, so I ask for your patience.
The issue is as follows:
Back in December, I decided to get veneers on my lateral incisors because they were appearing crooked. My dentist—who runs a hybrid practice, part private and part contracted through insurance—had them made within two weeks, charged me $350, and installed them. The problem? She failed to warn me about anything or even suggest an X-ray. I have impacted teeth growing above those laterals that haven't erupted yet, which have been pushing my lateral incisors out of alignment for years. Honestly, she shouldn't have needed a single scan to notice that—let alone have the moral obligation to advise against a procedure that I just spent $350 on, knowing full well these teeth would soon shift and look worse than before. These impacting teeth are visible just by looking at my open mouth; no X-ray required.
As I mentioned—I am no expert here—but regarding those specific teeth: six years ago, when I first noticed the misalignment (which was more of a personal observation than something others pointed out), my previous dentist sent me for scans and an orthodontist consultation. At the time, the specialist suggested surgery to extract the impacted teeth—if I recall correctly, that was also an additional cost, feel free to correct me.
Even though I suspected she was glossing over a major detail, I held onto a bit of hope that the veneers wouldn't shift—at least not until all my teeth were leveled out. My logic was that once everything was straight, there wouldn't be any room for movement. Beyond that, I simply lacked the time and the budget to juggle multiple specialists, so a "quick fix" for my aesthetic concerns seemed like the most logical path.
Now, it’s mid-July. After only six months with these veneers, one has shifted so much that my central incisor has actually cracked, and there's now a gap between my lateral and canine that looks large enough to fit another tooth. Even my lower teeth, which have always been perfectly aligned, are now a mess because the upper ones aren't providing the right structural support. All of this happened in just half a year. The other lateral is relatively fine, for now.
During my last check-up, I told her the tooth was moving. Her response? She claimed my lower teeth were creating the pressure, and then she immediately started grinding down my lower lateral incisor—without even asking. I didn't let on that I knew she was treating me like an idiot, because it felt futile. She ground the tooth down, and still, nothing changed. Generally speaking, she is arrogant and terrible at communicating; she practically refuses to speak to a patient unless you lead with exactly what kind of procedure will put money in her pocket.
I feel desperate, disappointed, and cheated. I'm out of money and feel powerless to fix this, even though I know both the aesthetics and the functionality are going to get significantly worse. It shouldn't be my responsibility to study dentistry—after all, the whole point of having specialized professions is for experts to complement one another. At least, that was the original intent of society before materialism took over everything.
My question is: do I have any legal standing to file a complaint and demand a long-term correction of this situation? What are the deadlines for such a claim, and if anyone has any comments or advice, I would be incredibly grateful!