Dental Damn

When I decided to leave my State job in Baltimore and move to NYC, I decided to take full advantage of my great medical benefits provided by the State of Maryland.  I got my eyes checked for the first time in my adult life and brand new glasses (for reading only).  I went and had a full physical check up, and I went to the dentist (recommended by my then boss, who I didn't much care for as a boss, but liked very much as a person).  That dentist (only remember his first name, Earl) told me that I needed extensive gum treatments (it had been some time since I'd seen a dentist) and I went back to him for several more visits where he gave me these gum treatments.  Honestly, the gum treatments didn't feel any different that the cleaning he had given me on my first visit.

When I got to New York, I was pretty broke and had an under-the-table, part-time job as an assistant to Fred Hughes, who had been Andy Warhol's Business Manager.  Of course, I had no medical or dental benefits at this job, which I worked for about six months when I left to go on tour with a show.

When I returned from tour, which was my first tour and I treated it as a long vacation, I was totally broke and needed to find a job badly!  I called my previous employers, fully expecting to come back, as this is how we left it.  The other assistants, who took over my hours with the understanding that I would return to the job after the three-month tour was over, decided that they couldn't give up those hours and I was out of a job.  Then I found my way to MetLife through a temp agency.  MetLife hired me full time about a month and a half after my beginning the temp assignment with them.  Now I had medical and dental benefits.  But now it had been a year since I'd gone to the dentist and, of course, I let another year (or two) go by before seeing another dentist.

I found a wonderful dentist, Dr. Glotzer, my first dentist in NYC.  I saw Dr. Glotzer on the recommendation of my boss at MetLife who told me how gentle and wonderful he was.  His exact words were, "I have the best dentist in NYC!"  I trusted my boss, so of course I made an appointment with Dr. Glotzer! 

On my first visit to Dr. Glotzer, his hygienist took x-rays and then cleaned my teeth, but she (the hygienist) told me that it was so bad that she couldn't do it in one sitting and that I had to come back again in a week.  Dr. Glotzer came in and looked at the x-rays and let out several deep sighs before telling me, "I rarely see people your age come into my office with such problems!  You need to floss every day or you'll be headed for a Periodontist for gum planing or other gum surgeries and let me tell you, that's painful stuff!"  He also went on to tell me that the dentist in Baltimore who did my gum treatments "did a yeoman job."  I had to look that up, but it basically means lesser than top notch.  I began taking much better care of my teeth and flossing for the first time in my life.  I also, at Dr. Glotzer's insistance, went for cleaning every four months instead of six.  He told me right up front that my insurance would only cover two per year, so one cleaning would have to be out-of-pocket at $100 bucks each, which was the reason he was not suggesting I come four times a year!  I agreed and told him I would floss, but honestly I don't remember any dentist before, not my childhood dentist Dr. Bernssohn, nor my subsequent dentists in Maryland tell me about flossing.  I went to my mom and told her this and asked her why she never told me to floss or showed me how.  She said, "Well, there was always floss here!  I just though you knew! I thought your dentist would have told you!"

I stayed with Dr. Glotzer for two years until he retired.  His practice was taken over by Dr. Nina Kiani, a lovely person who I found truly beautiful and who I trusted implicitly.  Dr. Glotzer brought her in as his hygienist after he decided to retire, so she could take over his patients gradually.  (His previous hygienist left to have a baby and didn't return.  This was a bit depressing for me, because, literally, every single time she had cleaned my teeth, I would get compliments on how beautiful they were!)  But Dr. Kiani was good and I trusted her, too.

I trusted her until she remodeled her office.  The first red flag happened when she recommended a root canal for one of my teeth that had begun to hurt.  She had brought into her practice another dentist (who I only remember as Dr. J.) who did the root canals.  Dr. J. did my root canal and, while he was doing it and my mouth was stretched wide open, he kept telling his assistant how wonderful and trustworthy Dr. Kiani is.  And how there were few dentists as honest as she.  It felt like a performance for my benefit.

Red flag number two happened at my next visit to Dr. Kiani, I suddenly needed my root-canaled tooth to be capped.  Nobody had mentioned this before, nor was it ever mentioned when Dr. Glotzer had early sent me for a root canal on another tooth.  Dr. Kiani told me that I would definitely need to have that capped as well, because both teeth would eventually break.  I found out that had already (prior to my visit) requested pre-approval for the procedure to cap both teeth when I received in the mail that night when I returned home, the denial from my insurance company.  They didn't cover capping teeth.  Dr. Kiani was trying to charge the insurance company $700 per tooth.  So now, I was looking at $1,400 in out-of-pocket expenses.  I had made an appointment to have my teeth capped before I left the office that day and called the next day to cancel, as I was going to have to save some money before I did that.

On my next visit, Dr. Kiani stated that my x-rays showed "significant bone loss" since my last set of x-rays taken a year before and that I should really see the Periodontist that she had brought in to join her practice, Dr. Morafati (don't know if that's the correct spelling).  At Dr. Kiani's instruction, I went into see Dr. Morafati (in a different exam room) where Dr. Morafati told me that I needed gum surgery!

Feeling utterly depressed about my poor dental heredity and kicking myself for not flossing enough and not brushing after every meal instead of my usual morning and before going to bed brushes, I made the appointment for gum surgery for two weeks later. 

Now understand that I'm believing everything I'm being told, because I trust Dr. Kiani.  After all, Dr. Glotzer brought her in to replace him.   When I returned to work, the wind out of my sails, and explained my downward gaze to my friend, Jen, who also went to Dr. Kiani, she said, "Oh my God!  The same thing just happened to me with her!  I need all kinds of work done that was never even a consideration before!"

Hmmm.

Then in a conversation about my dental health with my boss, who was one of the last holdovers to Dr. Glotzer and had not been to see Dr. Kiani yet, he told me that his friend, also a lawyer at MetLife in anothe Section, had the same issues!

That fraud was trying to make her patients pay for her office renovations and new equipment!  I called and canceled the gum surgery and never returned to Dr. Kiani.

It has been almost three years since I last saw Dr. Kiani and recently once of my root-canaled teeth broke!  Of course, it was the tooth on which Dr. J. worked!  The other tooth with a root canal that was done two years prior, is still fine.

Imagine that.

However, I figured that after three years of not seeing a dentist, my teeth were literally crumbling in my mouth.  I've been very good with brushing and flossing.  Well, with brushing anyway.  Flossing is still an irregular occurence.

I decided to find a Periodontist on my Dental insurance's website.  I figured I'd skip the general dentists, as they were most definitely going to tell me that I needed to go to a Periodontist.  I found Dr. Schlesinger on the website and he was only a few blocks from my office, so I picked up the phone and made an appointment for last Thursday.

I went and was told to have a seat and they would tell him I was here.  So I waited for an assistant to summon me in, but Dr. Schlesinger himself came to greet me.

And he's gorgeous.

And married with a daughter.

Just my luck.

He's very personable, has gorgeous eyes (!) and a beautiful smile, but the best part of this equation, though, is that he studied at NYU and Dr. Glotzer was one of his teachers!  Woo hoo!  I explained my dental history to him and why I left Dr. Kiani and her crew.  He said, "This is how I look at it:  if this was my mom or dad I was examining, what would I recommend?"

Good answer.

Dr. Schlesinger took my x-rays himself, because all of the office assistants were busy with other dentists' patients (he shares the office with several others).  He poked around in my mouth for a while as we waited for the x-rays to be developed and he said, "Well, there aren't any obvious signs of periodontal disease, but the x-rays will give me a better picture.  We can't save that tooth, though.  It broke to close to the gum.  You'll need an implant to replace it."  Thanks, Dr. J!

The x-rays came back and he looked them over for a minute and said, "There's not such significant bone loss for me to recommend any kind of surgery!  Your last dentist was definitely taking you for a ride!"

At least I followed my gut where Dr. Kiani is concerned and didn't have unnecessary surgery!  Trust your instincts, people.

And avoid Dr. Nina Kiani and colleagues!

Comments

[shopper]

Proof of a why a second opinion is always a good thing. You planned this post for dental health month right? ;)

[RDH]

I worked for Dr. Kiani for three months. Dr Kiani is a sweet dentist however she sells dental work that is not necessary. As A hygienist she wanted us to encourage patients to go through the gum procedures which in reality most of the patients just need a good thorough cleaning. I couldn't work for a dentist who "sells" dental procedures instead of promoting dental health. Dr. Kiani is quick to encourage patients to get an onlay and the only thing is needed is a filling. Please get a second opionion after visiting this dentist!

[LaunderLust]

THANK YOU, RDH, for backing me up on this. You are so correct about Dr. Kiani being a very sweet person, but I just couldn't trust her, because me gut instincts told me that something just wasn't right. I won't go back to her, but I hope she comes to the conclusion that this "upselling" she's doing is unethical.

[Temp Hygienist]

This is hilarious! I was searching for Dr. Kiani's credentials and ran across this website. I'm a dental hygienist with 15 years experience. I worked with Dr. Kiani as a temp for a week. Dr Kiani is a kind dentist but she recommends a lot of dental work that isn't necessary. She's very professsional but her office manager Ketty is very cold towards the staff. I'm assuming that's why there's a change of staff very frequently. Ketty is so phony towards the patients and she made it known that this office is "about selling and making money". Of course I was so happy when the week was over. Talk about UNETHICAL. I agree with the other hygienist her patients need to get a second opinion about the dental procedures reccommended. I hope more people discover this website and realize the truth behind Dr. Kiani's motive!

[Lorinda Klein]

I was a patient of Dr. Glotzers for 30 years, up til the moment he retired. I adored him and he was/is a fine dentist. Hence I was willing to give Dr. Kiani a try as I felt that she was hand picked by him. What a disappointment she has been.

As my brother says, "she is very sweet." And that is where it ends. Dr.Glotzer ran his practice like the military...he is a former army colonel. You were in at 10 and out at 10:45. When you are taking time out of a work day you really appreciate that. This past week I had a 10:45 appointment with Dr. Kiani. I admit that I arrived at 10:50 and I sat in the waiting room until noon. Then when I said I was going to have to leave because I had to be at work at 1, I was rushed into a chair...where I sat til 12:30. Needless to say I was furious. She started to work on me and within 10 minutes she dropped the drill or, as she claims, my tongue went up. It doesn't really matter. I suffered a half inch gash under my tongue that required 2 stitches as I was bleeding profusely and a trip to an oral surgeon. Oh, and my tooth was not finished as a result...and I am a transplant recipient which requires utmost care. What infuriates me is that she has not even had the courtesy to call and find out how I'm doing, nor has she offered to pay for the oral surgeon I am sitting here with a toothache and searching for a new dentist. Unless you are willing to devote huge amounts of time sitting in her office, best to find another practitioner. She has never taken me on time yet.

Trust me, this practice is not making any money. I rarely see other patients there. As for the root canal guy, I think his name is Voung, he is a lovely guy, and does a very good job. In most cases a tooth having had a root canal needs a cap since there is usually very little left of the original structure. They try to save as much of the root structure so they can anchor a post and crown to it. A better prospect than pulling it and having a bridge or implants which have their own issues.Having dealt with him I don't think he was trying to sell an unnecessary service but I could be wrong.
I do miss Dr. Glotzer. I was very spoiled, having him for my dentist for so long. I had hoped that all dentists were like him.

[san diego teeth whitening]

I heard a lot of good feed backs with Dr Kiani,I am very curious with him. Thanks for the post.

-heather-

[san diego teeth whitening]

This is interesting! I just though you knew! I thought your dentist would have told you. Keep posting.

by: florence

[Dentists Thousand Oaks]

Yes, second opinion does matter. I'm glad you found the right dentist for you. Sometimes even though you met a good dentist, it just really isn't enough. You have to click with him or her and believe or trust on his/her skills in dentistry. Good luck!

[Z]

I wish I would have found this site before I paid for a unnecessary dental work done by Dr. Kiani. She and her very pushy receptionist pressured me to get the work done immediately when I went to get just a check up and cleaning. While she was explaning my first procedure Dr. Kiani told me that I had three more teeth that needed serious dental work. Thank Good god that I trusted my gut after my first visit, and I told her that I am not interested in getting any more work done by her. She may be nice and sweet but her sneaky sales tactics don't do it justice.

[cosmetic dentist pasadena]

Thanks for the post, this is something that need to read by our readers. thanks for sharing this.

fiona

[austin dental]

Thanks for sharing this informative topics. I learn somethings from it. This will increase our knowledge.

[SHEILA RHYNE]

Ditto on all of the above complaints about Dr. Kiani's unscrupulous ethics, long waits in the office and, may I add, after a second opinion to avoid gum surgery (suggested by Kiani and her periodontist) I was told that the procedure the ineffectual hygienist had done was not a deep root cleaning at all - for which they charged my insurance and were paid! Steer clear of this office! New York has a plethora of dental professionals. Kiani is not the only ball game in town!

[Dentist Seattle]

I agree with you. This type of projects should be encouraged and I think that these type of projects are the projects for the future. . . . .

[Generic Cialis]

Hola,
Ha hecho un trabajo muy bueno. Hay muchas personas en busca de eso ahora van a encontrar suficientes fuentes por tus consejos, Generic Cialis
espera para obtener más consejos acerca de que,

[ファロム]

Hi there,
Really nice job,There are many people searching about that now they will find enough sources by your tips.
Also looking forward for more tips about that

[dental implants]

I believe you guys misunderstood Dr. Nina Kiani. I am not a colleague of her but as a dentist myself I can somewhat relate to her. Let's just hope she won't do stupid things.

[Generic Minipress xl gits]

Això és realment interessant, ets un blogger molt hàbil. M'he unit a la seva alimentació i esperem que busquen més del seu missatge meravellós. A més, he compartit el seu lloc en els meus xarxes socials !

[Mobile Computing]

Wow, Great post,Nice work, I would like to read your blog every day Thanks

[Generic Viagra]

I think you are right when you say this. Hats off man, what a superlative knowledge you have on this subject…hope to see more work of yours.

[Dentists Seattle]

I noticed everything you mean. Excellent thoughts and they've truly opened my eyes to the probability of what you're stating. You certainly have got a lots of reviews on this post!

[Pediatric Dentist Los Angeles]

Awful information and facts i read here. Lots of thanks for sharing this! Keep up the good work!

[Who owns phone]

Yeah I agree...

[Seo Services India]

I have to see anyone, you happen to be absolutely in. My spouse and i came up Only two this information via some other blog site along with are intensely captivated by this specific subject matter along with understading about this specific. Does one head only examine this specific information via our facebook or myspace web site?

[Generic Drugs Exporter]

Ég held að þú ert rétt þegar þú segir þetta. Límmiðar á maður, hvað Greinar þekkingu sem þú hefur um þetta efni ... vona að sjá meiri vinnu ykkar.

[kamagra oral jelly]

Nemrég jöttem át a blog, és már olvasatban. Azt gondoltam, hogy elhagyja az első megjegyzés. Nem tudom, mit mondjak, kivéve, hogy én élveztem olvasni. Szép blog. Én továbbra is látogassa ezt a blogot nagyon gyakran.