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Aspen Dental Class Action Lawsuit
By Matt O’Donnell
UPDATE:
The Aspen Dental class action lawsuit was dismissed on March 27, 2015.
Aspen Dental, one of the nation’s largest corporate-dental chains, has been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing it of illegally owning and operating dental practices and of deceiving patients with aggressive sales pitches for expensive treatments after they’ve been lured in with promises of free exams and X-rays. Aspen Dental owns and controls 358 clinics across the country and markets to low-income patients that can’t afford dental care.
The Aspen Dental class action lawsuit was filed following a June 2012 report by PBS FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity titled “Dollars and Dentists” that uncovered Aspen Dental’s practice of servicing patients who can’t afford a dentist and then allegedly locking them into debt. Some patients in the report also alleged they were overcharged and given unnecessary treatments.
The Aspen Dental class action lawsuit was filed October 18, 2012 by 11 patients across the country who accuse the company of violating laws in 22 states that require clinics to be owned by dentists actively performing procedures onsite. The laws are designed to prevent business interests from overshadowing those of patients.
Aspen Dental said Friday that the accusations in the class action lawsuit “are entirely without merit,” and that it provides support services to dental offices owned by local dentists.
“The dentists and staff at Aspen Dental offices around the U.S. provide access to high quality, affordable dental care for millions of patients,” the Syracuse-based company said. “Their singular commitment is to do what’s right for their patients.”
However, attorneys for the Plaintiffs say in the class action lawsuit that Aspen Dental trains the dentists and sets production goals for them, and accuse the company of illegally practicing medicine. They are seeking class-action status to cover potentially tens of thousands of current and former patients.
In 2010, Aspen Dental reached a $175,000 settlement with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office over misleading information about discounts, consultations, financing and other promotions.
Plaintiffs in the Aspen Dental Class Action Lawsuit are represented by attorneys Brian Cohen and Jeffrey Norton.
Updated October 22nd, 2012
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374 thoughts onAspen Dental Class Action Lawsuit
I called aspen dental in Troy Ohio to get a tooth pulled I told them a had insurance but they didn’t except my insurance but they told me that my exam an exam would be free since they didn’t except my insurance so I went to get my tooth pulled an did my paper work I told the receptionist that I wanted a tooth pulled so they took me backed to room an had exrays done after they seen me x rays an tooth they took me back to front deck an told me that they set up a dental plan an I told them I just wanted a tooth pulled they said it would cost me 251.00 after I already paid 281.00 because I thought they was going to pull my tooth but they said that was for the visit an not free I now waiting to see another dentist to have it pulled waiting for 3 weeks now an dealing with a tooth pain an infection
I had partial dentures that never fit properly. They were rude. I’m having problems finding another dentist that wants to go behind them. They promised a guarantee.
I received a permanent bridge in January, 2021. I paid over $7,000 to Dental first. My CSEA insurance covered most and I was told I owed 750.00 on my last visit. When I went to pay, they said I was all set, implying my insurance paid more. I then received my permanent bridge of 4 teeth and sent on my way. In November of 2022, my bridge broke while eating bacon and eggs. I knew it was lose so I went to a local dentist, Dr Sonny Spinoza in Cooperstown NY. He told me the middle two caps separated and go back to Aspen, since there had to be something defective to the “permanent bridge” they fitted me with in January 2021. While having my bad teeth grinned down for the caps, the assistant asked the dentist why he was using another process instead of what normally is needed, he stated, “Because if I do “that”, it would take 45 minutes more grinding and he didn’t have time for that. Now, 2 years later my two teeth of a permanent bridge broke and separated. Now they say I need to pay over $2000.00 to even get them to check my teeth. I am no loner trusting them. They are located in Oneonta, NY. Help!!!
I went to Aspen Dental Dec. 2021 to have a few teeth pulled and implants and dentures they pull my teeth and slapped in some lose fitting dentures the were impossible to eat with. They called me back for refittings for every month for 6 month. It has been over a year now and almost $5000 later no implants and no dentures.
Aspen Dental in Brandon, Florida is luring vulnerable seniors into their nefarious schemes. My wife and I wanted cleaning of our teeth instead they gave us an estimate of procedures they assumed we needed which amounted to more than $5000.00 and they had the audacity to force us to sign the estimate printed in small letters that they in turn forwarded to their credit company called Credit Care. We have disputed Aspen Dental’s false charges but paid them $1465.20 for cleaning teeth which also we think is outrageous.
They are doing the same thing to almost every individual in the Kansas the area too I have 4 of my friends that have one to ask for dinner and we all had to pay over 5 grand even after they build our insurance They build our insurance and then awesome it has taken loan out through care credit and Genesis FS card or something like that And then they raise the price of the payments 3 or 4 times
I had aspen do my dentures top and bottom. I have had dentures for years. I paid 3,000 for my set suppose to be the best they have they said they also have a 7year warranty but I can’t wear them went to get adjustment but still can’t wear. L feel like I have thrown my money away and I am on social security and cannot afford to lose that much money? I went to the office in Athens,Alabama.
My daughter just went to the Aspen dental in Springfield Missouri long story short they want $600 to clean her teeth two times and over $8000 For a couple of crowns and a one tooth bridge and they told her unless she paid $4000 right then she could not go any further this is very shameful they should definitely be sued sign me up for any class action lawsuit in the future, If you’re a lawyer involved in this class action while soup please call me 432-386-2229
I had issues. With partial. They did give my money back. They suppose to. I did I credit card. That’s best way to pay. Credit card should stay behind you. I know many that hit those money back. Sorry this happened. With a attorney would take our cases. They rip me so bad. I passed out trying to reason with them. They don’t Care about know one. Fired my dentist. Told me I’m no longer a patient there. They charged my insurance and won’t refund money. This was for cleaning. So much injustice. Now everywhere i try go. I have to wait. Cause they for my cleaning X-ray Money. Office manger scream at me. This is such a bad place Robbs me bad Aspen Oak Ridge Tenn
I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the treatment I received while attempting to acquire dental care from Aspen Dental’s office in Concord, NH.
Last year I had them replace a broken crown on the upper left side of my mouth. I told them what I thought the problem was and they did a reasonably good job of fixing it.
This year my plan was to have two chipped front teeth repaired and I stated this quite clearly over a number of visits.
The message I got from two dentists and some of the office staff was that they desperately needed to do a full dental evaluation to determine if working on my front teeth would affect the rest of my mouth. I’ve been through this before with other dentists and I realize that like other contractors they want to set up a long term plan so they can have consistent income far into the future. I let them do the total exam assuming that after that I could get back to getting the two front teeth fixed and possibly schedule other work at some point in the future.
Here’s where it got very strange. Their plan was to pull ALL of my top teeth and replace them with a denture attached to some posts. I am sure I have some dental problems but my teeth mostly seem to work OK and are not infected or loose. I asked both of the dentists I talked to what was wrong with all the teeth they wanted to pull. They made vague statements about bone loss and that there could possibly be problems in the future. And of course they wanted 25000 dollars up front.
OK, so I told them NO really clearly and assumed that with some reasonable assertiveness I could now get them to fix the two front teeth that I had come in for originally.
They refused to provide any dental care if I didn’t agree to their plan. The last dentist that I talked to eventually said that she would have to talk to her boss to see if he was willing to do ANYTHING. I have not heard anything from them and this was over a month ago.
I went to another dentist and they could not see any reason to pull all of my top teeth or ANY teeth for that matter. They put caps on the two front teeth I had set out to have fixed originally and will fill a few cavities in the future.
I know from experience that dealing with some dentists is like dealing with some particularly sleazy used car salesman. But this case is worse for a number of reasons.
Aspen Dentals recommendation was to do a great deal of unnecessary and expensive work. And then they refused to provide any care if I didn’t agree to this. This is certainly unethical at the very least, and may actually meet the legal definition of extortion. Their “medical advice” to remove a large number of my teeth for no apparent reason is the same as a surgeon recommending the removal of a healthy kidney entirely for personnel financial profit.
People often take the word of dentists as if they were medical professionals. If these people try to run this type of scam on me I can’t help but think that this is their normal business practice and they have succeeded in doing unnecessary and expensive dental work on many others.
I am sending this statement to a number of agencies that are tasked with oversight of dental practices including the Attorney General of the State of NH. It’s my hope that these egregious business practices will be addressed within the legal system to protect people in the future. I am willing to make my dental records available to any one if this is helpful in any way.
Hopefully it will be possible to find a method for monitoring and supervising Dental Practices to avoid this level of what is probably widespread medical malpractice in the future.
Sincerely
Michael Ryan
23 Canterbury Shore DR.
Canterbury, NH
Aspen Dental in Langhorne, PA. Ripped me off thousands of dollars for services not rendered.
about 8 years ago I went to the Aspen Dental in Smyrna TN for an exam and cleaning. the cleaning was so rough that a filling was damaged. I was told I had gum disease that required deep cleaning and that I had 6 cavities. I’ve always taken care of my gums and teeth so, that all seemed suspicious. I went to another dentist for a 2nd opinion and was told that I did not have gum disease or any cavities…the only filling I needed was the one that had been damaged. needless to say, I never went back.
I would like to be included and include my daughter-in-law in any class action lawsuits against Aspen Dental. We both went to Aspen Dental in St. Clairsville, Ohio and myself I have spent over 8,000 and my insurance has paid over 15,000 to have full dentures and to implants done. They had to redo the upper denture twice and they still done fit properly. The bottom denture broke in half and I can’t even wear it. The top denture the teeth keep falling out . The implants were not implanted proper so a bottom denture will never sit properly on them. We let our daughter-in-law get a full set of denture on our credit card though them and her also don’t fit proper she has made various visits to them to try to get them adjusted and they still are not right and also the teeth keep falling out of the upper denture she has had to have them repaired at least 3 times in less them 6 months. This has all taken place in less than 2 years. I have my original dentures that I purchased in 2007 and the teeth never fell out of those and they never broke in half. This just proves that the dentures from Aspen Dental that I paid over 30,000 for are cheat and not made to last.
I’ve had the SAME EXACT thing happen to me as well!! Have you seen any recourse since you’ve made a complaint??
The same exact thing happened to me. They have not made my dentures correctly after visiting with Over 10 times or more. I cannot even wear my bottom dentures and my top dentures are so painful. I would really like to be contacted by a lawyer concerning this matter. My phone number is 772323235662
Thank you, Juanita McGhee
I live in Illinois and have had such bad experience with Aspen Dental. Ut has been 6 months with no teeth . they pair of temporary dentures they gave me did not fit from day 1, they adjusted them to the point they couldnt be adjust any mor, so we started the process of a replacement, . As of last night i was told i have a balance that needs to be paid before they will set up a appointment to pick up my second pair of Temporary Dentures. I have insurance and paid out of pocket the balance of over 4000 dollars and i do not even have tempory teeth. I am so digusted with Aspen Dental they are literally holding my dentures hostage knowing they are ruining the quality of life.
Just went in to get my real teeth and they told I had a balance of over $1200.00 I had paid in full 8 to 10 months ago which was almost $15,000 they said a different oral surgeon did the final and he changes more excuse after excuse I recorded the 14 minute conversation just like you I told them they were holding me hostage aspen dental Midlothian Virginia hull st
Well they’re doing the same thing to me but I paid my bill off I’m waiting to get my teeth and it’s been over 10 months I call and they tell me oh it’s the labs backed up you’re not the only one this is b******* I want my damn teeth I paid for them I don’t owe nothing on them but I don’t have any teeth I’ve lost over 30 lb because I cannot eat
Omg the same thing happen to me
What state and city is your aspen dental
I made an appointment for “free xrays, exam, and a cleaning for $90”.
After extensive xrays and a clearly well planned sales pitch, they obviously never had any intention of cleaning my teeth! The dental hygienist flat out said, nope, put your coat on, we’re done, you are going to talk to the price man to work out a payment plan for $3,000 in work” which included “infected gums”, which I Do Not have! They want me to pay for deep cleaning, lazer treatment, and a crown to replace a filling, which is not broken.
Unreal! They are pushy, and this exact same treatment was sold to my friend last year, what are the chances of us both needing exactly the same thing? No, this is the quota in action. There were 6 people in that office while I was there, and there was a lot of talking going on, but not one person was getting work done on their mouth!