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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 sought a 2nd opinion from Aspen & asked if I could use a discount coupon ($19-$29) for a brief visit which they said I could. I’d brought a full set of x-rays so I wouldn’t need to have more taken & I was told that was fine when I called to schedule my appointment. 😢
Sadly, I had to wait nearly an hour in their waiting room to be seen & they refused to accept my new digital x-rays saying their machine couldn’t read them. Just because they can’t read them doesn’t allow them to demand me to pay for more x-rays. If it’s “their policy” to require patients to have full x-rays then Aspen ought to pay for them. Especially if a new patient brings in a new, complete set of x-rays with them on their visit. This practice is deceptive & allows them to charge everyone for more x-rays.
I was given an estimate for nearly $30,000 just to replace a few front teeth. I still can’t believe dental costs have risen so much. The demeanor & rudeness of Aspen’s staff was unacceptable. At the end of my very long, boring visit, Aspen refused to accept my free consultation coupon & said they would rather bill my dental insurance. Its very deceptive to use this “bait & switch” method to attract new patients since it discriminates against new patients who are charged far more than patients without insurance. This practice is deceptive, unfair & discriminatory. I recommend new patients seek a dentist from an individual dentist rather than from franchise-owned or operated dental practice. It will save much time, money and frustration from going to a dental franchise. My whole visit was a wasted, deplorable & unfortunate use of my time. Find another dental office instead of wasting precious time and money on 😢 Aspen.
I had the same thing happened to me it is still happening to me as we speak I’d pay them almost $25,000 upfront in cash to have dental implants put in and after talking to a different doctor when my doctor went on a paternity leave he said it it should’ve never been done because the top jaw bone structure was too weak to do the implant so therefore all my teeth were pulled implants failed and fell out now I’m stuck with dentures now they won’t even see me to have my dentures even refitted properly that are lacerated my gums and are too big after my gums have shrunk from the teeth being pulled they won’t even see me I won’t even talk about it on phone And told me I had to go elsewhere to have my dental procedure finished after I said I paid them upfront and cash rude as hell to me hung the phone up on me and the doctor will absolutely refuses to see me or talk to me about this matter I am asking anybody out there what’s a good attorney to call about this matter
Aspen Dental in Hagerstown Maryland, My 93 year old mother had dental work done starting in June of 2022. On many occasions she pays cash which we tell her is a very bad practice but being old school, she still does. On Oct 20, 2022 she had a cleaning done which costs approximately $800. Upon leaving she paid $930 cash on her outstanding balance. The only receipt the person gave her was on the appointment schedule card she wrote $930. The receptionist said that was all she needed. Two months later her statement arrived expecting payment for almost $1000 because it did not show the $930 in cash on Oct 20. When I call their billing office, they say they will check it out but will never return calls or emails. I would surely think that the balance sheet for Oct 20 would show $930 unclaimed at end of day. But again, cannot get a response from anyone. Lesson learned, stay away from Aspen Dental….
I went in for 2 missing teeth at the bottom and I was asking for a partial since I had one at top they said that I couldn’t have partial at the bottom so I would have to get my teeth pulled and get a denture so over a year ago I got my teeth pulled and my insurance paid almost everything and my bill out of pocket was almost $5000 and I still haven’t received my dentures the first time they wouldn’t fit in my mouth so we had to do the process all over again now this time they giving me the run around about the second pair saying I picked them up and I’m still walking around with the temps from when I got my teeth pulled that are tearing apart and they just keep saying they will call me with a investigation. I also had a credit and I asked to put it back on my card but a year later still nothing if I paid $5000 for my teeth I want them
Went in to Aspen after spending thousands elsewhere. They gave me this plan and promised the world. Then when it came down to even fixing my dentures. Three years later, I’m currently sitting waiting for the feline. Then I asked about my bottom. They want 20 grand and don’t care if I can afford it. Thought I had a plan for them. Nope, you said just the top. That’s a lie. Their answer to everything is would you like to do need to print it out for you?
I would absolutely like to be contacted by a lawyer. Myself and my husband have both had several issues with Aspen dental and their staff including one of the girls there asking my husband if he is faithful to his wife! How inappropriate! He has had to have his crowns put back on 4 times because they keep coming off they’re trying to charge me for work that was never done.
I went to the Hilltop Aspen in Virginia Beach a couple of days ago because I have a broken tooth that is giving me trouble. I have a Medicare Advantage Plan that is supposed to cover $2000, plus an extra $500 just for dental. They did a Pan, oral with bitewings, we discussed pulling all the upper teeth and getting an upper denture. They didn’t set another appt. for me at all. So, waiting two days for someone to call me, I was asking them when they would set up the appt. because this tooth not only is bothering me, it’s abscessing, too. They told me that I had to pay nearly $700 to have my lower teeth cleaned. What did that have to do with removing my upper teeth? Then they tell me insurance won’t cover the cleaning, and I have to pony up the money before they will do anything. I’m on a fixed income being retired on Medicare. I don’t have that kind of money. Why they even bothered to do the xrays is beyond me. Now I’m going to have to find a dentist that will do the work and bill my insurance without having to “clean my bottom teeth” first! What a ripoff!
They told me yesterday that if you don’t get your teeth cleaned nothing else they do will help.?
My husband and I went to Aspen in Sedalia, MO and we were quoted one thing and now we are getting bills for 2 to 3 times the price we AGREED to. We have had to go back several times to have the teeth they supposedly fix redone. We decided that after dealing with them for 6 months on the same problems they created in the first place we were switching dentist offices. My husband has been in so much pain since June of 2022. He finally got into another office in Sedalia and the dentist there was upset how this filling was. He had an air pocket and bad infection caused by the filling being done improperly. A filling he more then likely did NOT need in the first place. We got another bill from Aspen for my husband January 11, 2023 for work that was performed in June of 2022. My husbands account was paid up front and he had a credit of over $900. When I called Aspen about the credit in July they told me they would credit the card used. This credit took until October 2022 to be put back on the card and thats after I had called 4 additional times and went into the office twice. Now 6 months later he owes almost $400 for the work that was paid for in full in June. When I questioned Aspen “office manager” on the bill she stated insurance never paid them, when in fact they paid all the claims they said they would. I have been waiting on a call from their “corporate” for 3 days now. As for my bill, I paid the part I was suppose to now I have more to pay? I don’t understand how they get away with causing people pain and over charging them. Especially when we were told one thing and then they do another. How can I fight this?
I went into the aspen dental dental in clermont florida for a front tooth that had chipped. They did a root canal on the front tooth as well as another tooth I needed to have crowns put in place of these 2 teeth. I came back before Thanksgiving that Monday I believe it was they did the temporary crowns did everything shaved down the 2 teeth got them ready did the impressions placed the temporary ones and set up the next appointment to have the permanent ones placed in. Came back on December 21st to have the procedure done the porcelain crowns didn’t match the color of my teeth not even close. They went ahead and placed them in for me I agreed they did a temporary glue they said so they could take them back out when the new ones came in. I was ok with that upset yes because I am paying all this money and they can’t get this right i was upset. So they tell me they will have the new ones in in about 10 days ok fine I guess I have to wait. So I have an appointment on January 10th I unfortunately couldn’t make it I was in the hospital so I rescheduled it for the 16th of January at 7am I get a call on Saturday the 14th saying they need to reschedule for Wednesday January 18th at 2pm. Ok fine. So Monday afternoon I call the office to confirm they have the new crowns the lady places me on a brief hold and cokes back and says yes sir we have them I said perfect see you Wednesday. So now it’s Wednesday the 18th I get a call one hour before my appointment to tell me they have to push out my appointment again because they don’t have the teeth, when I asked to speak to someone in charge they placed me on hold for 16 minutes then hung up the phone. I call back to speak to someone in charge and the office manager gets on and tells me my crowns where not in she checked herself they can’t control when they get crowns in its not their job. I was upset at this point because now I feel like they are giving me the run around. She says there is nothing they can do I wanted to speake to someone in charge because she was just saying what they rehearsed it was clear. So now I have to crowns that are wrong temporarily in place and they can’t say when they will be in just they will call me when they come in. Now this is very bad customer service in my opinion you can’t give someone a time frame nor give me a number to call someone to fine out what is going on. Since November this is going on and you would think for 2 simple crowns it would be taken care of this should be easy for them maybe I am wrong I don’t know but this can’t be accepted.
My wife had all of her top teeth removed and was fitted for a full upper denture and a partial lower denture to fill in teeth which had been removed a long time ago on the bottom. The bottom denture never fit correctly and she stopped wearing it immediately. Her upper denture also never fit correctly. She went back in for a soft reline multiple times, but often within a few days it would not fit correctly and caused irritation to her gums. This went on for quite a while. However, that wasn’t the worst of it. The other day (January 12, 2023) she went in for a hard reline. The dentist mixed up the resin or whatever the material is and pushed it into my wife’s mouth. She was wearing gloves, and even she (the dentist) started commenting on how hot it was getting. My wife sat there for five minutes with the material in her mouth and she was in excruciating pain, but was told that it was normal for it to feel “warm”. After the procedure she asked the person at the front desk if it looked normal and they agreed it didn’t. When my wife got home that day she was still in severe pain. I looked in her mouth and she had 2nd degree burns all over her gums. There was white skin flaking off and blisters on each side, and they were extremely red. I took photos of the damage. Here we are on January 15th and my wife had to go to urgent care because her mouth was still in a lot of pain. The doctor looked at her gums and said that they were severely infected. Thankfully she had not gone into sepsis, but the doctor said if she had waited any longer, she could have. They prescribed her a steroid and an antibiotic to help fight off the infection, but you’d better believe we will be holding Aspen liable for everything that has happened.
I paid $6000 for upper dentures. The best they had they said. First they said they had the approval of my insurance for $2000. Found out after they pulled my teeth and I got a temporary denture they lied. Insurance company said they denied approval twice. So I ended up paying the other $2000. I had the new permanent denture put in 6 months later. It hasn’t fit right since they put it in. They relined it once and then keep giving excuses why it don’t fit right. Always the shape of my palette or my jawbone. Never solutions. They won’t make a new one. They are the worst. I’m just stuck with teeth that flop around like a fish out of water!!!
This was Rt.19, Clearwater,Florida
I’m having the some of the same problems with them they seem to me they holding my dentures hostage until they get there money