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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
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
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375 thoughts onAspen Dental Class Action Lawsuit
Aspen dental in Acworth Ga extracted bottom teeth for dentures December of 2022 Bone spurs started to appear a week later. The dentist pulled one spur and gums got infected . I went back 3 times because of extreme gum pain The dentist would not see me but prescribed me a prescription of ibuprofen 800 mg that did not help. The girl at the front desk said I need to go to urgent care.
The urgent care dr gave me antibiotics and pain meds .
A week later I went to another Aspen location because of pain That Dr said I need to go to an oral surgeon NOW !
Just can not believe in human treatment I received .
The total pre paid bill of $ 6,900 by care credit is in dispute .
Next step is to sue
What fraud charges to slap a bill that insurance wouldn’t pay (they never checked it) and now on my credit report. I had an infection after two teeth extractions. Never checked my dental insurance which it was supposed to be continued (lost my job and it was under covid of cobra – forgot the name that Biden put into place) but they continued treating me and later wouldn’t accept Medicaid. Dentist was not nice to jab a needle at the roof of my mouth without anesthetic numbing stuff. It was hell. This place located in Williston, Vermont. Avoid them!
Aspen Dental – Stole my money along with my insurance payments. They charged me for Aleveoloplasty and yesterday I was told it will cost me $25,995.00 to have the Jawbones to smoothen, reshaped and bone grafts to for my bones in order to have the implant screws to be surgically implanted.
Aspen also has “no record” of the $5,000.00 I paid them, yes I have the receipt.
This is the WORST place for any and all dental treatment.
I had a very bad experience with Aspen Dental
Aspen dental took my smile away! On 0/1/30/23, I was so devasted to see my smile toothless, the entire smile arch of my mouth gone! I went to Aspen dental due to my front tooth was chipped . My appt was made for 0/1/ 30th 8:am. ( On this date, I never seen the Dr nor the assistant that attended to me before .) Not only was the broken tooth removed but 8 additional that were good, no damage. The assistant with him was very rude, and unprofessional. When I came from under sedation, and as I was putting my jacket on in the room, the assistant took me by my shoulders and turned me toward the door and said (in a belittling way) to a guy in the hallway,look at her smile. The guy looked puzzled, like”uh?”I wrote on a piece of paper to the receptionist about the assistant’s rudeness and bizzaire behavior, she said she never seen ‘her’ before. I had to be taken to buy sterile gauze due to gauze thrown loosely in the bag, not sterile. When I went to change the bloody gauze and remove the temporary healing denture, I noticed all my front and side teeth were gone in my smile arch region! I was so hurt,so down,( in addition to the dizziness, pain, suffering ), It’s like a nightmare. The dental hygienist there just cleaned my teeth six days prior to all of this,and she said she wants to see me in four months, in May; now this is ‘shocking’, all the front and side teeth are gone. There are numerous visits with names of people written beside them; I didn’t see them nor did I go there 10 times. Family , friends and the insurance, are very bothered by this. Family and friends always said how I had a beautiful smile, and called me smiley, even the photographer. I’ve never been mistreated like this before. It bothers me to think about it or look at myself. The healing dentures aren’t usuable. They don’t fit,they are too small and short, they don’t meet my bottom teeth and they’re like plastic,not durable. I cannot go back to Aspen dental or refer anyone there. I definitely need legal help. This is very sad, hurtful, like a nightmare.
I was given a partial made out of the wrong material and it receded my tooth line in the back, now I have to get my teeth pulled and get a full denture. My tops were made crooked and so I have to get a new top, costing me the amount of almost $4000
This is one of the worst place I have ever been.no I didn’t have my teeth pulled there.but I wanted snap on dentures.they tell me that I have to have a scan to see if I have enough bone.out of pocket 200.00 dollars.then I was told it would be 22,000 dollars.so I went home and my husband said ewe should get some more prices from other dentist.everything changed.they refuse to give me the scan I paid for and the extra x-rays that my insurance paid for they told me they don’t do that.i went to several other places.i would have to repay for x-rays and scans.i don’t have that kind of money.so I went back to aspen .I ask to speak to the office manager.they said she was busy.they kept me on hold twice 23 minutes and 25 minutes.when I call back the next day ask to speak to the office manager.instead they keep transferring me to the receptionist who said she was the office manager and she wasn’t. I emailed the office manager twice because the girl keeps lying to me and telling me thing I know were a lie.she never replied to my emails after I told her about the other girl and what she said.i have the emails to prove it.one more thing when they call me it comes up as Healthcare not aspen dental which is very odd.they have treated me terrible. All I wanted was some teeth.
They miss lead me and took all the money for what they said they was going to do for me now they want fix my teeth that don’t fit my mouth and my cums hurts when I am trying to eat they should not have took all the money until they was done and I was happy with the work
Please , I had a terrible time with Aspen dental. What they are doing is terrible I have been back to their office more than 6x for the same reason one of the frontbtooth from the parcial keeps on falling. They fix it and I’m back again and again and today they charge me to have it fix again. I cannot get them to do a new one. I’m so frustrated how to I handle this situation. I need guide.
They screwed me over I paid out of cash and they they put a bridge in the front teeth and grinded my teeth all the way down and my bridge fell out and I swallowed it . I have been without front teeth because of them .
Me too
Aspen is a fraudulent dental place. I was hit with 21, 000 for dental services that I didn’t need.
When I got my dentures I was told if u pay for the highest priced one they’d be guaranteed for life. I’ve had them a few Yeats and they stated not fitting properly. I went back after the covid surge and was charged almost $150 for the reline.bi paid them and they haven’t been able to fix them, although I purchased a reline kit from Walmart and it worked fine. I’ve made two appointments since and they don’t contact me with the confirmation. I asked for my money back so I can go somewhere else to get it dine and they won’t do that either. Not sure what to do at this point, but when I talk the opportunity fall.
I have the same problem I literally just went to Aspen dental about fixing them because they no longer fit and they’re worn down and they said that it was only warrantied for 7 years. I said no they told me they were warranted for life and the girl argued with me and I got absolutely nowhere so I asked for the main office phone number
My top teeth needed to be pulled so i went to Aspen Dental. I have anxiety really bad so i asked if they had any to help, She said No. The dentist was so rough Now my gum bones are coming out my gums. The assistant got me a temporary denture out of a Clear Plastic box. So big i couldn’t wear them. This took place last May 2022. Everything thing they done to me was wrong from day one. They were trying to make my impressions for my permanent teeth and got the tray full of junk stuck in my mouth and couldn’t get it out. I Was literally scared to death. I’m still without teeth here in February 2023. I’ve never been so Mistreated at a Dentist Office as i was at Aspen Dental in Cookeville Tennessee. My entire mouth is in a mess. I’ve got to have surgery on my gums where the Big Bones are Coming Through my Gums. My Insurance company and i have paid over $3,000 for Nothing but Suffering And Pain
Yes i need Some Legal Help with this bad treatment at Aspen Dental in Cookeville Tennessee.
I need dentures I already know that when I went in there they made fun of me about my teeth I cried the hole time I was there then when they told me the price 10,000 with no payment plans or discounts who has that kind of money
id like to join this lawsuit. amongst other bad experiences i had, they charged me for 2 composite fillings and one of those fillings is amalgam. i called and asked why this happened and they deny its a silver filling. i do not want a silver filling due to mercury being in them. and i was charged for a composite so why put in an amalgam, and why then lie about it?
After talking with them it was revealed that they never touched the old amalgam filling which they said they’d change out to composite. No. Instead, they drilled a perfectly healthy tooth and are now claiming I had a cavity there. Yet, they never said I did. They drilled the wrong tooth.
I calledAspen central number and explained work Ineeded done. Was told Aspen could take care of it and appointment was made for2/2/23 @09:30. At New Caney, Tex. I get there after driving for 1 hr in a rain storm@ the proper time, and they were not open, until 10:00 am, which the door sign said was open time, even though my scheduled appointment was for 09:00am . The girl that was there at opening told I couldn’t have had a 9:30appt. for we don’t open until 10:00. This girl has a very snitty attitude. She chastised me for talking to her associate when she asked me questions about my appt. And assisted me in answering questions and explaining to me about the work I requested to be done. I canceled the appointment and went to a different dental clinic. I also talked to the manager and explained to here just as I have written here.! I will not be a patient of Aspen Dental, and can understand why they have a class action lawsuit against them. With people up front greeting new potential customers like the one that greeted me I can see why. The manager was just the opposite . I realize it was a terrible day and maybe breakfast is not all she missed that morning causing her attitude to be out of kilter that day.
I’ll never go back to Aspen Dental. I first went to them in the summer of 2021 just to get 2 front teeth extracted so I could get a partial. When I scheduled my first appointment, I was told I would need to have hygiene cleaning done first. When I arrived for my first appointment, I was told to wait outside in my car until they come to get me. It was in June in Mississippi, 97° outside.
I had to sit out there for 45 minutes in the heat. Then when I went in, they made me get over 30 X-rays (bite wings and 3-D pan). Then during the exam, the dentist never spoke to me. She sat looking at my X-rays, and tapping on her computer. I had to ask her 3 times for her name. She avoided talking to me except to explain that I was gonna need a hygiene cleaning first, the discuss a dental plan.
I told her I never heard of cleaning teeth before pulling them.
But I allowed the hygienist to do the cleaning which was a quick 15 minute “sanding” with a little Roto tool.
When time for me to check out, I was told I needed to pay $225 and they would also bill my insurance company for the rest.
I was given another appointment to come in for 2 upper front extractions.
When I went back, again I had to stay outside in the 97° July heat for an hour before they came out to get me.
The dentist pulled my 2 upper-front teeth, then had me wait in another room for 30 minutes, then brought me into another room and started mixing up a “casting paste”. My mouth was still bleeding from fresh extractions, and the dentist came in and crammed 2 handfuls of white, pasty stuff in my mouth. She did this twice. And I kept telling her I need to rinse and spit. She handed me a little water in a cup and left. I got up and looked for a place to spit. I finally spit in a trash can.
Before I left I was told I needed to pay another $225.
I paid it, and asked why am I stills having to pay every time I come in. I have dental insurance that’s supposed to cover this. They just said, they billed the insurance company and they are paying the amounts.
When I went back in for my partial fitting 3 months later, she stuck it in my mouth and told me to leave it in and sleep in it. Do not take it out.
I tried keeping it in that night, but it was not fitting properly. The hard plastic rim had rubbed ulcers on my gums, and I took it out.
When I went back about a week later, they saw where it had rubbed ulcers on my gums, and they took it in the back and sanded down the upper edge rim. They had to do that 3-4 times before it was tolerable enough to wear.
Then they told me to come back in another month for another “cleaning”.
When I went back for a second cleaning the hygienist did not numb my bottom teeth, and as she was using the little Roto tool on my bottom molars, she kept hitting a nerve. And I kept telling her, “You’re hurting me!!” But she kept doing that for about 15 minutes.
They told me before I left that I needed to pay $262.40. Which I paid. I also asked about the insurance. They should pay for most of this. I am on Social security and can’t afford to keep coming back having cleanings, and I have already paid over $900 in 1 year.
They made a lot of excuses for the costs, and set up another appointment for me to come back in 2 months.
I got a bill from them in October 2022 for another $925.
I called them and they said they did file the insurance, and for me to call my insurance company.
I called the insurance company and they said they couldn’t pay the $925.
There is only a $1000 cap for the year.
So I am left owing Aspen Dental $925 before I can be seen again.
So, I only had 2 extractions, 2 cleanings, and a temporary partial, and I was charged almost $2,000 total (not including what insurance paid).
I looked up what the insurance company paid, and the charges on there were outrageous. Aspen Dental charged the insurance company for “periodontal cleanings” 3x price.
They did not do “periodontal” cleaning. They just did “surface buffing”, and was charged a periodontal fees.
Aspen Dental is ridiculously expensive, and they have absolutely no patient empathy. They treat you like a chart number instead of a person. And it’s all about money. And they’re work is substandard. (This temporary partial I have isn’t worth $1,000. It looks like something you’d buy on a shelf at Walmart). I’ll never go back.