I have never been afraid of dentists, needles, drills, etc. but know many people are. There are so many people out there who fear going to the dentist because they:
- Fear that the will experience a great deal of pain
- Fear being judged or looked down upon for having dental issues
- Financially they don't think they can afford it
Fortunately, MOST dentists do NOT put their patients through pain, do not judge or look down upon their patients, and they work with their patients to make it affordable
Unfortunately, Aspen Dental, particularly Dr. Baji is EXACTLY what many people who have a phobia of dentists fear. He DID put me through unnecessary, excruciating pain that was 100% avoidable, he did judge and look down upon me for have dental issues, and Aspen Dental did NOT save me dime, unlike Dr. Clouse who, because I don't have dental insurance, charged me FAR less than other dentists and allowed me to make payments.
Please do yourself and your loved ones a HUGE favor and make sure that you and everyone you know who is looking for a local dentist to NOT go to Aspen Dental. There is a reason why they have such a horrible reputation, they have earned it many, many times over and I have gone down as another nightmarish example. Worst yet, from reading the countless other horror stories, my experience wasn't nearly as bad as the hell they have put others through.
To get to the worst part of my nightmare of an experience, I showed up to have an abscessed tooth extracted as it was so infected that even though it came on just 24 hours prior, my face was already swollen up like a chipmunk. they took me to the back room, and the nurse put a numbing gel by the tooth. I remember thinking that she should be putting the gel on BOTH sides of the tooth but she didn't. I should have asked her why she wasn't. I signed a couple documents which basically relieved my doctor and Aspen Dental of any liability if they make any mistakes during the procedure. I also signed a form about my after care plan which the nurse said they would explain to me afterwards which, not surprisingly, never happened.
Dr. Baji comes in a few minutes later, asked how I was doing to which I tried to lighten the mood and joke by saying how excited I was for this procedure. He said nothing return which created an awkward silence. He then grabs the needle of a local anesthetic (what most people call Novocaine which dentists no longer use) and began injecting the infected area with it causing instant excruciating pain that was so intense, I had an involuntary reflex and shock. I tried my best to sit still but the pain was unbearable, pain that was almost entirely unnecessary and avoidable. I know this for a fact because I had the root canal in this very same tooth by a dentist named Dr. Clouse who MADE SURE that I was completely numb before he injected me with the local anesthetic. He kept asking me, "are you in any pain?" And when I was, he would immediately stop, put more numbing gel on a q-tip and apply it to the areas he was injecting. He kept saying "we will make sure you're not in pain. We are in no hurry here." Dr. Baji, did nothing of the sort. Instead, he raised his voice at me commanding me to "sit still or it will get even worse!". Wow, what a great way to treat your patients. I have NEVER had a dentist or doctor treat me like this. He then injects the needle into the roof of my mouth where there where they did NOT apply ANY numbing gel, NONE, so this pain was even WORSE.
He didn't wait for the injection to take full effect like Dr Clouse had done, he grabbed his drill and begin drilling the tooth and once again, due to the unnecessary, 100% preventable excruciating pain he was putting me through, I had a involuntary reflexive response which I tried my hardest to avoid. Did he stop and ask if I was okay and suggest that we wait a minute to let the anesthetic he injected to fully kick in, oh Heavans no. Once again, Dr Baji instead raised his voice at me like I was in the wrong and had control over the unnecessary, avoidable pain HE was inflicting upon me, pain that I have never had at a dentist, not even when I had my wisdom teeth pulled or my root canal. He basically commanded me to stop shaking and that he "especially" didn't want to cut himself. He continued drilling and finally the local anesthetic took full effect and the pain subsided. He removed the tooth, told the nurse to gauze me up, told me that Advil and Tylenol would be enough for the pain and left the room. He never went over my after care plan, never gave me a chance to ask a single question, he didn't even have the courtesy to say goodbye. I still dont know what my actual ailment was, what caused it, how to prevent it in the future, why extracting my tooth was the only option, all just to name a few of my questions and concerns. I couldn't believe how rude and unpersonable he was. I felt like on was on an assembly line and nothing more than a means to profit. read more