PUBLIC-FACING PATIENT COMPLAINT -- PLEASE READ BEFORE CHOOSING THIS PRACTICE…read more
I was a patient of Dr. Dana Samet and Dental Art of South Bay for approximately six years. I am posting this because the final phase of my care resulted in significant physical discomfort, stress and duress, financial expense, and a profound loss of trust.
My central concern involves an upper partial denture that became an approximately two-year ordeal. Beginning around February 2024, I returned repeatedly for impressions, fittings, laboratory work, remakes, adjustments, and follow-up visits. I recall approximately six or seven impression attempts. The appliance was repeatedly adjusted, and the laboratory was changed during the process.
Despite those efforts, the partial still did not properly fit or function for me.
I repeatedly reported pressure, headaches, facial and jaw discomfort, instability, difficulty chewing, and difficulty eating normal foods. During this period, I experienced approximately 25 pounds of unintended weight loss.
What was especially troubling was feeling that what I was physically experiencing was being minimized or dismissed. I did not want conflict. I wanted one thing: a functioning partial.
On June 18, 2026, I again told Dr. Samet that the partial was hurting me and causing pressure and headaches. Another adjustment was performed, but the problem continued.
After nearly two years of unsuccessful attempts, I sought independent dental opinions. Two separate practices, with no affiliation to Dr. Samet's office, raised materially similar concerns regarding how the partial fit the architecture of my mouth.
On August 14, 2026, Dr. Joel Caraballo at New Image Dental examined the partial in my mouth. I was advised that it did not properly conform to my dental arch and that continued adjustment was not considered a predictable solution.
I ultimately paid an additional $2,540 for evaluation and replacement treatment. I provided Dr. Samet's office with outside documentation and proof of payment and offered to return the unsuccessful partial.
I asked the practice twice to reimburse me for that replacement expense. My position was simple: reimburse the $2,540 replacement cost, and as far as I was concerned, the matter was closed. I was not seeking reimbursement for six years of dental care. I was seeking reimbursement for the specific treatment I had to obtain after nearly two years of unsuccessful attempts to make this appliance work.
I fully intended to remain a patient. That is why I had a confirmed periodontal-maintenance appointment for September 18, 2026.
No one called or texted me to tell me not to come, even though texting had routinely been used regarding appointments. I drove approximately one hour to Torrance expecting to receive my scheduled periodontal care.
Only after I arrived did I learn that Dr. Samet had terminated the dentist-patient relationship.
In my view, the manner in which this was handled was abrupt, unnecessary, unwarranted, and extremely unprofessional.
I had not abandoned the practice, refused treatment, or indicated that I wanted to leave. I had advocated for myself after enduring pain, difficulty eating, approximately 25 pounds of unintended weight loss, repeated unsuccessful adjustments, and the expense of outside evaluations and replacement treatment.
Patients should be able to say, "This hurts," "This does not fit," ask questions, seek a second opinion, and advocate for themselves without feeling that the professional relationship will be abruptly ended.
I was a long-standing patient who spent thousands of dollars with this practice over approximately six years. I showed up, cooperated with treatment, paid for services, returned for follow-up care, and trusted this office with my dental health.
I am not saying every service I received during those six years was negative. That would not be accurate. My complaint concerns the handling of this partial denture, the physical consequences I experienced, the stress and expense of obtaining outside treatment, and the abrupt termination of a six-year dentist-patient relationship after I sought reimbursement.
If you are considering this practice for partial dentures, dentures, bridges, or major restorative work, I strongly encourage you to ask what happens if an appliance does not fit, what the remake policy is, and how patient complaints and second opinions are handled.
Listen to your body. Keep your records. Document your communications. Advocate for yourself.
My name is Bridgette Lewis, and this review reflects my personal experience as a patient of Dental Art of South Bay.
