I-Team: Small Smiles Investigation

ABC 7's I-Team went on a five-month investigation where they uncovered children on Medicaid who visited two Washington area clincs were suffering pain for profit.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• iteam
• abc
• baskin
• small
• smiles
• investigation
• dentist
• child
• dental
• service
• lanzara
• bergo

[vianaave]

I wish all the employees of Small Smiles would be executed by firing squad. They deserve it.

[flyingmonkeys64]

well maybe the kids aren't cooperating cuz your rude, creepy assholes!

How would you like to be wrapped in a papoose bard?!

[EeveelutionStorm]

Oh yeah she wasn't even a pedatric dentist either she also hurt my mom and dad during visits as well. After my mom couldn't eat solid foods for months from the pain we stopped going to her. (I was eight years old then) and my mom claims I'm recalling all my expereinces differently but I could just tell all she wanted was our money and didn't care about me at all. Her eyes were dead looking and the way she carried herself was that she never wanted to be there. These people are worse then her!!

[EeveelutionStorm]

The other one..(Dr. Par if I call her name being pernounced) Was mean, her assistant was kind of weird, she waited seven minutes before drilling and I wasn't even numb and when I was crying and begging for her to stop they just used the smock to dry my tears in between her drilling and I had trouble eating after and I almost choked once. She was evil and I hated her, she scared me, never comforted me and after that first appointment I 'mysteriously' had more cavities then I should have.

[EeveelutionStorm]

Those people are horrible they're treating those kids like shit! I had two dentists so far and one was a saint and I hope she's well and the other was a bitch. The first she was nice, polite, she ironically had the same first name as my mom and since I was scared she let me call her Dr. (Insert name here) instead (her first name) and her and her assistant asked me what toys I liked, if I wanted 'special' sunglasses to wear and they used the gas on me. I never had any bad experiences with her.

[VicenteMosin]

@loviation I would suggest consulting with a lawyer and beginning legal proceedings against Ballance.

Look up the video "ABC News 20/20 Small Smiles Dental Centers Investigation # 1" - This video shows people in a DeRose/Ballance operation "Medicaid Dental Center " - Also look up "Dodgy dentists get case of truth decay" by James Quiggle

[loviation]

I took my kids to Carolina West Dental when they open up in Conover, NC. The owner was Dr. (Tish) Letitia Ballance. There was another dentist working there. Her name starts with the "J". I don't know her whole name, and I always have a heard time pronouncing it. They have the no parent allow policy. They open up fall 2010 and close in Spring 2011. They did some extraction on my kids. My daughter said one of the hygenist call her a crybaby. Very unethical and unfriendly, unprofessional.

[loviation]

This is too sad and painful to watch :( No wonder the smiles at Small Smiles are so "SMALL". No kids want to smile when they go there and be treated this way.

[VicenteMosin]

@CoDeNaMeCrZyChCk Good to hear :)

- I know some people who live in areas where everybody's on Medicaid. I told them about this

[CoDeNaMeCrZyChCk]

@VicenteMosin Yes, thankfully I have a new one now.

[VicenteMosin]

@WamjamJeff I wonder if the dentists themselves are under so much debt that they feel like they have to take jobs like these - then the corporations try to tamper with the practice so they make more money. Small Smiles is/was owned by a company in Bahrain, AFAIK

[VicenteMosin]

@CoDeNaMeCrZyChCk I hope you have stopped going to it...