I needed to get my implant denture re-done. I spoke to a dentist and explained that I am transferring to a new city in twelve weeks and asked how long it would take him to make a new denture for me. He said three weeks. On week TEN they finally arrived, but it didn’t fit properly. It took a considerable amount of time for him to attach it. I ended up going back the next day because of the pain I was in and saw one of his colleagues, who said the holes needed to e re-fitted. I am completely out of time to get this re-done. Do I have the right to ask for a refund?
Andie
Dear Andie,
You are well within your rights to ask for a refund on this denture. He promised you three weeks, which is considered a contract. He was significantly late in his delivery and even then the denture was below the standard of functioning. However, with some dentists, just because they should refund your money doesn’t mean they will do so willingly.
In case that is what you will face, let me give you some points of leverage to encourage him to have more integrity about this. First, tell him you will be forced to leave a bad review in order to warn other patients from facing the same problems you have. It might help to tell him that if he cooperates you can leave a review saying that he had integrity and refunded your money when the work didn’t go as planned and you were moving.
If that doesn’t work, the second step is to tell him that you will go to the dental board. Most dentists would prefer to avoid that at all costs. The next step would be a lawsuit, but that is expensive and will eat up your time.
Three weeks is the right amount of time for him to make this denture. The fact that it took much longer makes me think it was the dental implant part that was throwing him. Dental implants require post-doctoral training. He may not have invested in that training. Too often, a dentist does not want to admit when they are in over their head so they will either try to talk you into a different procedure or give it their best shot (often with disastrous results).
I’m sorry this happened to you. Hopefully, after you secure your refund and get to your new location, you will find a dentist who has more experience and training with dental implants.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. John Weaver.
