Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/31/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sep. 26 2022 I hired Dr. Majid to fix a chipped tooth. I told him I didn't want him to remove any of the 3 crowns I currently had. Dr. Majid said that he could do that. He also said that because my front teeth were so close together he would have to cap some of the teeth around it to make room. I said ok. Dr. Majid never gives me an itemized plan of action. Oct. 31st I get fitted for a wax mock-up. Dec. 8th I'm billed $1,050 for this wax mock-up. I pay it. Dec. 12th Dr. Majid shows me this wax mock-up and tells me that he can correct my bite without removing those 2 crowns and that my insurance approved all the work that he wanted to do. I corrected him and said there were 3 crowns I did not want touched and that my insurance would no approve the crown on tooth 18 becuase it was only 2 years old. Dr. Majid said that he has to remove it to fix my bite. I reminded Dr. Majid that I hired him to fix a chipped tooth. I did not hire him to fix my bite. That 1 crown would cost me 7.76 times more than a crown that was covered by my insurance. Dr. Majid's clerk tells that they will take the crown for tooth 18 off of my plan. Dec. 13th starts working on my teeth. I'm billed $3,188.88 and a pay it. Dec. 29th Dr. Majid continues his plan. When finished he tells me that the crown on tooth 18 had to come off. He claimed that it had decay. He also tells me that my insurance won't pay for it so I have to pay in full. I'm billed another $1,842.64 and I pay it. When I get home I look in the mirror and at the receipt and found that Dr. Majid put a total of 24 teeth in crowns. Dr. Majid spent my money on a wax mock-up for a plan I did not want, he stole a crown I told him not to touch, and put at least 8 teeth in crowns that were unnecessary. I requested the x-rays and intra-photos of tooth 18 that prove decay. But at this point he still has failed to release them to me. Between my insurance and myself Dr. Majid made $30,780.69 off of my one chipped tooth.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/22/2023

  May 17, 2023 
  
  Dear *******, 
  ****** came to see me on 09/26/2022 for a consult regards several badly worn down teeth and one fractured tooth with a overall collapsed bite. I told him I couldn't just fix one tooth as this would fracture again since his bite was bad. I told him he required a full mouth rehabilitation for which I required a diagnostic wax up from the lab. I needed to uniformly lift his bite (Occlusion) up to create room for his teeth. 
  He was fully aware of his dental predicament as he had visited another prosthodontist prior to coming to me. I then proceeded to finish his whole mouth rehabilitation as we had planned. 
  He claimed he had 3 crowns done in the past two years that he didn't want redone and as per my treatment I did not touch two of those crowns as per his request, but the one crown on the lower left side, I had to address as it was interfering in my completion of his rehabitation plus it was badly decayed. 
  I recommended after I completed his work that he needed an occlusal guard to protect his teeth from fracturing again as this is a necessary required post-operative treatment, for which he declined. 
  In conclusion he now has a terrific set of teeth with a perfect bite. Quite a bit of expenses were also paid by his insurance company as well. 
  Cordially, 
  (Aziz A Majid DMD, MSD 
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/30/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Sept. 26, 2022: I had a consultation with Dr. Majid.  In his waiting room I was given a paper and asked to write down what I was there for and what I had hoped Dr. Majid could help me with.  I wrote that I had a chipped tooth that I wanted patched.  I wrote that I was concerned about the way my front top and front bottom teeth were too close together.  I wrote that I didn’t care about the way my teeth looked and that I only cared about their health.  I don’t remember if I wrote that my 3 crowns were off limits but I’m certain that I told him that at the upcoming consultation.
  
  At no point did Dr. Majid and I talk about getting a "full mouth rehabilitation."  Nor would I ever approved a procedure that extreme.  It is true that I had consultations with other dentists prior to Dr. Majid and that is how I know I did not need a "full mouth rehabilitation".
  
  I primarily saw Dr. Majid about a chipped tooth (tooth 9).  I was aware that the chipped tooth as well as 6 other teeth (teeth 5,6,7,8,10,11) had some wear that would require crowns or fillings at some time in the future.  I was also aware that it would be difficult to patch those 7 teeth alone because of the way my front teeth slid into place.
  
  My bottom front teeth had filed a groove into the back of my upper front teeth.  Superficially, my teeth did not look that bad.  Most of the wear was behind my teeth, other than that one chipped tooth, no one would guess that I needed any dental work just from seeing my smile.   
  
  All of the dentists that I saw prior to Dr. Majid said that they could not repair those 7 teeth until my bite was corrected.  Most recommended orthodontics as a solution to correct my bite.  Another dentist suggested jaw surgery as a solution.  None of them said that I needed a “full mouth rehabilitation” nor did any of them say that I had an “overall collapsed bite.”  
  
  Dr. Majid said that he could patch those 7 teeth without correcting my bite, but he would have to work on some other teeth around the 7 to make room.  He also said that he could do this without replacing any of the 3 crowns I had at that time.  I was hoping he could patch the one chipped tooth now and give me an estimate for the remaining work later.  He said that he would not do that because he was afraid that it would just break again.  I understood that.
  
  I vaguely remember Dr. Majid mentioning that he would have to replace either the 2 crowns on the upper teeth (teeth 14 and 15) or at least the crown on tooth 18 to correct my bite.  I told him that I had no interest in that.   Dr. Majid understood that.
  
  When leaving Dr. Majid's practice, one of his clerks told me that they were going to send predeterminations of my plan to my insurance.  It would let me know what Dr. Majid was going to do and how much it would cost me.  Once they receive their own copy they would notify me and schedule another appointment. 
  
  On 10/03/22 and 10/04/22 I received 5 different predeterminations from my insurance.  It seemed Dr. Majid wanted to put teeth 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,19,22,23,24,25,26,27, and 31 in crowns.  A total of 18 teeth in crowns and, after my insurance, $3,188.88 at my expense.  This was more work than I had originally expected.  18 crowns to fix 7 teeth.  I still thought that it was a better choice than orthodontics or jaw surgery.  
  
  The collective cost of orthodontics and patching those 7 teeth would have cost me $6,725.40.  Most of the cost, $5,871.00, would have been the cost of braces.  My insurance only covers orthodontics on children.  The cost of jaw surgery and patching those 7 teeth was the cheapest option.  It collectively may have cost me under $1,500.00 in the end.  My insurance is extremely good when comes to surgery.  Jaw surgery may have been the most cost effective, but in my opinion, the most extreme.  
  
  Dr. Majid’s plan seemed like a happy medium between cost and severity.
  
  About a week later, I found a message on my answering machine from the offices of Dr. Majid.  One of Dr. Majid’s employee tells me that they have received all the preauthorizations from my insurance and that I should call to schedule another meeting.  Our procedure is now established.
  
  On 10/31/22 I’m scheduled for my 6 mos. cleaning as well as a consultation about those 7 teeth.  After the cleaning, Dr. Majid just started asking me questions about Dr. ******.  I understood that she was a working prosthodontist at a practice I had some consultations at previously, but I never actually met her myself and I told him that.  When I started talking about the other dentists I consulted with, he seemed to lose interest.  When I started talking to him about orthodontics, he interrupted me and walked away.
  
  One of his aides entered the room and told me that I needed to be fitted for a diagnostic wax up.  She tells me that my insurance probably will not cover this.  I asked her how much it would cost.  She just tells me that it's tax deductible.  When leaving the office, I asked their clerk to send a preauthorization for the wax up to my insurance.  She tells me that my insurance probably won't cover it.  I asked her to please send it anyway.  My insurance is very good.
  
  Once I am home, I find a message on my answering machine.  A woman from Dr. Majid's practice is asking me to come back to get x-rays.  Irritated that they did not get those x-rays while I was there less than 30 min. ago I decided to wait until I saw the preauthorizations for the wax up before calling and scheduling those x-rays.
  
  Nov. 8th and 9th 2022:  Three more preauthorizations are e-mailed to me.  I expected these to be about the wax up.  But, instead, there was more predeterminations about dental work.  This time it seemed Dr. Majid wanted to put teeth 12, 13, 18, 20, 21, and 30 in crowns.  6 more crowns with an added expense of $2,071.00.  The total expense of the Oct. and Nov. predeterminations together is now $5259.88.  $1,260.00 of the expense is tooth 18.  A tooth that already had a crown on it.  My insurance will not replace a crown unless it has been at least 3 years since its’ original installment.  This is a crown I had explicitly told Dr. Majid was off limits back in September.
  
  After finding these alterations to my plan, I decided not to hire Dr. Majid.  As the weeks passed, Dr. Majid's staff were leaving messages on my answering machine on a regular basis and I would ignore them.  Eventually, instead of just ghosting them, I decided to call them and tell them directly that I was no longer interested in Dr. Majid's services. 
  
  I called to tell their receptionist that I was no longer interested in Dr. Majid’s services because of these November predeterminations.  First she said that there were no November predeterminations in my plan.  A couple of moments pass and then she says she doesn’t know anything about these November predeterminations and assures me that only the October predeterminations are my plan.  It seemed that these November predeterminations were a product of some kind of miscommunication.
  
  It seemed more likely someone sent predeterminations to the wrong patient’s insurance company than to think an experienced dentist with an A+ rating from the BBB would alter their patient’s plan without consulting the patient first.  Especially, when these alterations blatantly contradicted the wishes, requests, and expectations that were established at previous consultations with Dr. Majid.     
  
  With that, the receptionist’s words of assurance convinced me to go back to Dr. Majid’s practice.  We scheduled a meeting to get those x-rays that were originally supposed to have been taken on Oct. 31st to Dec. 8th 2022.  
  
  At this Dec. 8th 2022 appointment I don’t remember seeing or talking to Dr. Majid at all.  The x-rays were taken.  While leaving, one of the clerks tells me that they need the money for the wax up.  The cost is $1,050.00.  I asked them why they didn’t send it through my insurance.  She said most insurance companies don’t cover wax ups.  Once again, I told her to send it through my insurance anyway, telling her that I have very good dental insurance.  She said OK but they still need the money now.  They tell me that the lab will not release the wax up without the money.  I decided to put the cost on a credit card as I was thinking that if my insurance would cover some of it, Dr. Majid or my insurance would reimburse me.  
  
  We scheduled two more appointments, I think the first one was on Dec. 12th, the other was definitely Dec. 13th 2022.
  
  On Dec. 12th, I came in and walked by the clerk.  She tells me that my insurance approved everything that Dr. Majid wanted to do.  I walked in the room and saw a mold of my teeth.  Dr. Majid entered the room.  He looks happy.  He tells me that my insurance approved all the work he had planned to do.  He also told me that he found a way to fix my bite without touching those 2 crowns I was concerned about.  I corrected him and said 3 crowns.  There were 3 crowns I didn’t want him to touch.  He said that he has to replace that crown on tooth 18 to fix my bite.  Dr. Majid was not hired to fix my bite.  He was hired because he said he could patch those 7 worn teeth without correcting my bite. 
  
  As you can understand, this upset me.  This was the first time Dr. Majid had told me that he wanted to replace one of my crowns.  He tells me this after I spent $1,050.00 of my money on a wax up.  I saw no way of getting my money back on that wax up.  It is very difficult to walk away $1,050.00 poorer with nothing to show for it.  So now I felt I was stuck with Dr. Majid.  
  
  I told Dr. Majid that my insurance will not cover that tooth.  That crown is barely 2 years old.  I didn’t know why Dr. Majid and his staff were telling me that my insurance approved it.  Did they either not notice it or did they hope I wouldn’t notice it?  Dr. Majid tells me if he doesn’t work on that tooth it will leave a hole in my bite.  I suggested that we could wait until November of next year and reassess.  By then my insurance would approve the replacement of that crown.  I’ve already been walking around for almost 3 months with a chipped tooth, I would be willing to wait another 11 months if it could save me $1,000.00.  Dr. Majid says no, it’s important to do it now.  I reminded Dr. Majid that I did not hire him to fix my bite.  I hired him to fix a chipped tooth.  I told him that it would save me over $1,000.00 if we just wait on that tooth.  Dr. Majid says that he will save me money.
  
  I never asked Dr. Majid why he changed my plan.  I was not interested in having these alterations done to me, so I didn’t care why. 
  
  When leaving, I talked to the clerk who once again told me that my insurance approved everything and that she needed my signature so that Dr. Majid can start working Dec. 13th.  I corrected the clerk and I told her that my insurance did not approve all the alterations to my plan.  She looks at the paperwork and acknowledges that I was correct.  She says she can take that off of my plan and does so.  If  I had not already put $1,050.00 into this procedure, I definitely would have walked away and gone somewhere else.  
  
  Now knowing that Dr. Majid definitely was not going to remove that crown on tooth 18.  I signed the paper.  As long as Dr. Majid didn’t touch the crown on tooth 18 it’s still more cost effective for me to stay than to go somewhere else and have to buy another wax up from a different prosthodontist. 
  
  The next day, Dec. 13th, I came in.  The receptionist reassures me that Dr. Majid will not touch the crown on tooth 18.  I was brought back to a dentist’s chair and Dr. Majid starts working.  I’m in that chair for close to 5 hours.  The novocaine wears off a couple of times while I’m there. When Dr. Majid finishes, I am told that I will not be able to floss my teeth and that many of the temporary crowns are split into large pieces covering multiple teeth.  I am also told not to eat sticky or crunchy foods.
  
  While leaving the office, a clerk gave me the bill for $3,188.88.  The exact amount I expected from my October predeterminations.  I look at the section of the bill that shows the teeth that were worked on.  I count them:  Tooth 02, 03, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 31, 30, a total of 10 teeth.  We schedule my next appointment for Dec. 29th 2022.  I expect that we will cap the remaining 8 teeth then.
  
  Once I’m home, I look in the mirror and notice that the temporary crowns over my teeth look big as if they are made from styrofoam.  I can’t see any of my teeth through these temporary crowns and the glue covering my teeth.
  
  Dec. 29th 2022 Dr. Majid shoots me up with novocaine.  One of his aides takes off my temporary crowns and starts putting the permanent crowns on.  They frequently fell off my teeth.  I almost swallowed one.  When she’s done, she tells me how beautiful they look.  I really didn’t care about that.  
  
  Dr. Majid told me to let him know if I didn’t like the color and that he could return them if I wanted.  To be honest, they were whiter than I would have selected myself.  They are whiter than the whites of my eyes.  But I didn’t say anything.  I’ve eaten little more than pasta and oatmeal for the past 2 ½ weeks.  I’m one of the few people who have lost 10 pounds over Christmas.  I didn’t want to add another 2 ½ weeks to this process.  I settled for the very white teeth.  
  
  Dr. Majid and his aide glued the permanent crowns in.  Next, Dr. Majid started drilling away at the teeth on my left side.  Mid-way, I heard Dr. Majid tells his aide “see that decay.”  She doesn’t say anything and he continues working.  When finished Dr. Majid directed his aide to leave the room to get something.  When she leaves, Dr. Majid crouches down and tells me that tooth 18 had a lot of decay so he had to take the crown off of it.  He said that the dentist that originally put that crown on didn’t properly clean it before gluing it on.  He also told me that my insurance will not cover it, so I will have to pay for it all in full.  At that point, I’m so angry I can’t talk.  I shut down internally.  
  
  Dr. Majid’s aide comes back to put the temporary crowns on.  After gluing in the temporaries, Dr. Majid asks me how my bite feels.  I told him that none of my back teeth were touching and all of my bite was on the front right side towards the canines.  He uses those marking papers.  We go through the process of biting on that paper and grinding my teeth.  Dr. Majid started drilling away at two of my teeth to correct my bite.  These are two perfectly healthy teeth he was drilling at.  When he stops, he tells me that my bite is perfect.  He tells me that my teeth are touching exactly where they are supposed to.  He also tells me that the reason I don’t feel my back teeth touching is because of all the novocaine.  They’re done for today.
  
  They walked me to the clerk.  She asks me how I’m doing.  I tell her,  “I’m very angry.”  She tells me that she knows.  She told me she was very surprised to see that tooth 18 was on her paperwork.  “Everyone told him not to touch that tooth.”  Dr. Majid walks up and once again says that there was a lot of decay and there was nothing he could do about it.  Then he walked away.  The clerk tells me she’s going to take 10% off of the crown for tooth 18.  She tells me that I now only owe them $1,842.64.  I don’t know what to do and I don’t know how to retaliate.  I still need the work finished.  I didn’t want to forfeit the 10% discount.  I gave her my credit card.  She gave me a receipt.  We scheduled my next appointment for January 17, 2023 and I went home.
  
  Once I’m home, the novocaine has worn off.  My bite is definitely off.  I looked in the mirror.  This time I could clearly see the work of Dr. Majid did.  I was shocked.  It looks like I only had 2 teeth that were not capped.  I could also see the drill marks on those same 2 teeth when Dr. Majid tried to adjust my bite.  My four bottom incisors is one big piece as well as all of the molars on the right side.  They don’t even feel like teeth anymore.  I can’t floss them.  This is not at all what I was expecting.  If he had told me the bottom incisors were going to be glued under one large crown I would have chosen the orthodontics.
  
  I look at the receipt and count the teeth.  “Tooth 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 31, 30, 12, 13, 21, 20, 19, and 18."  It took him 24 crowns to do the same work Dr. Miller would have done with 7!  I looked at the receipt from Dec. 13th again.  Apparently, the only teeth that show up on my receipt are the ones that were billed to my insurance on that day.  Since my insurance is not billed for crown preparation, they didn’t show up under the section labeled teeth on this receipt.  The only teeth that show up under teeth, or more accurately show up under “Th.” are the ones that were lengthened, had core build up, or included pins.  These are actions for which my insurance was to be billed.  Since this new receipt has all the crowns that my insurance is billed for, I now know how much work he did.  Apparently, on Dec. 13th Dr. Majid prepped 18 teeth for crowns in one day.  Did he do this work so quickly so that I couldn’t second guess it or back out of it?
    
  After taking that crown off of tooth 18 I couldn’t help but second guess everything he’d done so far.  I’ve never been so angry in my life.  I couldn’t sleep for 3 days straight because I was so angry.  I felt stupid that I trusted him and his staff.  I don’t anymore.  
  
  I called my insurance and asked if it covers decay.  I told them that my dentist stole a crown from me.  I had hoped my insurance had an exception for decay.  They told me there is nothing that they could do about it.  They recommended that I report him to the Better Business Bureau.  I didn’t have a lot of faith in the BBB at that point.  These were the people that gave him an A+ rating to begin with.
  
  I spoke with an ******** ********* Dental Assistant about my situation.  She asked me if tooth 18 was on my itemized plan.  I told her that they never gave me an itemized plan.  She told me that they should have given me an itemized plan of what they were going to do and how much it would cost.  I told her that they never gave me anything.  All I have is a number of predeterminations sent to my insurance.  I also told her that they had me sign something about my plan.  But they never gave me a copy of it.  She tells me that legally my dentist would have to prove decay otherwise he would have to pay for it.  She recommended that I ask for the x-rays and intra-photos that show decay and offered to look them over if  I emailed them.  She also recommended that I get another dentist to look over the work that’s been done so far, since I was concerned about my bite.
  
  I found a different dentist and scheduled an appointment for January 10th 2023.  I told them to get my x-rays from the dentist I saw prior to Dr. Majid, as I  didn’t want Dr. Majid to know I was getting a second opinion. 
  
  On January 10th, I went for an appointment with another dentist bringing every piece of paperwork I had, all the receipts, I printed out every PDF from every predetermination.  I even brought all the itemized plans I had from previous dentists.  I told the dentist my story.  To start, the dentist tells me that there are definitely some miscommunications here.   
  
  That’s what I thought when Dr. Majid brought me a wax mock-up for a plan I never approved.  Maybe there were miscommunications between Dr. Majid, his receptionists, and myself.  But I told him from the start that I didn’t want those crowns touched.  I even wrote down what I was there for.  There was no miscommunication about tooth 18.  It also seems that Dr. Majid has made a lot of money off of these miscommunications and at my expense.  It makes me think that maybe these miscommunications were fabricated.
  
  I asked the dentist if I was legally obligated to let Dr. Majid finish the work.  I was thinking that maybe I could get my money back on the last 6 crowns and have someone else finish the work.  The dentist tells me that I am not obligated to let Dr. Majid finish the work, but since I’ve already paid for everything, I might as well let him finish it.  I asked the dentist if it should really take 24 crowns to fix a chipped tooth.  The dentist tells me that he can’t tell by the x-rays he’s looking at.  But, since I had told him that this chipped tooth had been patched up before and that a more permanent solution would be necessary.  He also said that he could see some were on my upper canines, saying that they should look sharper in appearance.  He did not say that I needed a “full mouth rehabilitation” or that I had an “overall collapsed bite”.
    
  The dentist analyzes the work that has been done so far and tells me that he is concerned about the lingual margin on tooth 6.  He recommends that I bring that up at my next appointment with Dr. Majid.  I didn’t know what lingual margin on tooth 6 meant.  But I wasn’t surprised.  The premolars under tooth 6 were the healthy teeth Dr. Majid was drilling during my last appointment.
  
  I took the dentist’s advice and decided to go back to Dr. Majid.  I thought it would be best to wait until after all of the dental work was finished before asking for the x-rays and intra-photos of teeth 18, fearing that Dr. Majid may sabotage the procedure out of retaliation.  
  
  Jan. 17th 2023 Dr. Majid’s aide takes the temporary crowns out and puts the permanent crowns on.  The permanent crowns didn’t fit, as expected.  Because my bite has been off since Dec. 29th, my teeth had shifted.  All 6 of those crowns had to be returned.  I told Dr. Majid that my bite is still all in the front.  Dr. Majid has me cock my head back and he starts drilling away at the crowns on my bottom incisors.  Eventually, the bite felt more natural.  I also mentioned that there was something wrong with tooth 6.  He looks at it and asks what the problem is.  I tell him that it’s the lingual margin.  He says he doesn’t see anything.  I also ask, since they’re returning those crowns anyway, if I can get those molars in individual crowns so that I can actually floss them.  I am told yes.  I’m actually very happy to hear that.
  
  My next appointment is Jan. 25th 2023.  I was brought back.  Once again, Dr. Majid’s aide takes the temporary crowns out and tries to fit the new permanent crowns in.  They fit.  They feel almost perfect.  The aide takes the crowns out and sets them on a tray.  Dr. Majid tells me that he wants to get me fitted for a bite guard before I leave.  I asked him how much this was going to cost me.  He said $500.  I tell him I don’t think I want that.  
  
  It wasn’t the cost that concerned me.  I was very certain my insurance would have covered it in full.  I just wanted to be done with Dr. Majid.  After he took that crown from tooth 18 I lost all trust in him.  Every time I talked to Dr. Majid, I felt like I was being conned. Getting a mold for a bite guard means that I have to come back and leave myself vulnerable.
  
  Dr. Majid tells me that if I’m not willing to buy his $500 night guard then he needs me to sign something for him.  Dr. Majid starts writing something on his clipboard.  I read his note.  It is essentially a full waver that he is not responsible for any shoddy work he may have done if I don’t buy his $500 bite guard.  I did not want to sign that.  He didn’t do anything about the lingual margin in tooth 6.  There are spaces along the gum lines between my molars and my bottom incisors that require a lot more maintenance than they used to.  I’ve bought soft picks, gum simulators, and even a water flosser to clean those spaces.  But I’m still afraid that my teeth may decay regardless.  I definitely don’t want to sign a paper that gives Dr. Majid a free pass on any shoddy work he may have done.
  
  I told Dr. Majid that I don’t want to sign that.  Dr. Majid refuses to put my last 6 crowns in if I don’t agree to buy his bite guard or sign this paper.  I asked him if he would reimburse for those 6 crowns so that I can get this finished elsewhere.  He says no.  He says that the crowns are already here.  
  
  Dr. Majid’s aide asks me why I wouldn’t sign that paper.  I told her that I didn’t trust him.  I told her that he changed my plan without talking to me.  She said that my plan was not changed.  But you can clearly see in the predeterminations he changed my plan.  I primarily hired him to fix a chipped tooth and he decided to change my bite.  That is a big change to my plan. 
  
  I said that at my initial consultation, Dr. Majid told me that he could fix that tooth without touching any of my crowns.  Dr. Majid interjects and claims that he doesn’t have x-ray vision.  But he took x-rays.  He didn’t need to have x-ray vision.  He took many x-rays. 
  
  If he couldn’t do the job I hired him to do, then he should have told me.  I tell them that the best thing about my insurance is that I can get all of the consultation I want and my insurance is willing to pay for it all in full.  It helps me get the best treatment possible.  But it doesn’t work when I’m being lied to. 
  
  If Dr. Majid couldn’t fix that chipped tooth without altering my bite, he should have told me.   And, he should have said something before spending my $1,050.00 dollars on a wax up to a plan I never approved.  I could have hired another prosthodontist to get a 2nd opinion.  But he didn’t.  He didn’t say anything about fixing my bite until after he spent my money on that wax up. 
  
  I tell them that I didn’t believe that there was any decay in that 18th tooth.  If Dr. Majid had told me about this decay before removing it, I could have easily gotten a second opinion.  But I couldn’t because Dr. Majid took it upon himself to remove that crown without talking to me.  Dr. Majid once again tells me that there was a lot of decay, it had to go.  
  
  I tell them that I have gotten almost $40,000 worth of dental work in 2 months and I feel like I have had no say over any of it.  At every corner I am blocked from making any decisions.  It’s my insurance, my money, and my teeth and I have had no voice in how my insurance, money, and teeth are used and treated.
  
  Dr. Majid’s aide says that “there was definitely some miscommunication.”  I ask Dr. Majid if I can have the x-rays and intra-photos of tooth 18 that show decay.  Dr. Majid says yes.  Dr. Majid and the aide leave the room to see another client.  Dr. Majid told me to decide what we’re going to do.  
  
  I sat for approximately a ½ hour while I tried to figure out what I should do.  I’m one of the few people on this planet that does not carry a cell phone.  I’m wondering if what he is doing is legal.  Is this extortion?  If I had a phone, I think I would have dialed 311.  Should I take the crowns off the tray and walk away with them?  Maybe I could hire another dentist to glue them in.  I have no idea how my insurance would cover that.  It would also seem strange to show up at a dentist’s office with a pocket full of crowns and asking for them to be glued in.  Ultimately, the main concern was that I now have 6 teeth stripped of enamel.  I didn’t think I would be able to eat anything until those crowns were put on.  For almost two months now, I have been eating nothing, but soft food.  Whenever I drink any fluids, I feel the roots of my teeth bowing.  I was afraid if I were to eat anything without those crowns my teeth could possibly break, chip and make those crowns worthless and impossible to fit my teeth properly in the future.
  
  Dr. Majid’s aide returns and asks me if I would be more willing to sign a paper if it were properly printed out.  I say maybe.  She leaves and returns with a form.  I read this form.  It is more reasonable than Dr. Majid’s handwritten note.  This one only talks about possible breakage while sleeping without a bite guard.  I decided to sign it.  Frankly, whether I signed that paper or not, I was confident that Dr. Majid would have refused to be responsible for his dental work anyway.  (He already did nothing about that lingual margin on tooth 6.)  I didn’t trust him to do any more dental work for me regardless. 
  
  The aide tells Dr. Majid that I signed it.  He entered the room.  He glues my last 6 crowns in.  He also tells me that he couldn’t put those molars in separate crowns, as I requested, because there is not enough space between them.  I think that if Dr. Majid knew that I had signed a different paper than the one he wrote, he may not have put those last 6 crowns on. 
  
  When leaving, the clerk looks at my file bafflingly and mentions that there is a note with a $300+ fee on my file.  She reminds me that I have already paid for everything, throws the note in the trash and tells me I’m good to go.  I thought Dr. Majid was going to bill me if I didn’t sign that paper or buy his night guard.  
  
  The clerk also mentions that I may need some adjustments to my bite later and, if so, I should call and schedule another appointment.  I thought that was strange considering Dr. Majid was going to fit me for a bite guard before confirming that my bite was correct.  If I had gotten the bite guard and later found my bite was off, it would make that $500 bite guard worthless.  I didn’t get any sleep that night either.  I was lying in bed.  I couldn’t help but constantly rethinking that whole ordeal. 
  
  Later, I called my insurance and asked about getting a bite guard.  As expected, my insurance will pay for it in full.  Once I felt that my bite had settled, on Feb. 15th I was fitted for a top of the line $654.00 bite guard at a different dental practice.
  
  Since my last appointment with Dr. Majid I had planned to notify the Better Business Bureau about that crown on tooth 18 once I could confirm that there was no evidence of decay.  But now its been 2 months since my last appointment with Dr. Majid.  I still have not received the x-rays or intra-photos that Dr. Majid said he would release to me.  I check my e-mails and spam files regularly and I still have not seen them.
    
  I have also been checking the claims from my insurance on a regular basis.  It strangely took over a month for it to clear.  My last appointment with Dr. Majid was January 25th but my insurance didn’t clear it until Feb. 28th.  When I looked at the claim, the crown for tooth 18 was not on it.  
  
  Dr. Majid’s office also never sent in a claim for the wax up even though they told me they would.  Dr. Majid is within my insurance network.  Dentists in my network are expected to file all claims.  When I’m dealing with a dentist outside of my network, I’m expected to send an itemized receipt so that I can be reimbursed.  Dr. Majid’s practice failed at providing me with receipts that correlated with my billing as well as omitting claims that should have gone to my insurance, such as the crown for tooth 18 and the wax up.  I have all the receipts and copies of checks that I’ve written to Dr. Majid.  But neither I, nor my insurance, have any evidence that Dr. Majid even put a crown on tooth 18.  
  
  Without the wax mock-up and the bill for the crown on tooth 18 there was a $2,184.00 discrepancy between what I paid and how much my insurance thought I should have owed Dr. Majid.  Is it my word against his whether he even removed that crown? 
  
  In my opinion, Dr. Majid and his practice used a long series of bait and switch tactics to get my business and prevent me from making the best decisions with regards to my dental care and check book.  Dr. Majid told me he could solve all my dental issues without removing any of my previous crowns.  He did not do that.  I was told that I would know what Dr. Majid was going to do and know how much it would cost by looking at my insurance’s predeterminations.  That was not true.  I was told that they would send a claim for the wax up to my insurance.  That never happened.  I was told that the November predeterminations were not a part of my plan.  In the end, that was not true.  I was told that my insurance approved all of the work Dr. Majid wanted.  That was not true.  I was told that Dr. Majid wasn’t going to touch the crown on tooth 18 multiple times.  When he did remove the crown on tooth 18 without my permission, he stated it was due to decay, but has never sent the x-rays to support this assertion.    I was told that my final 2 molars could be individual crowns.  That did not happen.  Dr. Majid used my remaining 6 crowns as a hostage to get me to sign paperwork.  If Dr. Majid knew that a bite guard would be required after completing his work.  A predetermination for a bite guard should have been sent to my insurance before we started.  More bait and switch tactics.  I was told that I can have the x-rays and intra-photos that prove decay on tooth 18.  I still have not received them.  I didn’t even know that Dr. Majid was planning a “full mouth restoration” until reading his response to the BBB.
  
  From Dec. 8th to the 29th I have paid Dr. Majid $6,081.52.  On April 5th 2023, I received another bill from Dr. Majid for $177.16.  I thought it was some form of retaliatory bill for making a  complaint with the BBB.  Maybe he wanted the money back for that 10% discount on tooth 18.  I later did the math and found that they had actually undercharged me.  I was not billed for one of the 24 crowns.  I paid it.  I always pay my bills.  In the end, what I had originally expected to cost me $3,188.88 cost me $6,258.68.  
  
  In the end, the cost of braces ($5,871.00) plus the cost of patching those 7 troubled teeth (6 crowns plus 1 surface composite, $854.40) equals $6,725.40.  It would have cost me only $466.72 more than Dr. Majid’s services.  I would have had 17 more healthy teeth instead of stripping them of enamel and gluing them into porcelain.  Any reasonable person would have known that would have been the better choice.
  
  Crowns are only expected to last 10 to 20 years.  Because of Dr. Majid’s actions, I know that (without health insurance) I will need $40,000.00 worth of dental work every 10 to 20 years for the rest of my life.
  
  I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this whole ordeal.  I’ve questioned the work Dr. Majid did.  From my initial consultation, it made sense to me that he would have to work on some of the bottom teeth to make room for those 7 worn upper teeth.  But he didn’t follow that plan.  He decided to correct my bite, whether I wanted it or not.  He corrected my bite by lengthening my back teeth.  That action built room to work on those front upper 7 teeth.  After correcting my bite, there was no longer any reason to put crowns on most of my bottom teeth.  
  
  I have no doubt Dr. Majid could have corrected my bite, patched those 7 teeth, and spared teeth 31, 30, 29, 28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 20.  It would have saved me 12 teeth and $2,125.92.  If we had waited 11 months before replacing tooth 18 it would have saved me another $956.84.  Those 12 teeth had nothing to do with correcting my bite or patching those 7 worn teeth.  In my opinion, Dr. Majid put those 12 teeth in crowns to make money off of me and my insurance.  He did not have my best interests in mind.
  
  I don’t believe I have ever gone a full year without seeing a dentist in my entire life.  I have been with the same company and have had the same dental insurance for 14 years.  To think that suddenly I need a “full mouth restoration” with 24 crowns is absurd. 
  
  To reiterate, Sept. 26, 2022: I had a consultation with Dr. Majid.  In his waiting room, I was given a paper and asked to write down what I was there for and what I had hoped Dr. Majid could help me with.  I wrote that I had a chipped tooth that I wanted patched.  I wrote that I was concerned about the way my front top and front bottom teeth bere too close together.  I wrote that I didn’t care about the way my teeth looked and that I only cared about their health.  I told Dr. Majid that the 3 crowns I had were off limits.
  
  In the end, in my opinion, Dr. Majid failed me.  He did fix that chipped tooth by putting a crown on it and he resolved the other 6 worn teeth of concern.  But he did so at the cost of the health of 17 other teeth.  He took a crown that he was explicitly and frequently told was off limits. 
  I don’t know why Dr. Majid is now claiming that I was scheduled for a “full mouth restoration” from the start.  You can see in the October predeterminations that it was not true.  There were a lot of crowns but not a full mouth restoration and no crowns scheduled for replacement.
  
  I don’t know why Dr. Majid altered my plan.  Is it possible he couldn’t follow the original plan?  Did he find out how good my insurance was and decided I could afford a “full mouth restoration?”
  
  I don’t know why Dr. Majid didn’t tell me he was changing my plan.  Did he think I would not notice?  Did he think that once I saw this wax up with a modified plan, it would impress me so much I wouldn’t care about the original work that was scheduled?
  
  When Dr. Majid showed me this wax up and I told him that I was not interested in these alterations, did he need another $1,050.00 for another wax up to do the job I originally hired him to do?
  
  I don’t know if Dr. Majid’s receptionist knew those November predeterminations were supposed to be a part of my plan.  Or, was she instructed to tell me whatever I wanted to hear to get my business?
  
  I don’t know if Dr. Majid and his staff sincerely did not notice that my insurance did not approve the replacement of tooth 18 or did they think I would not notice it?
  
  I don’t know why Dr. Majid’s staff have not sent a claim for the wax up to my insurance.  Are they not violating an agreement between Dr. Majid and my insurance? 
  
  On Dec. 13th 2022, I was billed $3,188.88, the same amount as my original plan.  Was that a huge coincidence or was I billed that amount to make me think that Dr. Majid was only doing the original October plan? 
  
  I don’t know if there was any decay in that crown on tooth 18.  If there was decay, why didn’t Dr. Majid tell me this before removing it?  I could have gotten a second opinion.  It should have been my decision whether that crown was to be removed.  It was not Dr. Majid’s place to decide that without speaking to me.
  
  I don’t know why Dr. Majid still has not presented me with the x-rays and intra-photos that prove decay even though he said he would.  If there was evidence of decay, then shouldn’t the dentist that put the decayed crown be paying for the replacement?  But I have seen no evidence that there was anything wrong with that crown.
  
  I don’t know if it is legal to hold 6 crowns as a hostage to get a waiver or an agreement to buy a $500.00 bite guard.  
  
  I would really appreciate it if I could get the answers to those questions. 
  
  Regards,
  
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