Parent Launches Facebook Attack against Dentist

It would have been much more effective to get in touch with an Atlanta dental malpractice lawyer, but the parent of a five-year-old child had other ideas. The father, created a Facebook page deriding his son’s dentist after a nightmarish treatment procedure, during which, he alleges, the dentist extracted a tooth without the proper use of anesthesia.

According to the Facebook page, the episode occurred last month at the clinic of a prominent dentist in the area. The Facebook poster/Dad alleges that the dentist didn’t wait for the child to be properly sedated before extracting the tooth. The child had a traumatic experience. He allegedly had to be held down by assistants, and vomited and urinated during the procedure, screaming the entire time.

What the father did next, which is what a lot of people these days do:  vent on Facebook by creating a page and trashing the dentist. He immediately created a Facebook page called “I Hate Dr. ________ of ____________,” which quickly accumulated more than 400 members. Many of the members are concerned parents, who have used the Facebook post to vent about their own experiences with the concerned dentist.

According to some of the Facebook posts, the dentist has often mistreated child patients. Some of them spoke of him slapping and strapping children down to restrain them, and others spoke of a dentist who couldn’t be bothered to wait until a child was properly sedated before beginning a procedure.

The dentist, on his part, has claimed that he did nothing wrong, and that the boy had been properly sedated at the time of the procedure. There has been a lot of media attention and recent cases alleging the mistreatment of children during dental care in Atlanta. Many of the methods that used to be acceptable when treating children are no longer within the standard of care. Some older pediatric dentists still employ these outdated methods and are now feeling the backlash from parents.

Venting against your dentist online is not the best way to address your grievances. For one thing, you could be walking into murky defamation waters. Even if much of what you post online can be anonymous, people still have been able to sue others who post offensive material about them online. A Facebook page denigrating a dentist may help you vent, but doesn’t really help you or your family address the damage. Speaking with an Atlanta dental malpractice lawyer on the other hand, could actually help you take firm action to hold the dentist accountable.

Attorney Robert J. Fleming has been handling wrongful death cases, automobile accident cases, personal injury cases, dental malpractice and medical malpractice lawsuits for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years in and around Atlanta, Georgia and its surrounding areas, including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured and would like quality legal representation, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.