Stephen R. Goldberg, DDS Holistic Dentistry New York New York

I am accusing Dr. Stephen Goldberg, DDS of gross negligence and fraud.

Below is the letter that I sent to him describing what he did to me, and what legal punitive measures I plan to take against him for the wrongs that he committed against me.

I'll let you draw your own conclusions after reading the treatment I received at his hands whether one should be risking their health and financial assets by taking him on as one's dentist.

Bernard L.
New York, NY

May 7, 2008

Dr. Stephen R. Goldberg, DDS
177 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012

Dr. Goldberg:

I received some very disturbing news recently concerning the dental treatment and advice that you and your associate, Dr. Farzin, provided to me.

I showed the x-rays that were taken in your office to my current dentist. I told her that you advised me that per the x-rays I have two cavities that require crowns, and fortunately one of these teeth is next to the tooth that was pulled so only one more crown is necessary to serve as an anchor for the bridge that will hold the false tooth which will replace the tooth that needed a root canal based on outdated endodontic principles, but I chose to have extracted so it should not serve as a base for harmful bacteria once it is dead.

My current dentist carefully looked at the x-rays from your office, and made it known to me that they dont indicate that I have two cavities on the teeth that you indicated to me. In fact, she stated that my x-rays show no cavities anywhere in my mouth.

Thus, in addition to ruining two perfectly good teeth by crowning them so they can serve as anchors for the bridge, she informed me that due to the fact that I have a crossbite, and the particular positioning of the bridge that there is a very high probability that it will fail never mind that dental statistics indicate as you know that one in five teeth die after they are crowned. Consequently, in stark opposition to you because of the above facts she recommends an implant.

Following her recommendation, I went to an oral surgeon to get his opinion on an implant. At the same time, I showed him the x-rays of my mouth which were taken in your office, and confirmed my dentists opinion that they dont indicate that I have the two cavities as stated by you to me nor do they show any other cavities in my mouth.

In regards to whether I am a candidate for an implant, he told me that my surgical extraction was not done right. I lost bone so it is questionable at this point whether I will have sufficient bone density and quantity to have an implant. By mid-August my bone should have healed sufficiently so he will be able to decide then.

I want you to know that if I will not have sufficient bone density and quantity by mid-August for me to have an implant then you will be looking squarely in the face of a malpractice suit. Obviously, you and Dr. Farzin as general dentists are not qualified to do surgical extractions so it is a procedure that you should not have attempted in the first place. Hence, we have oral surgeons that specialize in surgical dental procedures, and are required to complete a four-year hospital surgical residency program after basic dental school training just to become qualified to practice in this area.

I also consulted with a doctor of acupuncture and acupressure and a longtime practitioner whether an expert in the arts is able to determine through the use of acupressure if another individual is allergic to a substance as you claimed to be able to do by placing a substance on my stomach, and then applying pressure against by hands when I held them intertwined above my head. He laughed at me, and clearly confirmed to me what I suspected all along that this is nothing more than quackery.

While I am on the topic of quackery, my allergist feels that there is strong correlation between medical and dental practitioners that make use of non-FDA approved forms of chelation therapy and quackery. Vitamin C IV chelation therapy that you utilize after amalgam fillings removal is a non-FDA approved form of chelation therapy.

It looks like I am on a roll here so let me lay out all my cards Dr. Goldberg.

Dont you think that I am aware that curettage is a normal part of an extraction so I should not have been billed for it separately. You didnt even tell me about this separate $130 cost before the extraction. All you told me was that a simple extraction was $325 and a surgical extraction $475.

You charged me $155 for a treatment plan without even telling me beforehand that you are going to hit me with such a charge. No other dentist or doctor ever charged me separately for a treatment plan. What was there to discuss anyway? We already went over the treatment plan in the (so called) free initial oral examination after the full mouth x-rays were taken.

You charged me $245 for the bite imprint molds without telling me beforehand that there is a separate cost for them since normally they are included in the price of the crown or crowns.

I came to see you Dr. Goldberg not Dr. Farzin. I thought it was unethical of you to pass me on to him, especially for something non-routine for a general dentist as a surgical extraction. You are not an oral surgeon, but you have 40 years experience more than he does -- maybe you could have pulled it off without causing me damage.

You took advantage of me at a vulnerable time since I was still recovering from my severe allergic reaction from the prior root canal treatment that send me to urgent care in Booth Memorials Hospital emergency room when I first met you.

In view of all the wrongs that you committed against me, all lawful options that I have at my disposal to retaliate against you are on the table.

First of all, if I dont hear from you in a few days that you are prepared to make monetary amends to me for the negligent dental treatment and intentionally misleading advice that I received from you as well as the actual monetary swindles that I have enumerated above, you can count on me making this matter public on various online nationwide consumer news reporting agencies, and online dental and medical review sites so that your reputation on the Internet will be ruined.

Secondly, I will notify various governmental agencies that deal with dental malpractice complaints such as the NYS Office of Professional Education of the fine work that you do with patients recovering from traumatic dental events so they will think twice of whether you really deserve your DDS license.

And thirdly, as I mentioned previously, you will be facing a very angry and determined adversary and looking at a costly malpractice suit for gross negligence and fraud in mid-August if I can not have the implant (which is really my only sensible solution for the replacement of my extracted tooth) because you guys botched up the surgical extraction.

Sincerely,
Bernard L.

Bernard
New York, New York
U.S.A.