Dentist says man is lying about having all his teeth pulled without his permission
An Indiana dentist accused by a patient of pulling all his teeth without his consent is biting back.
Amanda and Donny Grigsby told media last week that dentist Aaron Strickland of Columbus, Ind. pulled Donny’s teeth on March 15.
Amanda Grigsby said her husband went in to have four teeth pulled, but after more than five-and-a-half hours of waiting discovered that Strickland had pulled all of Donny’s teeth. The couple accused Strickland of doing it without their consent and threatened to sue.
Strickland hadn’t said anything about the incident until Sunday when, in an interview with WTTV in Indianapolis, he said the couple signed a consent form for a full mouth extraction before he removed Grigsby’s teeth.
He showed the TV station the form. “The claims that we have got are false accusations,” Strickland said. “They’re malicious.”
Strickland reportedly got permission from the couple last week to speak publicly about the March 15 appointment, information typically protected by federal privacy laws.
The dentist has lost business over the controversy. One employee quit “because she couldn’t take it from the media,” Strickland said.
He said x-rays showed that 27 of Grigsby’s 28 teeth were decayed and infection had spread through his mouth. “The cavities were so extensive that they were into the nerves of multiple teeth,” Strickland said.
He said he discussed two treatment options with the couple - a series of visits involving root canals, crowns and bridges, or full mouth extraction and dentures.
Strickland said Amanda, who has dentures, urged her husband to have his teeth removed.
He removed the teeth under conscious sedation so Grigsby could be awake throughout, Strickland said, adding that Amanda checked on her husband several times during the procedure.
The Grigsbys also accused Strickland of overdosing Donny, who was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Strickland said problems arose because Grigsby didn’t give any information about using blood thinners on his medical history form.
“Had Mr. Grigsby been truthful about his past medical history and medications, I would have sent him home with a prescription for an antibiotic and referred him to an oral surgeon for the procedure,” Strickland said.
RTV6 in Indianapolis reported that Strickland filed a complaint against the Grigsbys in federal district court on Thursday, accusing them of making false statements about the medical care Donny received.
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Dentist says man is lying about having all his teeth pulled without his permission."