Florida dentist faces disciplinary hearing
A dentist in Ocala, Florida is set to face a disciplinary hearing in front of the Florida Board of Dentistry later this month due to reports of negligence and fraud. Dr. Ben Spivey, who runs Spivey Enterprises, was alleged to have ripped off patients and ruined their teeth according to eight official complaints made between 2008 and 2009.
Amongst the complaints, it is alleged that Dr. Spivey took around eighteen thousand dollars from a patient for implants and crown procedures that were never fully completed. All of the eight complaints will be heard at the disciplinary meeting; however, three have been made available on the Department of Health website. Investigations into these three cases revealed that correct records were not kept for the patients and that initial X-rays were not kept in one case.
One case on the Department of Health website revealed that a patient had all her teeth removed at the request of her mother, without Dr. Spivey actually diagnosing or fully justifying the removal himself. The complaint read: ‘ A dentist who proceeds with extracting teeth that are viable and have adequate bone structure for the convenience of placing full dentures notwithstanding a patient’s consent for such a course of treatment is in violation of the standard of care.’
Spivey did not comment on the investigation, but has voluntarily withdrawn his dental license. The dental board meets on September 17th.
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Back in May of 2009, I was talked into having all my teeth extracted by Dr. Spivey and Implants put in on the bottom and a complete set of dentures on the top. His “Spiel” was, “He was one of seven doctors that was flown to Europe to learn the “art” of dental implants”. He convinced me that, that was the way to go and he was the most qualified to do it. That was 17 months ago and I have not been out of pain since. He up and left his practice in Ocala without a word to anyone.His “estimate” for everything was $16,000.00 on May 11, 2009 and it is Sept. 28, 2010 (Over 16 MONTHS later) and I’m STILL not done, Plus, I’m over $37,000.00 paid in—in CASH—out of pocket. A Doctor Penrod is finishing my upper plate and I have placed my faith in him. I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how much PAIN that man has put me through since May 20th, 2009 when HE extracted my teeth as he said, “I can’t give you any more novicain, as it could stop your heart”. The extreme pain and suffering I went through almost drove me to suicide! I hope and pray he never puts another person through what I’ve been through. After all that, to find out he’s a Fraud AND a Crook, just about breaks my heart. William J. Rocchio P.S. If there is any way I can help to put him in jail, I’m ready to help, with Documentation and many, many witnesses.