Las Vegas man’s lawsuit claims dentist pulled too many of his teeth

A Las Vegas man decided to go with the dental office where “second opinions are free,” and that cost him most of his teeth, a lawsuit alleges.

Lawyers for 51-year-old Jasmin Alic wrote in a complaint filed last week that a dentist with Abbey Dental removed almost all of his teeth and performed work on him that was meant for another patient.

“He is currently without any teeth in his lower mouth and most of his upper teeth are missing as well,” another Las Vegas dentist wrote in an affidavit included with the complaint. “When Mr. Alic removed the gauze from his mouth following the procedure, it was then that he first realized the extent of treatment he had not consented to.”

A year ago, Alic needed dental work done, and cosmetic dentist Johnathan White recommended the removal of three upper teeth and a pair of lower teeth as part of a “disease control phase,” according to the lawsuit.

White, who also is a UNLV School of Dental Medicine lecturer and past president of the Southern Nevada Dental Society, also had suggested a bone graft, he wrote in the affidavit.

Alic sought another opinion on costs and decided to receive treatment from Sherrel Byard, then with Abbey Dental, which advertises that “second opinions are always free.”

On Sept. 3, Alic underwent surgery, expecting to wake up with repairs to eight of his teeth, but the suit alleges that the dentist had performed work that was “inconsistent with Plaintiff’s treatment plan.”

White wrote that this caused Alic to need four implants, “which are not as good as his original teeth,” with fixed hybrid prosthetics to his lower arch, at a cost of about $30,000. A removable prosthetic would lower the cost to $20,000, while a porcelain prosthetic would cost about $50,000, White added, and Alic would require at least one replacement in the future.

“Based upon my opinion, Dr. Byard fell below the standard of care,” White wrote. “The care rendered by Dr. Byard departed from the applicable standard of care when they failed to confirm the treatment plan was for the correct patient before engaging in work on the patient.”

Neither Byard, nor representatives of Abbey Dental returned phone calls seeking comment.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.