G4 by Golpa

UPDATE - 9/9/22 Received a call from Amanda at Golpa's office on Aug 10, 2022. She profusely apologized for the 'new' employee's error in telling me I had to pay $150.00 for a cleaning. She went on to say "Come in so we can see what Dr. Golpa can do for you." My response is as follows - "I tried for 5 years to be polite, respectful and patient with each dentist and technician there. I remained hopeful that Dr. Golpa could deliver what he stated he would deliver in my initial consultation. But he hasn't and the whole G4 experience has been very traumatic for me and has left me with extreme dental anxiety and PTSD. (both of which have been diagnosed by a mental health professional.) If the mistreatment and disrespect had only come from his staff, I'd probably come back in for one last try to see if he could get my bridges correct. But he, himself, has blatantly disregarded my pleas for help and he's continuously made me feel like all of this is my fault. If he knew how to fix my on going issues, I honestly think he would have done it by now..., because I don't want to believe that he is a cruel man and that all the terrible things I have been made to go through at his office have been intentional. Amanda, as you can now understand, I can not come back in to see IF he can MAYBE fix things. I just can't put myself through any more of this stress and torment. I do appreciate you reaching out to me in an effort to help me but it has come 5 years, 9 fixed bridges, 2 surgeries and countless 5 hour appointments too late." - Once again, if I had been toothless and/or suffering with ill-fitting dentures..., then this might be a different story. But I had 24 permanent teeth in my mouth that he pulled out during my first surgery. - I am currently trying to secure an appointment with a Prosthodontist (hopefully who specializes in malocclusion issues with a fixed prosthetic) but as you can imagine it is NOT easy. But I am not giving up because I know that I wasn't meant to suffer this way. - (Included a photo of my prior X-rays with my 6 crowned teeth below it, that were given to me after surgery) On 9/1/22 - Golpa's office requested I email Carlos@***.com to resolve this issue to your satisfaction My response dated 9/9/2022 - I will not be able to email Carlos due to the fact that I am out of state, on business, and I cannot devote any of my energy to this on-going stressful and debilitating dental catastrophe. I have made appointments with 2 Prosthodontists for the first 2 weeks of Oct. At that point I will know more about the (possible) damage to my actual implants (due to the crack in my bottom arch), as well as how to correct the malocclusion that is causing me so much pain and agony. The crack in my bottom arch gets food impacted in it, which then causes me intense pain from the pressure it places on the 2 implants that are on either side of the crack. Ive told several of Golpa's employees on the phone, in emails and even in person about the crack in my lower arch and about the 2 chips (dead center, between my 2 front teeth, in my upper arch) and about the fact that I need some access holes filled. Yet no one seemed to care about my health until I filed this complaint. I am currently on antibiotics as a precaution. Shame on you all. No, I dont accept the response from the business. Original Complaint - I had my All on 4 dental implant surgery Sept 27, 2017 in Las Vegas by a dentist (Torkaman) who works under Mike Golpa. During my second follow-up appointment, in which I was in extreme pain and was told to be quiet and stop being a baby, there are patients in the other rooms by a dental aide named Kristy - Torkaman, using a pair of dental pliers, grabbed one of the newly placed metal implant post (in my upper gum, directly under my left nostril) and completely twisted it around in my gum and upper jaw bone. The pain was so intense, I almost blacked out. He then yanked it out because, and I quote, That isn't good., it shouldn't move like that!(Uhmmm., no kidding!) Judging by his facial expressions, he was in extreme shock that he had just done that to me. He did not mean to do it, he is not a cruel man by any means, but simply my implant had failed. My emergency surgery was performed by Golpa. It was to replace the implant that Torkaman twisted out and add bone chips to my jaw bone and an additional metal implant, for a total of 5 metal implants in my upper jaw, and it was in early Oct 2017. While Golpa was performing that second surgery, I woke up during the procedure and had bone chips in my mouth, that I ended up swallowing because I was completely unaware of what was happening. I remember Golpa coming into my surgery cubicle (in which I was completely alone, no one was with me until Golpa showed up) and in a somewhat loud, excited tone he announced she needs to be sedated again! When the procedure was over I was rushed outside to my husband, who was in our car, and I was told to come back the next day for my new upper arch. That evening, when the sedation completely wore off, I felt the inside of my upper lip burning, and it was really painful. When I looked at what was causing all the pain, I was dumbfounded to see that they cut my upper gum! It was cut from the point where the metal implant protrudes from my gum all the way up to where my upper lip connects with my gums. There were stitches holding together a vertical cut in my upper gum! I couldn't believe that they would, not only, slip up that bad (did I mention there were stitches?!?!?!) but that they did NOT say a word to my husband (or myself) about the fact that they accidentally sliced open my gum/lip bad enough for it to need stitches! A few weeks later, I realized that I could no longer move my upper lip towards my nose (think of Elvis and how he could move his upper lip up and down., well, I used to be able to do that too). So you'd think that after everything I went through in less than 12 days, that I'd have stopped going to Golpa, but I couldn't. You see, he had me trapped in his web already. He had just told one of his underlings to perform my initial implant surgery, and then he performed my emergency implant surgery. No other dentist or company, at that point, was going to touch me. Plus I had paid Golpa over $33,000.00 for the G4 special which included a warranty to cover everything for years. Plus, I didn't want to rush to judgement, everyone makes mistakes and mistakes can happen at any time. So I stayed. I kept coming back to Golpa, time after time, after time. After about my 5th set of ill-fitting, chunky, clacking dental arches, Golpa had the nerve to yell at me, I never make more than 2 sets of bridges for any of my patients! He made it seem as if I was being too picky. If wanting what I was told I was getting, is being too picky, then he is delusional. I, like several others, was made to feel banished and singled out by being told Only Golpa will work on you now. As if that mattered?! *** I paid HIM to work on me, he is the one that selected his employees to work on me. But by making us feel less than and having Golpa be the only provider to work on us, they severely limited our access to healthcare because Golpa was/is busy flying around the country quickly opening up several other surgery mills. That was criminal, especially when everyone in that office knew my mouth needed more attention because my issues were not being resolved. MY BRIDGES/TEETH HAVE NEVER BEEN CORRECT! They have never, no NOT ONCE, been what Golpa promised me they would be during my consultation! I want to rip them out every time I eat, talk, lick my lips, sing, sneeze, cough, wake up in the mornings, go to bed at night, anytime I do anything that involves using my mouth or lips, PERIOD! They have made my lips dry and cracked to the point of being bloody. My lips and gums sting and there is a very weird minty/hot sensation too. My lingual frenulum (the membrane under my tongue) and the surrounding area, can swell and become so painful that I have to use a canker sore numbing medication! Every time I brush my teeth really well on the backside of my lower bridge, I end up being sore for days because of cutting my delicate skin in the area with my toothbrush, because the bridge is not formed correctly. Each and every one, of Golpa's bridges has made my life so depressing! I guess if I had been toothless or wearing dentures, I would have been joyful, but I HAD teeth that he pulled out! He told me I'd be better off with his implanted bridges, that I'd never have to worry about a bad tooth problem again. He was right about that, I've never had a bad tooth problem since he pulled out all my of teeth, I've just had a miserable, frustrating, exhausting, soul sucking set of (several) bridges stuck in my mouth, that's all. My days are so utterly gloomy and depressing, it sucks! I've become a pseudo Prosthodontist from all the research I've done to 'help' Golpa get my teeth/bridges correct for my mouth. I've learned terminology that Ill never use again in life yet, it still hasn't helped Golpa get my teeth/bridges correct. FYI - Golpa is NOT a prosthodontist and, he does NOT have one working for him in the lab. My jaws ache all the time because my bite (vertical dimension and occlusion) is off, and my facial muscles are having to work so hard in order for me to simply talk. My speech is effected enough that I hate talking at all. I used to be the life of the party, and now I don't even join in the conversations because I can't get my lips and tongue to form my words properly or fast enough. I end up stuttering, slurring and spitting at people, not talking with them. Furthermore, I do not smile very much, if at all, because my smile is unnatural looking and it is physically awkward to actually form! I have to literally think about what muscles I need to flex in order to simply smile. I can not sweep my tongue around the outer (labial) side of my gums to bring the partially chewed food back onto my tongue side to finish chewing it. In fact, I to create my own flanges to wear between the bulky ridges of my bridges and my gums. Cat, the manager in Las Vegas, was stunned that I figured out how to create these with silicone. In fact, she even told my husband and I, You shouldn't have to do that! I'm sorry. My TMJ has returned after 20+ years of not having it. I look 20 years older because the placement of Golpa's bridges are so far off my face has sunken inwards, I look hollow and skeleton like. My lips have NO support, my tongue protrudes over my bottom bridge because it doesn't have enough room to lay naturally in my mouth. I now have 'smoker lines' on my upper and lower lips, and I DON'T SMOKE! When I brought all this up to Golpa, he said So, go get lips injections and filler! I shouldn't have to pay MORE MONEY to fix the errors that Golpa created from his lack of knowledge and integrity. I shouldn't have to get any toxins injected into my face to correct his deficiencies. Furthermore, I had 4 sets (out of 8 or 9 sets) of bridges crack or break in half. I'm currently having to use a set (set number 8 or 9, I believe) that has a large, noticeable, chip between the two upper front teeth and a crack in between two teeth on the lower bridge. The crack causes extreme pain more often than not, because food gets impacted into the crack and puts pressure on the metal implants on either side of the crack. It's an infection waiting to happen. But Golpa doesn't mind if I get an infection because he has NO lingering ethical respect or concern for the people who come to him and fall under his spell. Once he gets our money, shames us, blames us, and drives us away, he turns to the next person who will willingly give him their hard-earned money because of the false + reviews he controls on the internet. In January 2021, Golpas new lab technicians (Jose and Kat - husband & wife - fled to California) told me that at the very least, they'd get the shape of my arch correct and then COVID resurged. My March 2021 appointment, for the correction of my lower bridge, was canceled. No one called me back to reschedule my appointment after COVID died down again. I called several times to reschedule my appointment, starting in July 2021, and I was told I had to send pictures to Lauren, and she would decide if I needed an appointment. WHAT?! Well, guess what., Lauren never responded to my emails, so I walked into the office in May 2022. (I had had a medical procedure in Aug 2021, and I was recovering until April 2022.) So, I've had to wait since May 5, 2022, to have Golpas dental techs simply fill the 3 access holes that came out during the 2021 COVID resurgence, and they won't even discuss fixing the chips or crack! So, today - August 8, 2022 - I get a call from Golpa's office reminding me about my appointment tomorrow. The young lady goes on to say, And as of today, you will have to pay $150.00 for a cleaning. And that cost could go higher if you have to have any screws replaced or anything else done. Now mind you, every single tech I've ever had work on my bridges at Golpa's office has replaced every single screw they took out, they said it's not safe or wise to reuse screws that have been threaded into my implants previously. I explained to the woman on the phone, that I have a warranty and at its very basic level my cleanings, let alone major issues like cracks/chips, are covered for free, and they always have been. Yet, she tells me that As of today, you will get charged $150.00 for a basic cleaning. Sorry. WTF?!?!?!?! So I am not going to my appointment because the dental PTSD that I suffer with from over 5 years of being treated disrespectfully and traumatically by Golpa and some of his staff, is so intense that I just cannot let my health be depleted by them anymore! That phone call was the straw that broke this camels back. Why would I pay $33k+ for work that comes with a warranty, if Golpa can change it at ANY time he wishes to get more money out of me?! Golpa is nuts if he thinks unscrewing 9 screws, using a thick toothbrush to scrub my bridges and soaking them for 10 minutes in mouthwash is worth $150.00! HELLO, Golpa and staff, you had 3 *** months to call me and tell me that you were underhandedly changing my warranty! I have it in writing that all cleanings are included in the $33K cost, if I choose to come to Golpa's office. Oh, and don't get me started on the insurance reimbursement racket that I had to deal with! What I am willing to have Mike Golpa do to correct his glaring errors with me, is to have him cover the cost to have a dentist who is also a prosthodontist, fix my teeth and give me what Golpa PROMISED to deliver to me from day ONE (or as close to it, as humanly possible because I've come to understand that Golpa over sells his abilities and therefore most likely oversells what can actually be done). Plus all expenses to and from this specialist, though I will try to find one that is close by (AZ, CA). No one in Las Vegas, that is a specialist, will touch Golpa's work, as I've searched and begged, so out of town/state is my only option. I have waited, hoped, and prayed that I would NOT have to file a claim against Golpa. The last thing I'd ever want to do is possibly damage someone else's livelihood. But I couldn't keep turning the other cheek. Golpa had EVERY chance and opportunity to do the right thing by me, and he simply chose not to do it. That truly shows who he is at his core. And for those of you that are still defiantly going to go to Golpa regardless of all the honest bad reviews of his work online, I challenge you to really do your research. Google his lawsuits, they are there. I'm a professional and I have ZERO lawsuits, just saying. User's recommendation: Complete your due diligence. Do not blindly trust Golpa, as I did. I’m paying for it with my physical and mental health!