Grand Care Dental

Doctor gaslighting me in paying money back

Good day This is an email regarding my service at Grandcare dental edenvale. I first started my journey with them in October 2023 with the concern of having a cross bite and noticed some slight misalignment of the jaw. I felt as though I was in the right place as they diagnosed me with what I have been feeling like was the issue. The treatment started off well, I was also doing some research on my side as well to see what is usually done with patients who have the same symptoms and that’s when I learned about a palate expander. I thought that’s what they would have used on me as well but got to see as time goes by that’s not the method they took and I didn’t see a problem as I thought to myself that maybe not everyone’s doctor chooses to use that method. A few months into my treatment I got a new “stable” orthodontist as previously I wouldn’t be assisted by the same doctor. My second appointment with him he asked me if my main issue was the gaps because the person who was with you previously has been closing your gaps I responded and said “no, yes some gaps are being closed but my main issue of me being here is my bite being off with also a slight cross bite”. He then said to me based on what has been done to your teeth he thought he’s working with someone who was there to close their gaps because that’s what the previous person who was handling the situation was doing the whole time nothing else and that they had been doing the wrong thing this whole time, that doctor was the owner Dr vinola katlego mdzau. That’s when I learned that the for the past 3/4 I had been undergoing through an incorrect treatment and that is why I felt as though there wasn’t really any improvement. But I let the situation go and focused on what has been happening in the moment as I did see change with the new orthodontist. In about a year and half of the treatment I did start getting concerns because by then I thought my bite would have improved however I never raised those concerns because I assumed correcting a bite takes a while as long as I can see that the cross bite is no longer a problem I should be getting close to what I want. But after 2 and half years of having my braces i was told about the possibility of when I would have them off, that’s when my concerns grew bigger and I voiced them out. I mentioned that my bite still feels off for someone who will have these braces off soon and that’s concerning because I feel like by the time they need to be off the issue wouldn’t be resolved. I asked why have they never thought to use an expander on me as I felt like that would have given me the solution and they responded and said that is something that the first person who handled your case should have done in the beginning, again that doctor was dr mdzau who spent 4 months doing a procedure that was incorrect. And that’s also when they would ask me questions like “are you sure that’s what you’re feeling”, “don’t you think it’s because how you bite is new to you now and that’s why it feels off” or being told “we don’t see anything wrong, I think how your teeth sit are just new to you”. They called in a lady and she did what I think was a bite test using some paper and she said herself that yes visually her teeth do look fine but she is biting weirdly. And that’s when they called in the person who started the treatment with me that person being dr mdzau once again, she did an observation and said that everything looks good they can just open the gaps a little bit more and she thinks it feels off because I’m not used to how my teeth sit. My mom came in to question how the procedure was going and she got an answer of we will open more gaps in hopes it will give us the solution, so that’s when I also realised that my mom was paying for a possibility at this point. She proceeded to ask” so with what you’re doing now will it give us the solution?” In which the orthodontist responded and said “ we’re not sure, we will see as we keep on trying it’s not guaranteed but that’s the reason of trying this method”. That is when my mom and I realised that after almost 3 years of paying for this treatment they didn’t actually have the solution and if we continue paying we are just losing to something that won’t benefit us. We ended up asking them to remove them and my mom asked if she could be refunded, they agreed to that. So far they have refunded my mom R7500 and then R2500 and they said that they will send the last one next month. When we left grandcare dental we were told that we would get a refund right away the orthodontist even advised me to go see another doctor who will give me a proper evaluation and a solution, he even said he would do a referral letter for me that even made me book an appointment as I thought I was going to use that money. Today we being told that there procedure was going well but I chose to have them off, so they don’t have to refund us anything for a decision I took myself even with the money they have sent so far it was out of their goodness. I find it very unfair on us that she has gained something from us yet we gained nothing at all. After these years my teeth have basically went back to its original form, my jaw is still the same as it was before I even started the treatment. Getting dental work is not an affordable thing to do everyone knows that, this was simply us trying to find a solution to something that has been bothering me for so long and to spend all that money to not gain anything from it is quite saddening. The owner is Dr vinola katlego mdzau with practise number being *** and their email ***. Your assistance would be appreciated. Likhona