Tina Gomes: Dentists on Probation: What You Don’t Know Can Harm or Kill You.

Singer, songwriter and talent manager Tina Gomes of California needed a dentist for a straightforward procedure. She searched for Board Certified dentists and made an appointment. What she didn’t know -- because the Dental Board failed to inform the public -- was that the dentist had harmed previous patients and was on probation.

Tina would only find all of this out after spending 10s of 1000s of dollars and enduring years of needless headaches, jaw pain, infections, ill health and inability to chew solid food. As you will hear, Tina was betrayed not only by the dentist, but the Dental Board and the Attorney General as they chose their own profits over her, and the public’s, safety.

Tina learned the hard way that dentists can take sketchy continuing education courses - like a 6 hour course on a weekend on anaesthesia. Recently a patient died in the dental chair due to anaesthesia complications. These dentists start practicing these ‘procedures’ on unwitting patients -- essentially making them guinea pigs, these ‘procedures’ often require ongoing fixes and devices, turning dental clients into perpetual patients.

Tina discovered that the dentistry industry is not about accountability, or oversight, or patient safety -- dentistry is about increasing profits for dentists, Dental Boards, and Attorney Generals on the backs of - and out of the pockets of - patients.

SHOW NOTES

0:05:00 Tina grew up Vancouver, Canada - wonderful parents, they were immigrants from Portugal - provided comfortable childhood - there are a lot of people who did not have good parents like Tina so she's grateful 0:06:00 Tina has 2 siblings, both sisters, the 3 of them were born 1 year apart - but one sister died in a car accident the night of her high school graduation party - Tina's older sister lives in Alberta, Canada 0:07:00 Tina moved to California when she was offered a record deal by Richard Perry - people in the inustry know his reputation - Tina's father was a phenomenal opera singer 0:08:00 A lot of music in their house - in Vancouver, her boyfriend was in a rock band and when Tina sang he said she should be performing - Tina wanted to be a songwriter, not singer - song writing is a solitary endeavour 0:09:00 So Tina started singing and they covered other band's hits and played in a lot rock clubs and was noticed by Rae Dawn Chong, her father is Tommy Chong, and he's part of the iconic Cheech and Chong comedy duo - Rae Dawn 'discovered' Tina, and said they'd form a band with Rae Dawn's cousin Lavina Fox and go to Los Angeles and sign a record deal with Warner Bros 0:10:00 Tina started working with Richard Perry and staying at his home, formerly Elizabeth Taylor's home - but Rae Dawn left the group for a movie deal 0:11:00 But Tina had met other singer / songwriters who wanted to work with Tina - she also met the man who would later become her husband, and he introduced her to more producers - Tina also met Jesse Powell and his family and became close friends - Jesse produced a song with Damon Thomas who is Kim Kardashian's ex-husband 0:12:00 Tina knew she didn't want to be an on stage singer, she wanted to help Jesse because she thought he was the greatest talent - so Tina decided to manage Jesse and get him a record deal and that brought joy to Tina's life 0:13:00 Tina managed his career to be #1 on Billboard and she found more talent to manage - so fulfilling to be around such talent - Tina felt blessed to be doing the work with those talented people 0:14:00 That's what Tina did for years, while also struggling with dental issues that started in 1992 - one day Tina and her husband went to a Malibu restaurant and one of her front crowns broke off - they went home and searched for a board certified dentist 0:15:00 They contacted a dentist to see if he could see Tina immediately just fix her crown - Sarah has to compose herself and explains that PTSD is impacting her ability to tell what happened...things she's trying to forget 0:16:00 Tina put her trust in the dentist, and so her husband trusted the dentist - the dentist made a recommendation to replace her sorrounding teeth so everything matched - biggest mistaked Tina made - he upsold Tina on the dental work he'd do - but the crown he made kept falling out, so he made a bridge, but that started damaging the neighbouring teeth, and so he gave Tina a bigger bridge 0:17:00 Tina was working and traveling a lot representing her clients, but she never felt like a normal person with crowns falling out - she returned to the dentist and he's blame Tina "Are you chewing rocks?" 0:18:00 The work he did would be okay for a short while, but then Tina had to revert to drinking smoothies, soup, foods she didn't have to chew, but they kept falling out and she kept returning to him for repairs - but that resulted in infection and everything would have to come off her teeth 0:19:00 With Tina's job/travel demands, it seemed easiest to keep seeing him - Tina compromised and adjusted to the smile he created - as all dentists expect patients do - they want to take your mouth, recreate it, profit it from it, and say it is better for you - that's the way they operate, especially since the continuing education courses are centered around marketing 0:20:00 In California, a dentist can take a 6 hour course on a weekend and start using anaesthesia on their patients, and they don't even have liability insurance - It is not about the patients care or safety - they take your natural teeth and recreate what they say is a more healthy smile with manfactured teetch - that compromises how the body heals naturally - but it is the dentist's mouth at that point, relying on some continuing education course 0:21:00 This went on for 12 years - Tina become good friends with the dental assistant and her family, the dentist and his family because Tina spent so much time in the dental chair with the dentist 0:22:00 Tina was essentially his experimental subject of a continuing education course, a billion dollar industry - Tina found out the dentist had been lying when she sued him - Tina was increcibly sick and in a lot of pain - covering her mouth in public because she was embarassed 0:23:00 Tina had invested 10s of 1000s of dollars with the dentist she trusted - Tina's husband didn't trust him and fought with the dentist - Tina just wanted to be healthy but her mouth was infected - but the dentist touted himself and bragged about his awards and advanced treatment 0:24:00 He positioned himself above all other dentists - he was concerned Tina's bite was off, but it wasn't off - Tina had moved from another country to succeed in the music industry and her 'bite' never bothered her until he got into her mouth - he only had to take care of her teeth, she didn't have any when he was finished 0:25:00 Tina was so sick, her weight got dangerously low and she was hospitalized - for months she lived on liquid foods - Tina loved salads but couldn't eat anything crunchy any more - she kept going to the gym to deal with the anxiety 0:26:00 When the TMJ gets out of place, the body tries to adjust and people grind their teeth - Tina went through countless crowns, dental pieces, etc - her dental record looks like an encyclopedia it is so lengthy - she knows she'll never be able to chew food again 0:27:00 Because she grinded her teeth during sleep, the crowns, bridges etc would fall off and she would call him in the morning begging him to see her immediately so she could go to meetings - when she sued him, he delayed handing over her dental records for 3 months, and told the Dental Board he lost all her records in a computer crash 0:28:00 Tina started to research the history of her dentist, a man she completely trusted with her health - but found out there are 100s of victims just in the state of California 0:29:00 Even though the Dental Board deems a dentist incompetent in court documents, they can continue to practice dentistry due to an 'apparatus of compromise' deal with the Dental Board as long as they pay the Attorney General fees, including investigative fees to the Dental Board 0:30:00 They all start collecting these investigative fees once the decide they will investigate a complaint, it is a huge money mill 0:31:00 If the investigators and Dental Boad decide they are going to file a Accusation with the Attorney General - Tina's dentist was already under investigation for harming several patients doing the same procedure he did to Tina - and to a surgery she never agreed to - but none of his patients were informed about the Investigation or Accusation 0:32:00 The Dental Board was so incompetent they never posted his probationary status on their website, which is their duty and they promised to tax payers that pay into the fund that allows them to sit on the Board and decide how to protect patients - it is a scam 0:33:00 They collectively made money by keeping his Investigation a secret and are still profiting today - there is not one patient in that dentist's office right now that know about his history, or what he did to Tina, and he's still practicing 0:34:00 The Dental Board spends more time concealing harmful patterns in concert with the Attorney General's office - they don't make a lot of money off of good dentists, they make a lot of money keeping bad dentists licensed so they pay high fees - as dental patients, we are investing in our health with high risk dentists because there is very little over sight, they are self regulated 0:35:00 Tina won her lawsuit, but uses air quotes around 'won' - because her lawyer coached her to accept a low figure settlement 0:36:00 Tina is not happy about the settlement, she feels 'raped' - there is a $250,000 cap on settlements / awards - the reality is that Tina is in just as much pain today as when she walked into the dentist's office and faces a 5th surgery to repoir his mess 9:37:00 The most important thing Tina can do now, because her loss is something she has to face every day, but is managing it well, because there was a time when things were more difficult - Tina wants to be there to give guidance, because there was no one for her - the Dental Board and Attorney General work in concert to make sure the patterns of harm by dentists is not available at the place and time of treatment 0:38:00 Tina's Bill Proposal says that patients must be informed at the place and time of treatment if the dentist is on probation - Tina's dentist was on probation and that was a huge risk to her health and finances 0:39:00 Both the Dental Board and Attorney General are making money on probation dentists, so patient safety is not a priority - every Dental Board in every state advertises that if there is a conditional status of a dentist, it must be posted on the website - but ther is no gaurantee that will happen, Tina is living proof 0:40:00 That is another way they are protecting their own interests, not the patient - but they've turned the mouth into marketing options - including 'neuromuscular dentistry' which is just the worse - Tina is working with a patient now with a beautiful smile who was convinced her bite was off 0:41:00 There are no reasons to charge her to come in to make adjustements to her perfectly healthy teeth - but they convinced her that her bite was off and she would be more comfortable and beautiful after the procedure, less pain, sleep better, breath better 0:42:00 Doctors and dentists can sell you almost anything, they are into upselling their products and services because it helps their business, not your teeth - in 2010 the Senate Oversight Hearing Committe asked Tina to come and speak at the sunset review of the Dental Board, but it was a huge sham 0:43:00 They were eating cake while patients testified about serious dental harm, like with anaesthesia and the patient died in the dental chair - it was the worse thing Tina saw -- but Tina has former Dental Board members helping her, they want her to expose the truth - and telling every body patients are not safe - and that is not fair to the really good dentists 0:44:00 Tina doesn't believe that probationary dentists who pay big fees to the Dental Board and Attorney General will change their harmful practices - the patients they harmed were assaulted - and continuing education courses are marketed to get perpetual patients to make more money 0:45:00 It will also fund the research labs, they are a billion dollar industry - Tina says that anyone with healthy teeth should never get cosmetic enhancement - advertising on ABC (tv channel) and the ADA permit its promotion - the Attorney General is responsible for patient safety, they should be stepping in to stop the influence through tv media 0:46:00 They are motivating dentists by dollars - Congress is motivated by big pharma dollars - money is the priority - when you're choosing which dentist you're going to go see, you're really choosing which risk - how much are you willing to lose? - some Dentists offer 'care credit', a credit card to pay for dental work 0:47:00 The patient may take the credit card for $5000 worth of work, but the dentist gets busy on $10,000 worth of work - the dentists are not caring for your teeth, they are caring for their dental device 0:48:00 The former West Virginia Attorney General, who is the World Health Organziation's President for Mercury Free Dentistry wrote Tina's Bill - but Tina feels like a failure because there is every effort to ensure a patient doesn't know their dentist is on probation 0:49:00 A Bill was recently passed that only applied to doctors, not dentists, and the Bill required doctors to tell their patients if they were on probation for a 'serious crime' like sexual misconduct - but if you go to a dentist and he removes all your teeth, causes constant pain and sickness because you can't chew food, that's a pretty serious crime - but they kept dentists out of the law 0:50:00 Tina feels like a failure because even though she had great support from highly respected people with influence in government, but here we still are today 0:51:00 Tina doesn't feel like she's up against the 'dental machine' but is up against crooks - it us uncivilized for a government agency to tell the public they are protecting them - but cover up and don't inform patients - so its not a big machine, it is a few people on Dental Boards in each state - and they profit from dentists on probation 0:52:00 These few board members are charged with the duty to protect patients - the goverment isn't bad, it is made up of bad people 0:53:00 This is how a bill gets passed that protects the bad secrets - using tax payers dollars - we're supposed to trust the government - in spite of Tina's great efforts legally and via media... 0:54:00 ...the government flagrantly ignores their duty to protect the public - the ADA (American Dental Association) advertises they protect patients, that is false advertising 0:55:00 Tina was interviewd by Cecilia Vega of the tv news show 20/20 - but the interview was 'shelved' - Tina hopes they will air it one day 0:56:00 One of the producers called Tina to tell her it wouldn't be aired - Tina asked 'what happened?' - but they didn't give any type of reason - but it was at the same time Governor Jerry Brown was trying to pass a bill for adequate notification about doctors on probation, but it didn't include dentists 0:57:00 Tina did receive an apology from her Dental Board for not posting her dentist's probation status on their website and he had harmed several patients before Tina - a lot of money is made by the Dental Board, Attorney General's office, Probation Monitor - in California they don't have to have liability insurance 0:58:00 The cost of surgery to repair the former dentist's mess was $50,000 - but Tina didn't trust dentists, didn't want to go through another surgery, but only weighed 89 pounds 0:59:00 Tina is not giving up on Tina's Bill - she has so many people contact her for help and advice - and she can't turn her back on them either - Tina thinks she may have another surgery - she tried bone grafting twice, they failed - a lot of bone removed, teeth all removed - she was robbed of all those years of health, and to have a health senior life 1:00:00 Tina grinds her teeth at night and that causes headaches every day, a lot swelling - Tina avoids drugs but had to take acetominophen for a few months because she had adhesive encapsulitis with bilateral tendonopathy - the tendons from both shoulders limits Tina' mobility, but she's in physio therapy for that - but the pain goes up into the TMJ (jaw), pain she's had for all these decades 1:01:00 The pain goes down to her chin, because it is all connected - the next surgery will the last because she doesn't have enough bone left for implants - the nerves in her face are exposed and if those nerves were cut she'd loose use of her tongue, drool, impaired speech 1:02:00 A lot of victims don't like to eat in public because of embarrassment - even a simple kiss with someone you love is gone - the whole time Tina is speaking to me she says she feels like she looks like a monster 1:03:00 It is unfair and uncivilized to permit Dental Boards to license someone they would never put their children in that dental chair - Tina knows one woman who is now bed ridden - her parents have to help her with basic functioning - Tina helped her get an attorney 1:04:00 Tina finds reading and going to the beach and ocean therapeutic - she writes her problems in the sand and then a wave comes and washes it away 1:05:00 You can connect with Tina on Facebook at Tina's Bill Proposal - she posts substantive info there that Dental Boards and the ADA don't 1:06:00 If lettuce is making people sick, great strides are made to protect people, but if its dental, it is covered up and kept quiet

Connect with Tina Gomes - Tina's Bill Proposal on Facebook