Arizona families get money back after orthodontic care ends abruptly

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- There’s an update on a Phoenix woman who pre-paid thousands of dollars for a dental procedure only to find out the dental office was sold, and the new owners didn’t offer the same treatment. Thanks to On Your Side, Marija Radulovic has almost $4,000 returned from a company called Perfect Teeth.

Marija was midway through dental treatment to straighten her teeth, a procedure that took months to complete. But the dental office she paid almost thousands to do the treatment was sold. The new dental office, which kept the name Perfect Teeth, didn’t have an orthodontist on staff, and it doesn’t offer the same procedure.

On Your Side got involved, and once we asked Perfect Teeth to return Marija’s money, they did. Marija says she’s thrilled to have her money back and says she’s probably not the only person in this predicament. “Hopefully, the next step is for all the patients to get their money back,” she said.

People like Kerry O’Donnell, who lives in Surprise. Her daughter was also going to Perfect Teeth and saw On Your Side’s news report. “Oh, I about came out of my chair,” she said. “I elbowed my husband as hard as I could. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, look, this is on the news!’”

Kerry’s daughter Bella had braces through the Perfect Teeth office in Peoria. The high school senior was looking forward to her braces finally coming off. But that hit a snag. “We had appointments canceled on us when we’d show up and be sent home only to have it happen the next month and the next month,” Kerry said. “And then we found out that the orthodontist had actually quit.”

So Bella spent much of her senior year with braces she didn’t need anymore. As a result, Kerry was forced to pay another Valley orthodontist to remove Bella’s braces and make her a retainer. So, she turned to On Your Side. “I came to you guys because I feel so unheard in every other avenue,” she said. “When a business won’t even return a phone call when you’ve given them 7000+ dollars for braces and orthodontia care.”

So On Your Side brought Kerry’s situation to Perfect Teeth. They agreed to reimburse the family for the cost of removing the braces and refund part of the cost of Bella’s treatment.

Perfect Teeth sent us this statement:

Nearly a dozen patients have contacted On Your Side since our story aired with similar issues regarding Perfect Teeth. As a result, the company is now addressing their complaints individually.

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