York Dental Clinic

I have PTSD. This is marked in my file in multiple locations.

I came in for a cavity filling. The dentist was lovely, her assistant however, decided to use her mirror to suffocate me with my own tongue.

She had been informed at the beginning I was, for some reason, experiencing anxiety (I don't usually have a problem with dentists, I am perfectly happy to just zone out in the chair)- so she could not be ignorant.

When I flailed and she stopped, I told her I couldn't breathe. She informed me that if I was pushing with my tongue, she would have to push harder.

1-I am almost 100% certain that is NOT safe practice and utterly unacceptable

2-pushing my tongue back into my throat was not helping ANYTHING, since my cavity was *in the back*.

3- that is neither an apology or accountability. That's gaslighting.

We started again (it should be noted the dentist was lovely in her duties-other than not stopping the assistant/hygienist- bgut there may be more to that story)- and when we did, not only was my tongue shoved into the back of my throat, but up into my soft palate.

I was told to breathe through my nose, but because of the pressure from the mirror on my soft palate I couldn't even really do that. Every breath had to be dragged through an air passage that was nearly completely closed. (yes, she was worse after I informed her)

After the third "break" I finally figured out that if I tucked my tongue into the opposite cheek, she stopped trying to suffocate me. When we stopped I told her that she could have just so instructed me and none of this would have happened, to which she repeated the same line again about how if I pushed, she had to push back harder (I don't know if she was told to say this or had to use it to defend herself during an inquiry of a similar nature, but it was concerning how she repeated the same phrase every. time.)

When I returned home, I was still suffering from dissociation (which happens during traumatic event) and my throat started to swell. IT took me a full 24 hours to get my voice back and for my throat to return to normal because of what was done.

After a day to return somewhat to normal after a definitely traumatic event, I entered into email correspondence to try and make certain I would NEVER have that individual again, as I definitely felt they were highly unsafe. I didn't want them anywhere near me ever again and I expressed my concern about what could have happened if I had been elderly (more frail), a child or another vulnerable person.

I was told that it would be impossible for me to have her replaced without changing dentists (which I did not want, the dentist was lovely and it was ABSOLUTELY NOT her fault- she was quick, empathetic and professional... not sure why she tolerate the assistant, but I think there's more to that and not likely under the dentist's power).

So there were more exchanges. At one point, the woman I was talking to made a comment that could be paraphrased to "That didn't happen and if it did, it wasn't that bad." In effect her comment diminished and belittled my experience, and when I told her that it was unacceptable, the ONLY apology I got was that she was sorry for "choosing the wrong words"

Then she tried to convince me to talk over the phone, where keeping a record of communications is more difficult, and offered that I could simply swap out the assistant.

You know, like the VERY FIRST THJING I ASKED FOR THAT SHE REF USED TO DO.

I ended up saying that no, given what she had to say, it was clear the problem involved more than one person at the practice and switching wouldn't be necessary as I would be leaving.

In short:

DO NOT LET VULNERABLE PEOPLE GO HERE.

If they could do this to me, a mentally competent adult in good health, I shudder to think what may have happened to children, the elderly or other vulnerable persons at that practice. If I hadn't been in as good health as I am, it's likely there would have been even more damage.