JW
Julia Wrighton
Aug 7, 2026
⚠️⚠️PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF YOU ARE GETTING IMPLANT RELATED WORK DONE HERE⚠️⚠️ Long story short- I’m stuck paying SEVERAL THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS (for bone and gum grafts, new implants, and a new prosthetic ) due to botched implant retained dentures.
Long story long - 4 years ago, I went to Dr. Fritgerald with the hopes of getting metal-retained snap in dentures. I had lost my teeth VERY quickly and suddenly, and already had implants placed. After examining my implants, Dr. Fritgerald made the decision to take on my case, and was confident that he could deliver on my request. I then paid $6k for him to do so. The teeth were so pretty, and I was initially so excited. The fit was off, but I didn’t think too much of it at first because I knew that there was an adjustment period which was to be expected. After several adjustments didn’t seem to be helping, I got a second and third opinion, both of which clearly and plainly stated that the impressions were bad - which meant that no amount of adjustments would suffice, and we needed a redo. My VDO (height) was too short, and they were crooked. This made it to where I was unable to wear them without pain/headaches or eat with them. Ive never had a secure connection, and the teeth clicked and rocked. Some of this was able to be helped with a relining, but good retention and fit was never achieved. I developed lobsided creases beside my mouth where my skin constantly folded in - one side pulled further down than the other because of how uneven the teeth are. Dr.Fritgerald insisted that the other dentists were wrong, and for YEARS we continued to kick these teeth along with attachment changes (which I was charged for each time ), adjustments and refinings - all of which did not resolve the primary issues at hand. Gradually over time, wearing these ill-fitting dentures caused my bottom gums and bone to DRASTICALLY break down and recede. I brought this to the Dr’s attention multiple times, and was brushed off. Absolutely NOTHING was done to investigate the cause, track or prevent further damage from happening, despite him looking in my mouth over a dozen times throughout this ordeal. At my last visit, we FINALLY did X-rays to look into it, but by that point the damage had already been done. I discovered that I now had 2 failing implants. I was then sent home with dental adhesive (which, it turns out you’re absolutely NOT supposed to use with snap-ins) and was encouraged to try to mask the issues and keep on wearing them. Only AFTER I sent an email stating that this definitely was not working, was I offered a remake for the bottoms, at a “discounted rate” of another thousand dollars.
I ended up having to get a referral to see an oral surgeon from the dentists who gave me the 2nd opinion to learn more details of the extent of the damage. I passed along this info to Dr.Fritgerald and asked him to fix this himself or at least pay for someone else to do this, as this was completely avoidable. Not only was my request ignored, but I continued to receive bills for that X-ray (in the grand scheme of things, another $100 doesn’t make a dent, but it’s the principal of the matter).
Here’s the thing I want to make VERY clear: People make mistakes. It happens to everyone, even highly trained specialists. My issue is not the fact that a mistake was made; It’s with how poorly it was handled. What I learned from this is that reviews alone are NOT ENOUGH when it comes to putting your trust in someone for something that has the ability to affect your entire wellbeing. Especially in a smaller town, with a younger doctor, when you have a somewhat specific need. Find out how they handle mistakes. What is their protocol for that? What is their threshold for making the call to start over? How do they handle feedback and constructive criticism from second opinions (their peers)? Have conversations with them that give you a feel about who they are as a person and their personal integrity.
