Angry patients are gnashing their teeth after a dental service that specialized in fitting plastic braces abruptly shut its two offices in Washington Heights and The Bronx.
That’s left many of the 4,000 patients unable to retrieve medical records from the service, New York Fashion Braces.
Other patients complained that they paid for braces but had not received them by the time the practice shut in August.
The firm claimed it was the city’s biggest seller of Invisalign brand braces, which are less intrusive than metal braces.
State Sen. Adriano Espaillat said his office has been deluged with complaints from both patients and employees of the once-thriving firm.
“The practice’s abrupt closure and total abdication of all responsibility toward its patients and employees alike have caused both alarm and hardship,” Espaillat said in a letter demanding a probe by the state attorney general’s office.
“Patients ranging from young children to Columbia students were actively undergoing orthodonture when the practice closed, and are now unable to get necessary adjustment and services . . . This problem will obviously impede their treatment regimen,” Espaillat added.
About 20 workers were also left in the lurch without pay, said dental assistant Maria Marte.
The shutdown was triggered by the death of owner/chief dentist Harold Edwards in January.
The person running his estate assured patients and workers alike that the practice, which included other dentists, would remain open.
Then in mid-August, the locks on the doors to the two offices, at 4779 Broadway and 555 E. Fordham Road, were changed and the service shut without further explanation.
A representative for the dental service could not be reached for comment.