Chronic, debilitating pain - not a single benefit from the surgery

I hope anyone who is considering Dr. Drew Smith (Smith Orthodontics - London Ontario) for braces please read this review. I regret selecting Dr. Drew Smith as my orthodontist. I also regret trusting his recommendation of what was in my opinion an unnecessary orthognathic surgery (and an even more unnecessary surgery on my chin) since I had absolutely no functional issues with my very small overbite. After working all throughout high school, I saved up some money to get braces at 18 to fix my slightly overcrowded top teeth and I trusted Dr. Drew Smith to deliver good results. At our consultation, Dr. Drew Smith took some X-rays and a couple of pictures of me. He displayed the images on the computer, and rather than discuss my overcrowding (the reason I wanted braces), he went on about a supposed “facial deformity” I had that was caused by a very slight overbite and how much better I would look if I had surgery to move my jaw forward and my chin back. Truthfully, I was hardly aware of my overbite growing up, it caused 0 functional issues, and any recession I had was fully camouflaged by my chin. Of course, after he pointed everything out, I felt very insecure about my jaw so I went ahead and agreed to consult with a surgeon. He only recommended his surgeon friend and called him a “surgical magician”, Dr. Joe Armstrong. I recall the surgeon only discussed a 1% chance of “reduced feeling” in a dime sized area of the lip at the consultation, he was very arrogant and rude, but I went ahead and scheduled the surgery anyways because I trusted Dr. Drew Smith’s recommendation. The day I had the surgery was horrible, I didn’t even see Dr. Joe Armstrong until a week after my surgery. I saw who I believe are his residents (still to this day I have no idea how involved these students were in my surgery but I suspect they might have done a lot of the actual surgery which is something I was never told and would have never agreed to). He didn’t leave any contact information at all should a problem arise which left my family very panicked. After making it through this terrible recovery, I started to experience severe complications. The right side of my lip was paralyzed and every time I smiled, talked or ate, I felt a very tense pulling and twisting sensation like there was a clothing pin attached to my lip and chin and every time I talk it would twist and pull. I think the paralysis largely resolved but I still have this discomfort/pain almost two years later and it has very negatively impacted my quality of life because daily tasks such as talk and eating have become very unpleasant. Two neurologists suspect damage to my motor nerves along with my sensory nerves. I am also very disappointed over the way I look and have been told by friends I looked much better before. Dr. Joe Armstrong abandoned me completely after my complications and refused to take accountability for anything. He made some very inappropriate and hurtful comments to me when I brought up these problems. I called the hospital and it has been noted that there are some inconsistencies in his notes as he had reported I was very happy with my results (if this is true, falsifying notes is highly unethical). I have brought up my concerns countless times to Dr. Drew Smith as well. He is definitely a lot nicer and approachable compared to his buddy surgeon, but nonetheless, no real efforts at all have been made to help me. I have paid thousands to Dr. Drew Smith. I have noticed that Dr. Drew Smith has started taking me to a private room and there is always an assistant or hygienist present which makes me feel as though he is more worried about being sued than genuinely helping me get my life back. Please consider choosing a different team than Dr. Drew Smith and Dr. Joe Armstrong if you suspect you are a surgical case and only do the surgery if it is truly medically necessary.

Dr. Drew Smith (adjunct professor at Schulich Dentistry) and Dr. Joe Armstrong (director of Oral and Maxillofacial Program at Schulich Dentistry) have completely ruined my life. I had no functional concerns regarding my very mild, and perfectly functional, overbite (i.e., no OSA, no TMJ, no speech abnormalities, no restrictions on mastication, no facial pain of any degree). These doctors told me that the jaw surgery and genioplasty (a cosmetic chin procedure that I am alleging was fraudulently billed through OHIP) were required to “fix a severe facial deformity that will worsen with age” and “restore facial harmony”.

I am not sure when or why the state of dentistry in this city has so clearly deteriorated. It seems that more and more professionals who once respected patients’ wishes, abided by principles of beneficence and “do no harm” have since been replaced or have transformed into money-hungry marketing tycoons for unnecessary and medically unwarranted plastic surgery procedures. I am not ignorant to the business side of dentistry, but these antics are getting outrageously unethical and they run rampant in this city. It is very alarming that these very invasive cosmetic facial reconstructive surgeries are being pushed on young patients in the absence of any medical justification. I am very concerned about the lack of ethics in the dental field that is going on.

To this day, I am still trying to wrap my head around how I walked into University Hospital on my surgery day without any functional concerns, the ability to talk and chew comfortably, and completely free of any pain; only to walk out days later with chronic, debilitating pain, mangled facial nerves, and broken bones. These surgeries were completely senseless. There has not been a single benefit from the surgery. Adding to my devastation from a poor outcome is the inhumane treatment I received from Dr. Drew Smith and Dr. Joe Armstrong.

I am a shell of the person I once was. For the first time in my life, I can no longer invest in myself. Each day is a struggle. No one can ever truly relate to the utter despair of living with such debilitating and disabling chronic pain, unless something similar has happened to them. And there are so many people out there who are victims of tragic events that irreparably alter the course of their lives. But only in our dental and medical institutions do the perpetrators so seldom have to take any degree of accountability for their actions, and instead, the harmed victims are the ones left ostracized and marginalized, enduring the physical, mental, financial hardships of something they never asked for. Where is the humanity? Where is the care for patients?