Nevada County Behavioral Health

I am writing this review after a very serious and painful experience. I was a patient of Dr. Mitchell Thompson at Chapa De Indian Health in Grass Valley. He initially appeared kind and professional, but my experience turned out very differently. A few weeks after a treatment, I developed severe pain in a tooth where he had placed a filling. When I came to him and clearly explained that something was wrong and that I was in significant pain, he only looked at the tooth externally, without performing any proper examination, and told me that everything was fine. About six months later, I developed a very severe infection. As a result, I had to have two teeth extracted: the adjacent tooth and the same tooth on which he had done the filling and previously said everything was “fine.” In addition to that, during a tooth extraction he performed, a fragment of the root was left inside my jaw. This later caused another infection and led to further complications and suffering. Another important part of my experience was the way this dentist works. Everything was done extremely fast. He is known in the clinic as “the fast dentist,” and in my experience, this description is accurate in a negative way. Appointments felt rushed, as if the goal was to finish as quickly as possible rather than to fully examine, listen, and care. In my view, this level of speed felt like arrogance rather than efficiency. Proper dental care requires time, sensitivity, eye contact, and real communication with the patient. Rushing through treatments and dismissing concerns shows a lack of respect. This review is not only about technical issues, but also about attitude. There was a clear sense of overconfidence and dismissal of my concerns. When a patient says they are in pain, they deserve to be taken seriously, examined properly, and treated with care and responsibility. In addition to all of the above, a few years after extractions I had done at Chapa De, I was informed by a biological dentist in Brazil (and by another dentist) that, in her professional opinion, four out of five extractions previously done there showed signs of cavitation and chronic inflammation. These findings required additional surgical treatment, which I underwent with her. Dentists are not above their patients — they are meant to serve them. Ignoring symptoms, skipping basic diagnostic steps, and showing arrogance instead of humility can cause real harm. I would also like to add a broader perspective. Modern dentistry is evolving, and biological (holistic) dentistry highlights how closely oral health is connected to the entire body, including inflammation, nutrition, nervous system health, and the materials used in dental treatments. There is much that conventional dentistry can learn from these approaches: the importance of biocompatible materials, understanding the systemic impact of dental procedures, and treating the patient as a whole human being rather than just a tooth. Service, humanity, listening, and respect are essential — and in my experience, these elements were missing here.