Two Brooklyn dental offices are now facing a lawsuit from New York City after patients said they were pressured into paying for dental procedures they could not possibly afford. The case has drawn attention to how some patients say they ended up saddled with debt after visits that were supposed to help them.
The lawsuit was brought by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection under Mayor Mamdani. According to the agency, the two practices targeted low-income patients and steered them toward high-interest loans to cover the cost of their dental work.
One of the patients at the center of the story is Yasmeen Breeden, whose case was detailed in an exclusive report by consumer advocate Nina Pineda. Breeden said the dental work left her mouth badly damaged, and that it has looked that way since last summer.
Because of the damage, Breeden said she has been unable to eat normal food. She described getting by on mashed potatoes, soft food and baby food, a limited diet that she has been living with for months as a result of the procedures.
Breeden said she was left with about $17,000 in loans tied to the treatment. She recalled that the focus at the office seemed to be on getting her to take on the debt, saying that all they were trying to do was push the loan on her and have her sign it.
When asked whether she understood what she was agreeing to, Breeden said she simply went ahead and did what she was told. Her account reflects the core of the city's claim, that patients were pushed into costly financing without fully grasping what they were signing up for.
Breeden's daughter, Noelle, said she does not believe her mother understood the extent of what she was getting into. Noelle filed a complaint with legal services soon after, a step that helped bring the situation to light as the city now pursues its case against the two Brooklyn practices.