Dr. David L Rothschild, MD

I had full erupted rotten wisdom tooth removed yesterday. I am a disabled individual with severe trauma (CPTSD, DID, severe Depression) and I am on the Autism Spectrum. I am *not* self-diagnosed, and my Case-Worker from Autism Connections attended the appointment with us to try to ensure things went smoothly, in addition to a lengthy interview where it was made clear the level of trauma I have, and the accommodation needs I had. Specifically, that my Caregiver be with me to hold my hand as I was sedated, and that she was there when I woke up. This was confirmed to be okay multiple times by myself, my Caregiver, and my Case-Worker. Mr. Rothschild presented himself as very congenial, understanding, and patient. Although I have seizures that cause me to lose memories regularly, I was able to recall that during the interview, he has smiled broadly and said "It's okay, I'm easy." when our concerns about accommodation were raised. He claimed that it was nonstandard to allow someone else in… the room while I was being sedated, but that he would allow it because it would clearly help me be less scared. Instead, he waited until he had the syringe *hanging out of my arm* and the sedation had begun to act on my mind, but not put me under, and then began *immediately* demanding my Caregiver and Case-Worker leave. I was still holding my Caregiver's hand and did not realize I was supposed to let go (I have extremely strong grip strength from earlier in my life, and often do not realize how tightly I am grasping things related to my disabilities.) I had thought that she would be holding my hand until I passed out, and began trying to tell Mr. Rothschild that I was still awake. He began *yelling*, pointing across me, in from of my face, and stating that it was his office and he had already *been* accommodating, and they were going to leave *now*. I continued trying to speak, and then when my Caregiver said that I was still holding her hand too tightly to go, I realized, and tried to apologize while letting go. Mr. Rothschild continued to yell, telling her to get out, and generally creating too much noise and over-stimulation for me to handle (this has *definitely* been previously discussed. I remember a moment where I felt a part of my brain genuinely consider reaching up to grasp the syringe *still hanging out of my arm* and remove it, calling the appointment off and trying to get somewhere "safe" as soon as possible. My Caregiver stated that she was leaving, she simply needed to grab her things (her bag of my medical papers and other things she keeps with her while we are not at home) and Mr. Rothschild yelled at her MORE, telling her she didn't need to get anything, she just needed to get out. She told him, she *did* need to grab her things, did so (as they were right behind her) and then left, with Mr. Rothschild still ignoring me completely as I tried to object and explain I was still awake, and then ordering the attending nurse to shut the door as soon as my Caregiver was out. At no time during any of this did either myself or my Caregiver raise our voices. At this point, everything I remember get very hazy, and because of my disabilities and conditions (why I was supposed to have support and not be alone until I was unconscious) but I have a very distinct memory of someone putting their entire hand over my mouth to stop me from talking, and then watching someone grab the syringe in my arm, and depress the full amount immediately. I remember saying “But you said you were easy???” just before my mouth was covered. I do not know if these last memories are true or false, because I was alone, and I have no-one I trust who was there who can tell me what *actually* happened to me. IN CONCLUSION: I had to wait over a year, in general, and six months in Mr. Rothschild's case, to get a wisdom tooth that was in emergency condition TWO years ago removed. It took so long because my unique case and accommodation needs usually require I receive help in communicating, and accommodation in taking things slow and carefully in clinical settings. We did all the right things. We jumped through all the right hoops. We were assured that the staff and Mr. Rothschild understood my condition and accommodation needs, and even asked my Case-Worker from Autism Connection to be there, as an extra layer of support. What happened, was more-or-less exactly what I was terrified would happen. I am *never* trusting a medical professional again. Because of you, *Mr.* Rothschild. I know "poor bedside manner" is not considered malpractice, but in this case, it has caused me to have at least one seizure, and a severe personality shift of the exact sort we were trying to avoid. No apology, save one that involves attending a course on how to treat Autistic people better, will *ever* change my mind about you. You might thing you are a nice person, but you were *mean* to me, and *mean* to my Caregiver. You *lied* about your understanding of my needs, and your willingness to accommodate, and deliberately misled us regarding how you intended to conduct the surgery. The abuse I received from you in your office may be easy to dismiss for normal people, but I would like to emphasize here that I am *not* a normal person. I am not neurotypical, and I have trauma which I clearly communicated about, which you pretended to care about until the drugs were in my system and it was too late. I am different now, because of you. And I am not talking about the tooth I was told I would be allowed to keep to help give me courage in future visits, which apparently got thrown out as though I had been told no such thing. In short, I feel violated, betrayed, and re-traumatized. Short of deliberately harming me during the surgery, Mr. Rothschild seems to have done everything he could to hurt me with the trust I bestowed on him. So this is my review. T

Dr. Rothschild is one of the best Oral Surgeons I’ve ever had an opportunity to do business with. His bedside manner is very helpful for all patients. His work is impeccable, and well worth driving the extra miles to experience his excellent talents.