Collective legal action taken against French low-cost dentist chain

More than 1,500 patients have launched an official complaint against a defunct French low-cost dentist company after claiming that they were left with mutilated and damaged teeth and mouths after their treatment.

Victims launched a new class action lawsuit with a Paris court against low-cost dentist service Dentexia on March 3, via the victims’ association La Dent Bleue. 

It comes almost 10 years after Dentexia patients in Lyon (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) filed a lawsuit for similar claims. This new complaint is also a bid to reinvigorate that case.

In the new complaint, more than 1,500 patients have submitted their testimony.

Patient claims include:

• Being left with bleeding gums and painful teeth

• Being fitted with poor-quality ‘temporary’ braces that they were forced to wear for years

• Being fitted with poor-quality implants that later fell out

• Finding that their nearby clinic had closed down before their treatment had been completed

• Incomplete care, such as having teeth removed but not replaced or fixed

• Very poor pain management that led to the treatment being unbearable

• Being unable to eat due to the condition of their teeth

• Being forced to sign for a treatment plan loan before treatment began, which was then not completed

• Being driven to thoughts of suicide in some cases, due to the extent of their suffering

“I can tell you that there are people without teeth. I am proof of that and it has been very hard,” said Christiane Bernard, a retired factory worker from Lyon. 

She told France 3 she has been missing half her teeth for more than 10 years after botched treatment from a Dentexia clinic in Vaulx-en-Velin (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) in 2015.

“They told me that I would have to have all my teeth pulled to have implants put in everywhere. In the end, they only removed my top teeth because I suffered too much during the procedure, so I told them that we would do the rest next time. 

“It was terrible, my gums were bleeding and I was in pain. When I returned for the next appointment, the centre had closed down,” she said.

From opening to liquidation

Dentexia was opened in 2012 by businessman Pascal Steichen, and promised to make normally expensive dental operations more accessible. 

Read also: Dentist shortage in France ‘is unlikely to improve for a decade’
Read more: What is being done about dentist shortages in France?

The centres claimed to be non-profit, but Mr Steichen was later accused of paying himself via a network of other companies, of overcharging for services, encouraging clients to pay with credit card or loans, and not following standard dentist protocols.

The clinics were able to open partly because of a 2009 law, known as the ‘loi Bachelot’, which removed the need for health centres to receive prior government approval before opening. This requirement was reintroduced in 2022.

Dentexia went into liquidation in January 2016, but more than 1,500 people have filed complaints against the company, and there are an estimated 2,300 victims.

‘I was wary’

One victim, Thomas Houssay, who went to the Dentexia centre in Grange Blanche, Lyon, said he needed implants to be fitted due to a hereditary dental problem. However, he had been quoted €40,000 for the treatment at a standard dentist, in contrast to €18,000 at Dentexia.

“At the time, dentists were criticising these new centres, so I was wary, but I ended up thinking it was just a standard ‘corporate response’, so I went,” he said. “When they filed for bankruptcy, only my lower teeth had been done. On my upper teeth I only had implants but no replacements. I was left like that.”

Thousands of victims claim that they have been left paying for Dentexia loans and payment plans even though they did not receive good quality or complete treatment, while others have been unable to pay for necessary fixes, meaning they have been left with painful or damaged teeth.

“My implants are loose, and they are not of good quality,” said Mr Houssay. “The damage is significant. I have lost 20 kilos because I have had difficulty eating. This health scandal must be dealt with…Dentexia has destroyed the lives of thousands of people.”

Ms Bernard added: “At first, I cried when I looked at myself in the mirror without any teeth. I was also very angry. 

“I tried to find another dentist to give me implants, but the established ones refused to take on people who had been to Dentexia or they offered exorbitant prices. I was given an estimate of €20,000 [which I could not afford]. It is urgent that the state regulates this sector.” 

The case continues.