A Missouri woman has been left without any of her teeth after visiting a dental clinic with thousands of locations across the US.
Staci Shroyer’s ordeal began two years ago, when she broke a tooth and was unable to book an appointment with her regular dentist. She was in pain, so needed urgent treatment.
After looking for another clinic that could fit her in on short notice, she landed on Aspen Dental’s location in Blue Springs, Missouri.
She went to the clinic thinking they would just fix her broken tooth, but when she arrived, the staff took a full set of dental X-rays and told her she had periodontal disease – a serious gum infection which can lead to tooth loss.
Shroyer told FOX4: ‘They said, “they’re all rotten; they’re going bad; they all need root canals, and it’s going to cost you about $50,000.'”
She was shocked by the news, as she had recently visited two other dentists who never mentioned her teeth were in such dire straits.
Shroyer said the Aspen Dental staff told her it would be cheaper to get all of her teeth pulled and get dentures. She added that ‘they charmed the fire outta me,’ and told her she would look ‘beautiful’.
Ultimately, she went through with the recommendation to have all her teeth pulled, which she now regrets. She told FOX4 that without teeth, ‘I felt so ugly. I can’t face anybody.’
Adding insult to injury, dentists who were later sent Shroyer’s X-rays by FOX4 said they would have given her several options rather than resorting to the most extreme solution straight away.
‘I thought everything was legit, you know, big company, gonna be okay,’ she added.
Shroyer had reason to believe that. Aspen Dental is part of the Aspen Group, which reported $4.2billion in net revenue in the first half of 2025.
According to Aspen Dental’s website, the company has more than 1,100 locations across the country. Most of them are located in the eastern portion of the continental US.
The company ‘provides administrative and business support services to Aspen Dental branded dental practices,’ according to its website.
The site also states that Aspen Dental ‘does not own or operate the dental practices, employ or in any way supervise the dentists providing dental care…
‘Control over the care provided is the sole responsibility of the independent practice and the dentists they employ.’
During the past 15 years, Aspen Dental has been involved in a variety of lawsuits alleging misconduct.
Jim Baker, leader of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a corporate watchdog organization, told FOX4: ‘We’ve seen allegations of deceptive practices.
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Comment now ‘Maybe incentives to bill or steer patients toward more expensive procedures, things like dental implants, for example.’
In 2010, Aspen Dental settled a lawsuit over misleading advertisements brought forward by the Pennsylvania attorney general. In 2015, the company also settled a suit over deceptive advertising brought forward by the Indiana attorney general.
Aspen Dental also paid $3.5million to the state of Massachusetts over claims of bait-and-switch tactics used in some clinics in 2023.
In July 2025, the company settled a class action lawsuit for $18.4million, which alleged that it had violated privacy laws by tracking patients’ sensitive information and sharing it with third parties.
In each of the settled cases, Aspen Dental denied any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
Shroyer told FOX4 that when the clinic pulled all of her teeth, she could feel pain. She added that after two years of visits, the pain continues to linger, and she has dentures that still do not fit properly.
Other dentists who were sent Shroyer’s X-rays by FOX4 said they would have presented her with a variety of options and would likely have been able to save most of her teeth.
Aspen Dental refunded the cost of Shroyer’s dentures and implants, but not her teeth-pulling procedure.
Shroyer, however, said that information was not sent to the health credit card company that was financing her care, so $2,500 was sent to collections, and now she cannot afford to pay for additional procedures to fix her teeth.
‘I wish I would have never walked into the door of that place,’ she told FOX4.
An Aspen Dental spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘Aspen Dental Management is a dental support organization that provides non-clinical business support services to independently owned and operated dental practices.
‘Each Aspen Dental-branded practice is clinically owned and operated by an independent licensed dentist who is responsible for patient care.
‘ADMI takes patient concerns seriously and has established processes to review and address complaints when they are brought to our attention.’
The spokesperson also said that Aspen Dental no longer has a contractual relationship with the dentist who treated Shroyer.
