KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Staci Shroyer still struggles when she looks at old photos of herself. Two years ago, she had all her teeth pulled at an Aspen Dental clinic in Blue Springs, Missouri.
“It’s sad to go look in the mirror. I do miss my smile,” she said.
Shroyer originally went to the clinic for a broken tooth. Unable to get a timely appointment with her regular dentist, she turned to Aspen Dental. Once there, staff took a full set of dental X-rays and delivered shocking news.
“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,’” Shroyer recalled. She said previous dentists had never mentioned such problems.
The clinic recommended removing all her teeth and replacing them with dentures. Charismatic staff assured her she would look “beautiful,” she said. Shroyer agreed.
Aspen Dental is one of the largest dental chains in the U.S., with over 1,000 locations nationwide, including about 10 in the Kansas City area. Local dentists provide patient care, while corporate headquarters handles administrative operations. The company has faced legal scrutiny over its practices for decades.
“Big corporations like Aspen should not be involved in clinical decision making,” said Jim Baker, head of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a corporate watchdog group. He noted allegations that corporate incentives may steer patients toward more expensive procedures.
States have sued Aspen multiple times. Pennsylvania reached a settlement in 2010 over misleading advertisements. In 2015, New York prohibited Aspen corporate from influencing patient care, and Indiana settled a similar case the same year. Most recently, Massachusetts secured a $3.5 million settlement in 2023 over bait-and-switch tactics. Aspen did not admit wrongdoing in any of these cases.
In Kansas, the attorney general received 25 complaints against Aspen Dental between 2018 and 2025. Missouri, with three times as many clinics, had 165 complaints.
Tracy Merry, a patient at Aspen Dental in Independence, Missouri, said she has been in pain for years after paying over $6,000 for ill-fitting dentures. “There’s no way I can eat steak. Everything I do has to be different,” she said.
Shroyer, too, reported ongoing pain and ill-fitting dentures. FOX4 reviewed her X-rays from before the extractions. Dr. Mitchell Gardiner, a dentist and expert witness, said he would have tried to save most of her teeth. Another dentist agreed she likely had options.
Aspen Dental refunded Shroyer for dentures and implants but not for the tooth extractions. She discovered $2,500 in unpaid charges had been sent to collections, leaving her unable to afford corrective treatment.
“I wish I would have never walked into the door of that place,” Shroyer said.
Aspen Dental told FOX4 that each practice is independently owned and operated by a licensed dentist, who is responsible for patient care. The company said it reviews complaints seriously but would not comment on ongoing lawsuits.