Dentist office abruptly closes; customers now want their money back

UPDATE: Dr. Tyler Lasseigne with Esthetic Associates, LLC returned to work on Monday, February 6, after he said he had a minor surgical procedure.

Lasseigne says all treatment rendered at his practice has and will be completed especially if the treatment has been paid for.

“We have never taken money from patients without completing their treatment. Instead, we provide treatment for limited-income patients for a reduced fee. I apologize for the miss or lack of communication. Next time we will be more diligent in our efforts to notify the public,” said Dr. Lasseigne.

RELATED: Dentist office that abruptly shut down for numerous weeks re-opens; Doctor says he was recovering from surgery

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A Baton Rouge dentist has seemingly disappeared, leaving patients wondering where he is and wanting their money back.

Outside the Esthetic Associates dental office in the Highland Place Shopping Center, the missed delivery notes from FedEx are piling up.

“My husband has been here at the place for about three times and each time there’s no one here during business hours,” said Mattie Woodard, a patient of Esthetic Associates.

Mattie and her husband James have been together for more than 53 years.

They both got dental implants done by Dr. Tyler Lasseigne and needed some repair work done last year.

“Well, the first time was a dream. I mean, I enjoyed the implants and everything else and they were working fine it seemed like. But this time, we came back in July when they had a problem, we haven’t been able to get any satisfaction,” said James Woodard.

“Any contact with them,” chimed in Mattie.

The Woodards say they paid the dentist $800 cash up front in July 2022, then their insurance covered the rest of the bill.

The pair was scheduled to have an appointment in December but said that was cancelled. And they haven’t heard from Dr. Lasseigne or his team since then.

“And then he (James) was supposed to have another appointment in January. But we haven’t heard from them at all,” said Mattie.

And they’re not the only ones looking for this dentist that has seemingly disappeared.

A nearby business told WAFB multiple other customers have come to the place looking for Dr. Lasseigne.

WAFB’s Lester Duhe’ knocked on the door with no luck. And when you call his office, you’re not able to leave a message.

“If it’s a real problem he’s having with some kind of emergency that he’s having, medical problem, or some of his family’s having a problem,” said James.

“Then he should let his clients know,” said Mattie.

The abrupt closure of the office has even gotten the attention of the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry, who issued a statement to WAFB, “The Executive Director of the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry is currently looking into the situation but could not comment on any disciplinary matters.”

“Y’all want y’all’s money back?” questioned WAFB’s Lester Duhe’.

“Yes, we do,” said Mattie.

For Mattie and James, they thought the doctor did a great job at first and they trusted him.

But now they feel blindsided and want to know what happened.

“Well, we’re going to have to look for another dentist and we don’t know how we’re going to recoup our money. So , that means more money out of pocket in order to get this procedure done,” said Mattie.

WAFB has reached out to Dr. Lasseigne’s Office for comment multiple times but have not heard anything back yet.

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