Michael E Bruce, DDS

I am the father who submitted the original report to «Rip-​Off Report» some six years ago. I disagree with the mother’s assertion that the Dentistry Peer Review Comittee found that Dr. Michael Bruce had «Done Nothing Wrong».
When I realized what Dr. Bruce had done to my daughter, I was prepared to file charges with the police. I elected to submit the allegations to a «Dentistry Peer Review Committee» to seek justice as was suggested by one of the Dentists who performed an evaluation of my daughter’s medical records provided by Dr. Bruce. The items included x-​rays of her upper and lower teeth, a fraudulent treatment plan, as well as the invoice for the treatment of 21 fillings.
Dr. Bruce was required to justify his decisions and actions in a Peer Review. The accusations were serious and could have led to criminal charges. The suggestion that this Peer Review was merely a «nuisance» mis-​characterizes the gravity of Dr. Bruce’s actions.
The Peer Review Committee held the findings of its review until the statute of limitations for filing civil charges against Dr. Michael Bruce had expired. Contrary to the «Mothers» claim that the Peer Review Committee determined that he had «Absolutely done nothing Wrong»; the determination was and is as follows:
In regards to the 21 fillings that Dr. Bruce billed us in advance for, 11 of the fillings were never performed, as they were not required. The «Peer Review Committee» as well as Dr. Lowery and Dr. Walseth confirmed that there was no sign of decay present. However, the Peer Review Committee found that because Dr. Bruce was not allowed by the father to follow through with the treatment of these 11 teeth as he intended, Dr. Bruce would not be disciplined for this regardless of his intentions.
In regards to the 10 fillings that Dr. Bruce did perform, the Peer Review Committee found that only one tooth showed evidence of Decay in the x-​rays provided by Dr. Bruce. However, the oral examination performed by the Peer Review Committee determined that any hard evidence of foul play had been destroyed when Dr. Bruce had drilled for the fillings.
Thus the findings of the Dentistry Peer Review Committee were inconclusive, and allowed Dr. Michael Bruce a reprieve, but in no way concluded that Dr. Bruce had done nothing wrong.
Two other dentists who are highly respected dentists within our community concluded from the x-​rays and their oral examination that Dr. Bruce performed work that they would not have recommended or performed, that his treatment was over aggressive, and egregious.
Dr Michael Bruce is prohibited by order of the Superior Court SBCA from treating our children.
I find it incomprehensible that Dr. Michael Bruce would take advantage of and violate the health and safety of a child in his care. The motivation for such child abuse would seem to go beyond mere financial exploitation, akin to a time and place where death camp doctors tortured children with pleasure and impunity.

Dr. Bruce has been my dentist for over two decades. I grew up in Santa Barbara, and although I’ve lived in the Bay Area for a number of years, I haven’t been able to find a dental practice that gives me the same level of service as Dr. Bruce’s. His office has a congenial atmosphere and is exceptionally clean. The office staff are the friendliest people you could hope to meet, and handle scheduling and billing/​insurance promptly and effectively. I completely trust Dr. Bruce’s office with my oral hygiene and health. On the cosmetic side, I’ve had really good results with their custom-​fabricated teeth whitening trays and gel. I’ve basically given up on finding a local dentist… I just wait until my next trip to Santa Barbara to schedule an appointment with Dr. Bruce.