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

The Baton Rouge dentist that seemingly disappeared out of no-where last week is finally back at work after several WAFB reports.
Published: Feb. 7, 2023 at 10:42 PM CST|Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 10:53 PM CST

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Baton Rouge dentist that seemingly disappeared out of nowhere last week is finally back at work after several WAFB reports.

Dr. Tyler Lasseigne with Esthetic Associates LLC says he had a minor surgical procedure done at the end of December and has been out ever since recovering.

But he admits the communication with his patients could have been much better.

And he says he will complete all of his patients’ dental work if they’ve already paid for it.

“My husband has been here at the place for about three times, and each time there’s no one here, during supposedly business hours,” said Mattie Woodard, back on February 2.

Patients were nervous the office had abruptly shut down, and they wouldn’t get their money back for the services they had paid for in advance.

“I expect doctors to be what they say they are, and they’ll do what they say they’re going to do,” said Betty Stewart, back on February 3.

WAFB’s Lester Duhe’ spoke with Dr. Tyler Lasseigne on the phone Tuesday.

“What we should’ve done was tell them that we were out. Which we called all the existing, like the patients that we had that were scheduled, we did call them, and we left them messages. So, a lot of them didn’t even check on the messages that we sent,” said Dr. Lasseigne, with Esthetic Associates, LLC.

“I mean you had patients coming to your door, knocking on the door, and not even a sign was there.

What’s the reason behind that I guess,” questioned WAFB’s Lester Duhe’.

“That’s the thing we should’ve put a sign there. But even the door was closed there, you know they could’ve called. And I know that they said that they called, but the patients, we never had any problem with patients that we were treating at that time,” said Dr. Lasseigne.

He says he will make it up to his patients and finish any remaining dental treatment that has already been paid for. And he wants to move past this issue.

“I was back open on Monday. We tried to get in touch with the patients that were here, that had complaints even on the news or had any problems with their bite or anything like that with emergencies. We don’t have anything,” said Dr. Lasseigne. “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.

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