TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

A Facebook page created to attack the care given by a well-known local dentist has gone viral, attracting nearly 100 members since being created Monday night.

Bakersfield parent Chris Cook created the "I Hate Dr. Dove of Bakersfield" page. He is angry about the treatment given to his five-year-old son by Dr. Edward Dove.

Some of the people on the Facebook page have added their own complaints.

Dove denied the allegations of improper treatment and specifically said that he gave good care to Cook's son.

Whatever the truth, the matter is becoming a textbook case on the power of social media to generate attention about an issue and to attract like-minded people to the cause.

The dispute also underscores how quickly consumers can mobilize and the growing impact of such sites on professionals' reputations. At the same time, legal experts caution that social media doesn't offer any additional protections for defamatory speech.

"Social media is so powerful and it can be very damaging," said Bob Brown, a partner of BryantBROWN Healthcare, an L.A.-based marketing firm. However, he said, "if it's legitimate and the criticism is deserving, it can be used to open a forum that stimulates a dialogue."

Dove's current dental record is free of disciplinary action, and he denies all of the Facebook group's accusations: "It's awful--you can do a Web site like this where everything is bogus. I see thousands of kids, how come I do all these things with one child?"

Whether the most recent complaints are legitimate will be up to the Dental Board of California to decide. Complaints to the board, which aren't public, result in a review. The board can then choose to conduct an investigation.

The public can only see if disciplinary action is taken against the dentist, according to Theresa Lane, a supervising investigator.

Cook said he will file a complaint with the board and at least one other Facebook complainant said she has filed a similar complaint.

The Allegations

Dove, a pediatric dentist, has four California offices, including one he opened in Bakersfield about five years ago. Locally, he's known for his catchy jingles and colorful commercials featuring rainbows, stars and biplanes.

Cook, who works in the oil industry, says he created the Facebook page Monday night as "a vent." He was frustrated with his five-year-old's morning dental visit to extract a tooth. His son, who was given an oral sedative, threw up some of the mixture, he said.

During the procedure, which Cook was not permitted to watch, his son urinated on himself. Cook alleges that his child, who was physically restrained, was not numb, and should not have been operated on.

On Thursday, Cook said he received 320 notifications as people joined the group and posted comments, some of which detailed their own allegations. Cook said he scanned other review sites and invited people like Brooke Catalfamo, who had posted critical comments in other online locations.

Brooke Catalfamo said Dove slapped her child, then 5, across the face during a procedure. She said she didn't learn about the incident until eight months later when she returned to the office and was "treated very rudely." She researched Cook online, saw other allegations of improper care on patient review sites, and asked her child how he was treated. Her son demonstrated how he was slapped across the face, she said.

"I asked very carefully without any leading questions," said Catalfamo, who saw Dove in his Chatsworth office. "This many people don't make it up about the same doctor and come together like this."

Dove says he's never hit a patient: "I think they made it up." He requests that parents stay out of the treatment room since they're often too anxious. He has two staff members present at all times, he said.

In cases that require sedation, Dove gives children what he calls "happy juice," a partial sedative. In order to knock them out completely, he'd need to call in an anesthesiologist--which can drive up the bill by hundreds of dollars.

Dove frequently uses a medical device called a papoose board which uses Velcro to keep the child's wrists and ankles and head from moving. He uses this on younger children, and older ones who are uncooperative.

"They're trying, but they can't move," he said. "I am stern: 'It's going to get done. Be a good boy or girl.'"

In Cook's son's case, the patient was "combative and difficult to treat," he added.

Dove's office manager Rachel Pufahl says loss of bladder control is nothing out of the ordinary, and is part of the consent form that patients or their guardians must sign.

"We take very good care of our patients," she said. "This is disturbing."

'Accuracy is Key'

The California Dental Association, a professional organization, recommends that its dentist members "learn from comments made by patients to improve the care they provide," said spokeswoman Alicia Malaby.

"Sometimes the comments may seem unfair, but if the comments are accurate, patients certainly have the right to post them," she said.

Accuracy is key when it comes to any legal liability arising from posted comments, say attorneys who specialize in social media.

"Just because you say it on Facebook doesn't mean you can't be held legally liable," said Erik Syverson, a Los Angeles attorney and expert on social media issues. "If it's false, it's defamatory, and they could come back and sue you. Many people are under the false belief that the First Amendment is much broader than it is."

The definition of defamation may be no different, but social media does make it "extremely easy" to defame people, Syverson said.

"Now, everyone has a big megaphone," he said. "The average run-of-the-mill person can post on Facebook or Twitter. The ability to publish defamatory content to a large audience is unprecedented."

Bradley Shear, a Maryland-based attorney who specializes in social media, emphasized the importance of truth as protection.

"If it's true, there's not much you can do about it," he said. "Going after people for posting opinions online is very difficult."

More than anything, Cook's grassroots effort illustrates just how fast social media can take off.

"Ten years ago, this wouldn't have happened," Cook said. "This is how everyone does it. If you throw it up on social media, someone's going to run with it."