this is "nightline." >> tonight, painful procedure, a florida dentist accused of performing needless operation on children witho okay. allegedly billing medicaid for millions. >> he don't care about innocent children. >> and the mother who rallied other parents to take him down. >> sometimes it feels like it's flown by, plus ellen pompeii owe takes us into the "grey". are her days off camera as steamy and dreamy?

seattle grace hospital. and my favorite. the new list is here. some of our favorite things on oprah's list of favorite things. >> this is a yes. >> and what she wants for christmas this year. first, the "nightline" five. >> it's black friday at jcpenny. doors open. incredible deals on toys. the best black friday savings starts thursday at 3:00 p.m. that's getting your worth. >> hey, need fast heart burn relief? try cool mint zantac. there's a cooling sensation in your mouth and throat. try cool mint zantac. no pill relieves heart burn faster.

grey.

>> good evening. we begin here tonight with another look at a story likely to provoke outrage, especially among parents. it involves a dentist who is accused of performing unnecessary and extremely painful procedures on low income children while charging the government huge sums of money for his handy work. here's matt gutman. >> reporter: a hoard of angry moms armed with plaque not what you'd expect to see at your children's dentist office. >> reporter: families claiming he wrecked their kid's mouths, all the while making a mint from medicaid. >> what would you say to him if he was sitting here? >> i do want to ask him questions. >> like what? >> why? what were you thinking? >> reporter: the beginning of

the veteran dentist was in practice for 50 years and was known for being one of a few who helped kids from low income families on medicaid. >> he says one of her teeth needs to be removed as soon as possible. it was an emergency removal. >> reporter: a routine procedure to extract a tiny tooth. she says after three hours in the lobby. >> the nurse assistant said there's been an accident. that's when i seen the blood. >> reporter: she's in a >> uh-huh. blood on the floor and everything. she was hyperventilating. she was face first on the show. >> she has scratches, bruises, and a mouth full of blood where she spits out a different story. >> she says, mommy, they're lying to you. he was choking me while he was pulling my teeth. >> reporter: you said the doctor was choking you? >> two hands? one hand? >> one hand.

>> i said i want my mommy. >> reporter: what did he say? >> he said no. >> reporter: it's hard for you to hear that? >> yeah. i trusted hip. and to know that i put her through that by trusting him, it hurts. >> on the way home, brandy takes a closer look inside her mouth, and she says she makes a grim discovery. >> all four on the bottom and all four on the top >> reporter: she was scheduled to go in for one tooth extraction? >> one bottom right tooth. and come out missing all of then. >> reporter: brandy wanted to see the dentist, but the attorney she calls won't touch the case. >> what you have in his case is five-year-old, six-year-old, seven-year-olds who must confront a dentist that's been a dentist in this town for 50 years. it's the worst he said she said to be a part of.

determined to raise hell and turns her mini van into a rolling billboard. in april last year she hits a big nerve with one click of a button online. >> i hesitated at first doing it, but then i just hit post and it posted it. within an hour it was going crazy. >> brandy had a post shared 350,000 times. in a town where there's less than a million people. brad and angelina share was pretty phenomenal. >> reporter: within 24 hours protesters hit outside the clinic. >> reporter: protesters are in front of his office in their second week despite all of that, the dentist is still open for dentist. >> reporter: did you ever see him? >> uh-huh. every day, flicking us the bird. >> reporter: fingers fly and

>> who here has had healthy teeth pulled? basically everyone. >> reporter: we met a group of families with similar complaints and the outrage there was palpable. who in this room has a child who none of them teeth came out actually? >> he has never lost a tooth naturally. >> reporter: because they were all pulled by him? >> the permanents need to come in so we need to remove him. that's what he said to me. >> he innocent children who can't even defend themselves. >> reporter: this woman recorded this on her smart phone. her son screaming as 16 metal caps were implanted in his mouth unexpectedly, says his mom. was there ever any explanation for the 16 caps? >> nothing. >> reporter: disturbing as it looks, dentists argue it can

especially along poorer kids who eat more sugar and brush less frequently. that video also going viral, and now an attorney felt he had a case. >> i said, all right, i'm taking the cases. i put it out there. the next day we got 60 phone calls. >> reporter: phillips and his staff go to work on 131 individual civil actions against dr. snyder. >> and thenou to found out a medical professional did this is shocking. >> reporter: he's raising questions about many of dr. schneider's methods. like the use of restraints called a papoose board. >> you could call it a baby straight jacket. >> reporter: dr. michael davis is a dentist ethics expert.

do as much dentistry as you can within the shortest amount of time feasible. >> so you don't want to coax the kid to opening their mouth. you need them in there, mouth open. >> get them this, get them out, make the dollars. >> reporter: florida medicaid records indicate he made a lot of them off the poor. nearly 4 million in government payments in only five years. recently a few states have begun to regulate or limit controversial treats how long a child can be restrained in a papoose board and the number of procedures a child might be subjected to in a single visit, but florida is not one of them. so papoose boards remain legal there. >> i know. i'm sorry. it was just we want to make sure. >> reporter: at first here an a local tv station, dr. schneider seemed almost cordial in defense of his methods. >> with the help of a parent in

a board, we wrap them so they will not fall out and hurt themselves. >> reporter: but shortly after that interview yar, his clinic s its doors. by voluntarily turning over his license, he avoids an investigation. but his problems have only begun. last november he was arrested and charged with 11 counts of medicaid provider fraud and count of scheming with intent to defraud. after his release we paid to visit to his clinic to see if he has anything to say. no answer. suddenly his station wagon rolls into the alley. where are you going? stop. just stop for one second. i ask him about the allegations of choking and other abuse. when you see this video, of these kids, you've seen this on facebook. this kid is screaming. what's going on here?

profani profanity. he says all the allegations are false. he said that giving up his medical practice was in no way an admission of guilt. he insists he was a great dentist practicing for over 50 years. the next day a process server approaches dr. schneider in the driveway of his home with a bag full of legal notices and a camera crew hired by the family's legal team. in their video, schneider runs his car he then tosses that heavy bag full of civil legal notices, attacks the camera, hurls a flashlight, and finally throws a can of shaving cream. in recent months he has settled 104 of the total 131 lawsuits including those brought by the families without admitting any wrong doing. though things are not likely to

divorce. his bank moved to forclose on his house. and he still faces a possible criminal trial after pleading not. he'll be back in court in january for a hearing on a defense motion to avoid a trial by having him declared mentally inconvi incompetent. the . >> i think he's an old, >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm matt gutman in florida. coming up, ellen pompeo takes us behind the scenes of "grey's anatomy," and later a look at oprah's 2016 list of

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cc1 test message cc1 test message many women may fantasize about playing doctor with the dreamy cast of "grey's anatomy," but ellen pompeo it for over 12 seasons. and tonight the fictional head of surgery opens up as we take another tour of her life in and out of hospital scrubs. look at this. it's the emergency entrance. >> yes. this is the emergency room. over there is where i think the clinic is. >> reporter: after more than a dozen seasons of "grey's

her new love life. the end of the last season there was perhaps a new love interest. is meredith ready and do we get more than one soul mate in life? >> you can have a sole mate in her 20s, and in your 40s you're somebody different. >> reporter: over the years we've an love struck intern to the confident head of surgery. >> i get to be smart and funny and drive every story. >> reporter: fans into seen grey through love and loss. from near death experiences to that shocking car crash that took the life of her romantic

>> it's okay. you do. >> reporter: his demise left many thinking the show could tank, but t hotter than ever, attracting a new generation of fans, making it abc's most popular drama. >> i think social media and digital streaming as helped it. also the older viewers who have been with us since the beginning, i think the change is precisely what makes them stay in the show. >> reporter: there's no change in staying put was a smart career move. he was headed to movie stardom, snagging movie roles. she didn't land her big tv breakthrough in greys until she was 33. three years later, her contract was up for renegotiation. >> if i go, i have to go out and get jobs at 36 and deal with am i good enough or smart enough or

>> yes. and at that point you really have to sort of delineate your ego from everything. >> reporter: it seems like there aren't as many meaty roles for women as a certain age. >> we're seeing it change but not dramatically enough. >> reporter: when you age on television, what makes it so hard? >> your ego. to see your skin doesn't look the same. >> reporter: but you are a poster child for aging gracefully. you don't want flaw or wrinkle that comes your way. >> i think as an actor, flaws are a necessity. nobody is perfect. i'm not and i'm okay with that. >> there's something glorious about aging. >> really, all you have in your youth is your looks. >> reporter: when the looks fade, what are you left with? >> hopefully a fantastic character, integrity and a soul. >> reporter: she glue up in

mother at four. how has that informed the way you play your character and the pay you parent. >> it's informed my whole life. i am incredibly in touch with my emotions. >> reporter: she draws on that experience when she plays meredith grey, and it even shapes the way she parents. >> i'm probably a little overprotective and overbearing. i tell my daughter she is probably too much. >> reporter: she and her husband are raising two children. >> i'm raising biracial kids. >> as am i. >> reporter: i'm curious what if any special lessons you impart to your children. >> i don't necessarily speak to my children about race. i make sure they have friends of all ethnicities. >> mommy, why did maggie stop having sex with him.

parenting differ from meredith's parenting? >> i don't think she's a parent. i don't drink. very rarely. and if i drink, i wouldn't drink out of the bottle. i'd pour it in a glass. i don't have sex in cars. >> you mind moving this? >> reporter: the one thing she and her character do have in common is the fact that they're both working moms. >> we lean on each other. that's not a sign of weakness or bad parenting if that's where a village. >> reporter: at some point there's a world for ellen pompeo beyond grey's. >> i think i'd like to conquer something like producing. it's challenging. but i got to beat it. i got to get it. >> reporter: if she's at all like her dmeredith grey, you ca count her out. up next, oprah's 2016 list

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another look at our fair lists from one of our favorite people. maybe it will give you black friday shopping inspiration. here's bryron pitts. >> reporter: it's that time of year. oprah's favorite things. it's even parodied on snl. oprah's favorite things for from a free app to a favorite television. oprah giving a behind the scenes look to her selection process. her list including a pasta pot that drains it. >> why hasn't someone thought of this before? >> reporter: a suitcase with it own charging dock. >> smartest lug dpaj ever. >> reporter: pajamas, available for $40. but all oprah wants for

somebody's heart. >> now i know what to add to my hanukkah list. happy thanksgiving. thank you for watching us, and we're online at abcnews.com and our facebook page. now on "celebrity page tv," the latest updates on kanye west's hospitalization. >> my career, my life, my public well-standing at risk -- >> james corden is singing a