Most people have no issue with going to a doctor, but a visit to the dentist can fill rational people with absolute dread. It might be the sound of the drill, or a fear of hypodermic needles, but it can lead to anxiety in many cases.
But we’ve been taught throughout our life to trust that medical professionals have our best interests at heart. Unfortunately, this does not prevent acts of negligence from taking place, even with dentists.
Remember that all medical practitioners have a duty of care to their patients, or to paraphrase the modern Hippocratic Oath “I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.”
Dental injuries can go beyond just cosmetic and aesthetic issues because injured patients can be left with long-term injuries, and in a small number of cases life-threatening injuries.
Examples of negligence
The following are just some of the more common examples of negligence which can be attributed to dentists:
- Not performing dental treatment in a timely manner
- Failing to diagnose infection, periodontal disease or oral cancer
- Failure to refer patient to receive additional treatment from another healthcare provider
- Not advising patient of less costly and less invasive treatments
- Not obtaining informed consent from the patient
- Failure to document patient’s medical history
Examples of injuries
The following is a non-exhaustive list of minor and major injuries which can be caused as a result of medical malpractice on the part of a dentist.
- Adverse reactions caused by the incorrect application of anesthesia, specifically Novocain
- Poorly fitted veneers, bridgework, or crowns, leading to discomfort, pain, or infection
- Nerve damage or numbness as a result of root canal work
- Failure to remove the entire nerve during a root canal procedure
- Serious infection caused by incomplete root canal procedure
- Nerve damage, infection, or post-operative complications from dental implant procedures
- Failure to diagnose oral cancers in a timely manner, despite evidence of their presence
- Poorly executed dental fillings which then lead to further decay and tooth loss
- Drilling and/or filling the wrong tooth
- The unnecessary extraction of a tooth, especially if less invasive options were available
- Periodontal disease caused by any of a number of dental treatments
- Damage to the patient’s teeth during a routine cleaning
- Wrongful death
Pursuing a personal injury claim because of incorrect or incomplete dental treatment might seem trivial to some. What people don’t realize is that infections caused through dental malpractice can have far-reaching effects, including loss of hearing because of an infection along the jawline, or even heart related conditions because of the spread of oral bacteria to other organs in the body.
This means that you should treat malpractice by a dentist with the same seriousness that you would treat malpractice on the part of a surgeon. You entrusted your health to a medical practitioner who should have been able to deliver the required treatment without causing you excessive discomfort, and most certainly without causing you any long-term harm or health complications.
If you feel that you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice we would recommend that you seek the advice of a legal professional with experience in such matters.