I had a tooth that was crooked for years because I was a thumbsucker as a child. I was hoping to straighten it out, but my dentist told me the same thing could be done with a dental crown. I liked the idea of not needing braces so I agreed. It was really sore after it was placed. He told me that was normal for the first week or so. Several weeks later, I was still in pain. I called but then he said it is probably because I am not used to wearing crowns and to give it more time. A few months later and I’m in so much pain that I almost went to the emergency room. My husband told me to get a second opinion by another dentist. I did the next day. He even got me in the very next day on an emergency appointment. When I went in he did an examination and an x-ray. He told me the tooth was very infected because the dentist who placed the crown did not place it properly and there are open margins. He showed me on the x-ray and the margins are huge. I need to get a root canal treatment now on top of another crown. I called my dentist and asked for my money back. They said what happens to my crown after I have it is not their problem and they expect me to pay the balance or they will send me to collections. Now I’m mad. They gave me a faulty crown that is going to cost me even more money and I need another procedure. I wasn’t asking them to pay for the root canal just my money back on my faulty crown. Is there any way to get my money back?
Caroline
Dear Caroline,
I am very sorry this happened to you and I’m glad the second dentist got you in for an emergency dental appointment. You’re fortunate it didn’t grow worse and turn life-threatening. Your jaw is very close to your heart, lungs, and brain. You don’t want an infection spreading there.
While I haven’t examined you, but based on what you said, I do believe your dentist violated the standard of care. After placing a dental crown, it is considered standard operating procedure to run an explorer around the margins to make sure it is properly fitted and there are no open margins. It helps that you have an x-ray to back up the claim.
It may not be financially worth it to go for a full malpractice case. There are some things you can do. I’d start by letting them know that you are going to the dental board with the x-ray and second opinion from the other dentist. This is something that the dentist would like to avoid almost as much as a malpractice suit.
Another thing you can do is have the second opinion dentist talk to your original dentist. Sometimes, dentist are more willing to listen to a peer than to a patient. If you do decide to go forward with a malpractice suit you will need to have another dentist testify on your behalf. It is required to have a medical opinion.
You could ask a lawyer to write you a threatening letter on his or her official stationary. That might make your dentist more willing to take the threat seriously and will cost you less than a full law suit.
This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.