What to do if my dentist perforated my tooth root due to negligence on his part?
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What to do if my dentist perforated my tooth root due to negligence on his part?
My crown came off and he was drilling into the already root canaled tooth; the substance they put into the canal after the nerve is removed. He should have gone straight up (he already had an X-ray done that day) yet he went in at a somewhat 45 degree angle. When he did I jumped a little and let him know it hurt yet he kept drilling until he put the post in before doing another X-ray. It showed that he perforated the root. It caused enough throbbing pain that he wrote a vicodan Rx and referred me to a oral surgeon to have the tooth extracted and an implant put in. Had he done it properly a post would have been fine to hold a new crown. Now it’s 3 days after the tooth extraction and I’m still in pain.
Asked on April 5, 2013 under Malpractice Law, California
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
To prevail in a malpractice action, there must be damages that were negligently (or intentionally) caused. Here, there are clearly damages (you lost a tooth, are in pain and have had to pay for an implant). What may or may not be clear is the issue of negligence. From what you wrote, you may well have a claim but you wil lneed to discusss this matter further with a personal injury attorney. They will be in the best position to study the facts of the case to see if your dentist breached the acceptable standard of care in your case.
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