dental problems? negligence or not?

monkeydrum

hi everyone

i recently broke 75% of a tooth clean off (down to the root) whilst eating a meal. it was a friday night so i had to wait until monday before i could be seen (this wasn't a problem as i wasn't in pain due to having root canal treatment done many years previous). anyway, i went to the dentist on monday and they gave me a temporary tooth and took a mould for the crown to be made. so a week or two later, i returned to have my temporary tooth removed and the proper crown fitted. everything was fine until i noticed a strange painful sensation in my gum above where the crown had been fitted. i went back to the dentist and after an x-ray i was told that i had an infection which needed sorting out asap and they gave me antibiotics. 2 weeks later i had to go back again to have my brand new crown removed and the infected root canal cleaned out. obviously this was not a very nice experience! the dentist then fitted me with another temporary tooth whilst the 2nd crown was made. in the meantime, i was told the lab had lost my mould so i had to go back again for another mould taking, which was quite fortunate because in the meantime my temporary tooth had fell out so i had to have a 3rd one fitted. finally, i went back to for the 3rd temp tooth removing and the 2nd new crown to be fitted

i'm not really one for making a claim, but a few of my colleagues have said it sounds like dental negligence because an xray should have been taken right at the start to identify any problems before proceeding with the work. in other words, the dentist shouldn't have simply just fitted the crown without checking everything was ok

i'd be interested to hear your opinions on this

thanks

sammy
x

keithdc

monkeydrum wrote: »

hi everyone

i recently broke 75% of a tooth clean off (down to the root) whilst eating a meal. it was a friday night so i had to wait until monday before i could be seen (this wasn't a problem as i wasn't in pain due to having root canal treatment done many years previous). anyway, i went to the dentist on monday and they gave me a temporary tooth and took a mould for the crown to be made. so a week or two later, i returned to have my temporary tooth removed and the proper crown fitted. everything was fine until i noticed a strange painful sensation in my gum above where the crown had been fitted. i went back to the dentist and after an x-ray i was told that i had an infection which needed sorting out asap and they gave me antibiotics. 2 weeks later i had to go back again to have my brand new crown removed and the infected root canal cleaned out. obviously this was not a very nice experience! the dentist then fitted me with another temporary tooth whilst the 2nd crown was made. in the meantime, i was told the lab had lost my mould so i had to go back again for another mould taking, which was quite fortunate because in the meantime my temporary tooth had fell out so i had to have a 3rd one fitted. finally, i went back to for the 3rd temp tooth removing and the 2nd new crown to be fitted

i'm not really one for making a claim, but a few of my colleagues have said it sounds like dental negligence because an xray should have been taken right at the start to identify any problems before proceeding with the work. in other words, the dentist shouldn't have simply just fitted the crown without checking everything was ok

i'd be interested to hear your opinions on this

thanks

sammy
x

Why do your colleagues assert that an x-ray should have been taken first?
What do they believe it might have shown and how would that have impacted your treatment?
Are they dentists?

monkeydrum

because i told the dentist about the sensation in my gum prior to her starting the work. everyone i have spoken to have said their dentist would have taken an xray first

but no, of course they're not dentists

teddysmum

monkeydrum wrote: »

because i told the dentist about the sensation in my gum prior to her starting the work. everyone i have spoken to have said their dentist would have taken an xray first

but no, of course they're not dentists

But above, you say that the sensation began after the crown was fitted. Also, you an get an infected gum without it being anyone's fault.

monkeydrum

that's right. the problem didn't flare up until after the work had been completed, but i mentioned to the dentist right after the temporary tooth was fitted that something didn't feel right in my gum, but they chose to fit the full crown without performing an xray or doing any checks. the dentist assumed this was due to the tooth fracture if i remember correctly. that's the crux of the issue

aside from that, it would be interesting to know if they should perform an xray before carrying out work such as a crown. if the answer is "no" then that's absolutely fine with me, i'll turn a blind eye to the fact that i gave them a warning upfront that something was not right! but if the answer is "yes" they should have performed an xray to be diligent then i may wish to take it further

that's why i'm asking

p.s.
to add insult to injury, i was also told the infected gum was probably the result of a poorly performed root canal at the same dental practice a few years earlier ...just in response to your suggestion that the gum infection may have been self inflicted

moneyistooshorttomention

Once all this is resolved one way or another - you are going to swop dental practice I hope...

theoretica

I suspect that even if there had been an Xray at the first available moment it wouldn't have changed needing the unpleasant root canal - just avoided wasting the first crown and fitting. I hope they only charged you for the one, so that is actually the dental practice's loss, though the time is your loss.

Toothsmith

In your first post, the root filling in that tooth was done 'many' years ago. In your last post it was just a 'few'.

If the tooth is exposed (by the fracture) then there is always a chance that it can get reinfected.

The problem might have been shown by an x-ray, or it might not. There is guidance that says you should take an X-ray before crowning a tooth, but there is also guidance that says you should keep patient's radiation doses as low as reasonably possible.

If the root filling was only a 'few' years ago, the dentist might reasonably have decided that the x-rays taken at the time of the root filing gave him all the information he needed. If 'many' then he probably decided as the tooth was symptomless, the x-ray wouldn't tell him anything useful anyway.

It seems like the problem was sorted out - and you're not moaning about the cost, so I assume you're either exempt from charges or they sorted out the problems very fairly?

I think there have been a few unlucky events here, but nothing negligent.

monkeydrum

the original root canal was done quite a number of years ago (by a different dentist i might add, but at the same practice). tbh, i've had niggles with it over the years which i have mentioned to the dentist, but nothing severe (the occasional pain when biting, etc). it wasn't a major problem until the tooth fractured

i haven't had an xray on my teeth for many many years. in fact, i can't recall the last time i had one. it must be in excess of 10 years ago. this is why many of the people i have spoken to have responded with shock and said they should have done one before starting the crown, particularly when you consider i pointed out something was not right before it was fitted

i am not exempt from charges, but they haven't asked me for anything additional as they have accepted it was their error. the only problem really has been the inconvenience of making multiple trips to the dentist, and obviously it's not very pleasant having to have a brand new crown ripped out so they can then resolve the infection as this could have been avoided if they'd have checked first

i'm not desperately looking for a claim here, i'm just curious to know if other people would claim. in all honesty, i'm kind of hoping everyone says "no, they don't have to do an xray. it's just one of those things" so i can just forget about it

sammy

Toothsmith

It's hard to comment without being able to see your teeth. But x-rays should be taken to look for decay in between teeth every 2 or 3 years even in a 'low risk' patient (assuming the dentist can't visibly 'see' into every gap)

Root fillings should have an x-ray afterwards at the very least.

On the face of it, it does seem like you've not had as many x-rays as you should - but without knowing everything, I couldn't make a proper judgement.

MichaelViscione

I think you concern best dentist which treat your teeth in proper manner.