BC Dental Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 My regular dentist (NOT an oral surgeon) attempted the extraction of my impacted/horizontal wisdom tooth (the left one, as I was only having one done at a time) on April 28th, 2009. He assured me he could remove it without any issue whatsoever. Fast forward to when I'm in the dental chair. He freezes me, no problem. Cuts open my gums, fine. Didn't feel a thing. However, it was when he had to cut into the tooth (to cut it in half, in order to be able to get it out) was when I felt the pain. According to him, I hadn't frozen enough. It took him as well as one of the hygenists to give me needles. 7 needles later and I could still feel the drilling/cutting into the tooth - he stitched me back up and then referred me to an oral surgeon who I saw for a quick consultation. I was in SEVERE pain after all the needles my regular dentist gave me so I ended up going to the oral surgeon to be sedated/have the tooth that was attempted FINALLY removed on May 1st, 2009. Turns out, the wisdom tooth area was infected which was why I could feel everything my regular dentist was doing. HOW he failed to realize this was beyond me. Here's the tricky part... It is now October 31st, 2009. 5 months later. For whatever reason, I keep getting inflamation of the area (gums - however, it is the left side of my face/cheek that bothers me and NOT my actual gums, regardless of whether or not they are swollen). I've been back to the oral surgeon several times. He then sent me to a TMJ specialist who ruled OUT TMJ being the issue and was basically stumped. $250 for a specialist who did nothing. I eventually wound up going back to my regular dental office (where they attempted it, but saw a DIFFERENT dentist there). I saw the guy who first attempted the extraction and he said, "Let nature take its course", I saw ANOTHER dentist at that office who told me it was all in my head, and finally, seemed to have found a good dentist there who actually noticed it was inflamed too and something that needed to be dealt with ASAP as going back to the oral surgeon was useless (as he is dead set on it being TMJ, even though the TMJ guy says it's not). I've since been prescribed antibiotics on 3 different occasions (Clindamycin - not sure if that is the correct spelling) and it has helped, but always seems to flare up once I go off it... Which brings me to last night. I was in the most amount of pain I've been in and the dentist I've been seeing these recent times wasn't there, so again, I saw a different dentist in the office. He told me that there is NO infection but that it seem as though since I had the extraction, it seems as though some muscles were damaged and ligiments are torn. What we CAN'T figure out is if it's from the extraction that the oral surgeon finally did, or if it's from the 7 needles of freezing that I was given by the regular dentist who FIRST attempted it. The guy I saw last night and the girl I usually see there both want to refer me to an oral pathologist, however, HOW does this office expect me to pay for yet another specialist when this entire problem could have been due to what their boss/owner did????? I've also since been told that the FIRST guy (the regular dentist - who is the OWNER of the office) should have NEVER attempted the extraction to begin with, and am now being told to file a malpractice lawsuit. ANY thoughts on this would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 1] Obtain copies or the actualo charts, X-Rays whatever from each dentist 2] Thereafter, write a letter to the original dentist holding him responsible for all valid items of claim including the cost of all subsequent dentists you went to and will need to go to until your entire condition is corrected. 3] You will have a problem of making any proof as you will need the active cooperation of all dentists if you are to have a chance of successfully o0btaining reimbursement (plus) from the original dentist. 4] Perhaps go to a highly recommended specialist. 5] Ideally, after no. 1 you can try to speak in a friendly manner with the original dentist to cover all expenses. Only if he refuses, send him the letter. Good luck. (what city are you in?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunli17 Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 wow that seriously sucks! I had 2 of my wisdom teeth removed a couple months ago. Everything went smoothly (nowhere near as horrific as your experience) but it was the most painful thing I've ever felt after the anesthetic wore off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medmal Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 I happen to be a personal injury lawyer with some experience in medical malpractice (hence my name). Med mal cases against dentists in these types of situations are *extremely* difficult to prove. But the fact that you have one dentist already saying that the first guy should not have tried anything is helpful. It might help to bring all your documentation to a personal injury lawyer and see if they will give you a free opinion. If you were going to pursue the matter you may get minimal damages for pain and suffering (like $5000-10000) and get all your costs reimbursed, but you would have to bear the initial expense of getting an expert opinion to say that the dentist acted negligently ($1500+ outlay). Which is pretty hard to do and pretty expensive, as dentists and doctors are vigourously protected by their insurance agencies. But with that in mind, it might not be a bad idea to at least get a free consultation. A lawyer who looks over all the information may give you a higher estimate on damages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Dental Posted November 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Thank you for the responses and your opinions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benito Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Someone told me that if a dentist didn't need to refer to a specialist in certain case (let's say for a premolar extraction) and that instead of extracting the good premolar he extracts the wrong one, he can't be sued as long as he did the right thing (x-rays, documentation, etc.). Is this true? Because as Medmal said since the specialist said that the first dentist shouldn't have attempted it that opens a small door (if the original dentist isn't well documented) otherwise could it be considered as normal for a dentist to fail an operation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medmal Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Technically, as long as the dentist did what a reasonable dentist in the circumstances would have done then he can't be sued (there are exceptions to that rule). Of course, he has to have a pretty convincing reason as to why he took out the wrong tooth just like a doctor who operates on the wrong arm. Usually in those circumstances you can show that he did not act reasonably and can start a law suit. It is not normal for dentists to fail operations, and they shouldn't be trying them if they aren't confident they can succeed. Documentation isn't the key issue here, acting with the competence of a normal dentist is what decides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedIn2010 Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 BC Dental - this sounds awful. I'm so sorry you've had such an awful time with getting your wisdom teeth out, which is supposed to be a simple procedure. I had a pretty rough time too. I had two dry sockets after my procedure and what I assumed to be an infection that flared up about 2 months after. I had them out in June, and in the last month or so my mouth is finally back to normal. Your ordeal has been going on a lot longer and it seems like you've put up with a lot of nonsense. I don't really have any suggestions for you. But I wish you the best of luck if you decide to pursue legal action! Also, I hope your mouth starts feeling better soon, the human body has an amazing ability to heal so I have faith that you won't need to put up with the pain for all that much longer. GOOD LUCK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorpuff Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 Your dentist may prescribe a pain medication and an antibiotic to prevent infection. You should avoid taking drugs such as aspirin which may increase and/or prolong bleeding. Your dentist should always be kept informed if you are taking any prescription medications. You should also make your dentist aware if you suffer from any known allergies to antibiotics or other medications. Although such information is normally gathered at the initial examination conditions do change and information may need to be updated. If your physician has changed or prescribed new medications you should notify your dentist of the changes as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O'Neill Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 I had all four of my wisdom teeth out on the same day three years ago. I asked to keep them whole because I wanted to save them (I can post pics for whoever wants to see, one has a crazy flared bottom that looks awesome), and I asked to be awake through the whole thing (I was curious about what it would be like, and I wanted to ask questions). Anyway, I was assigned an experienced oral surgeon who was amazing. He took all four out pretty quickly (~2 hours) and after about a month of healing my jaw was back to normal. Normally he said it would have been about 2-3 weeks, but he actually had to shave some gum/bone away to extract the tooth whole so it added a bit of time to the healing. He injected me with freezing in a few areas (after explaining the risk of partial face paralysis...lol), and the only thing I felt was the pressure of pulling them out (weird feeling), and sometimes a cracking sound (I guess from the stress/strain on the tooth). Pretty cool and educational experience all around. I gotta say, your situation sounds terrible and I definitely think the skills of the dentist or surgeon makes a huge difference. I don't believe everyone who graduates from dental/medical school is equal (even if they all have the same letters after their name). The fact that he thought it would be a good idea to inject you 7 times is evidence enough that he needs some remedial education. It's not usually my nature to sue people because I think the job is tough enough without the threat of constant lawsuits, and I think people deserve second chances, but it sounds like there was some real negligence here. I would absolutely see a lawyer, if not to full out sue them, then at least to scare them with a letter. Maybe they will fix the problem for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-Stark Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 An awful experience to be sure - and perhaps good reason why one should always to go to an oral surgeon for wisdom teeth rather than a simple DDS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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