I had a dental crown done to repair the slant of a tooth. The tooth was slanted because of my thumb-sucking as a child for an embarrassing number of years. After the crown was placed, the tooth became sensitive to hot and cold. I’d never had a crown before so I called the office. They told me this was normal and shouldn’t last too long. About four months later, I ended up in so much pain that I tried to get in to see my dentist after hours. Apparently, he doesn’t do emergency appointments so I tried the ER. They don’t do dental cases, so I was left in pain until the next day when my face swelled up. I was able to get in to see another dentist in my area who felt sorry for me. He told me that my tooth with the crown was infected and I’d need a root canal treatment and a new crown. When I asked how that was possible because it was a fairly new crown that I was told would last me 5 years. He told me the crown was placed improperly and I had open margins as a result. He showed me the x-ray and it was pretty big. So, I scheduled my root canal and crown with this new dentist who gave me some antibiotics in order to get the infection under control before they went digging in there.
The next morning, I called my dentist and explained the situation and asked for the 1/2 of the cost to be refunded that I’d paid so far. They told me after the crown was placed everything was my responsibility and if I didn’t pay the second half they would sue me. Well, I wasn’t going to pay for work that had to be redone and sure enough he’s suing me. Is there anything I can do about this?
Madeline
Dear Madeline,
I need to be clear that I haven’t examined you so can only go by what the second dentist told you. However, based on what you’ve said, it sounds like your dentist has violated the standard of care. The most important thing to check when a new crown is being seated on a tooth is to run the explorer around the margins and make sure it is properly fit. Without that, it leaves you vulnerable to food and other bacteria getting trapped in there which leads to decay and infection. It appears this is what happened to you. Because of that, do not make any further payments.
I’m also going to recommend that you switch dentists. You need a dentist who takes responsibility for their work. It would also be important to have a dentist who is willing to see patients after hours in the case of dental emergencies, such as you experienced.
How to Increase Your Chances for a Refund
The first thing you can do is tell him you will be contacting the dental board. Let him know that you have x-rays documenting the open margins. It is not as serious as a malpractice suit but he will be strongly motivated to avoid being brought before the board. I don’t recommend a malpractice suit unless there is significant money involved in the resulting expenses. Otherwise, it costs you more than it is worth in time.
You can also have the second dentist help you. A call from a peer verifying that there was a problem with the work can be persuasive because they will not want to look back in front of another in their profession. If you decide to go to court, you’d need a dentist to testify anyway, so it will be good to talk to them anyway.
If you can, have a lawyer write a threatening letter. This is cheaper than a malpractice suit and will make the dentist think you’re willing to go to court. He may be more likely to take the situation seriously.
Warn Other Patients
I’m a big believer in writing reviews, both good and bad. When you find a great dentist other people will benefit from knowing. When you hit a dud, as you have, warning other patients about the quality of their work and unwillingness to own up to their mistakes could save someone else the grief you’ve gone through.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.