I have regular checkups and cleanings at least two times a year. Most times I do it three times a year. I’m very diligent with my oral health care at home as well. Why I am writing is I feel my dentist is being negligent. Two times now, I’ve ended up with a tooth needing a root canal treatment that when he went in said the was unsavable and needs to be extracted.
Now I am sure it is not unusual for a tooth to need a root canal treatment, but I ask him every appointment if everything looks okay. With the first tooth that ended up extracted he told me there were no problems. Yet, when I came back for my next appointment he told me it needed a root canal. By the time my appointment for the root canal came around, which I scheduled for the first available, he told me that it couldn’t be saved. I needed an extraction and dental implant.
This happened a second time with a tooth that was under “watch” but was supposed to be safe. Then, my next appointment– same thing. A root canal treatment. This time he does it but then the tooth started hurting and I went back and he said it is too far gone again and needs to be extracted and replaced.
When I asked him how this is happening, he said that I have teeth that progress too quickly to be picked up. I’m having a hard time thinking this is accurate. Can I do anything about this? More specifically, is there any recourse for all the money I end up spending. It’s cost me thousands.
Christie
Dear Christie,
Let me start by saying that I haven’t examined you or seen any x-rays so all I have to go by is your description. If what you are telling me is complete, then this is gross negligence on the part of the dentist.
First, if a tooth was really that unsaveable, why didn’t he notice that? That should be pretty obvious. You never mentioned having any pain, until after he did the root canal, which is backward. You apparently went from healthy tooth to destroyed, infected tooth in less than six months, and no pain came into the picture. That is highly unusual. When a tooth needs a root canal treatment, it almost always starts out having a significant amount of pain.
I think you are more than justified in getting a new dentist here. Whether you can get compensation, that will be a bit iffy. This is because you won’t have the documentation and x-rays to prove his negligence.
My suggestion would be to tell him you won’t go to the dental board or leave a nasty review if he is willing to give you some compensation.
Either way, you need a better dentist.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.