“I thrill when I drill a bicuspid
It’s swell though they tell me I’m mal-ad-just-ed.”
Steve Martin as Dentist, Orin Scrivello in Little Shop Of Horrors  (1986)

For dentophobes (people with a fear of dentists), a sadistic, out of control dentist may be one of the most unnerving ideas for a movie character ever. The embodiment of those fears was realized with Steve Martin’s character in the dark, musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors. The truth is, whether you suffer from or it or not, if you or someone you love has endured dental malpractice, you know the pain and suffering that results are no laughing matter.

Just two years ago, a celebrity dentist in Newport Beach was ordered to pay $641,542 to a patient who had been riddled with the pain of a mouth full of poorly applied crowns. Dental malpractice does occur and when it does, negligent dentist should be held accountable.

With all the advances in the dental care industry in the last several years, here are a few of the more common dental treatment errors:

• Misuse of formaldehyde-based root canal filling material
• Failure to diagnose – particularly dangerous when dentists fail to diagnose an infection or periodontal disease
• Failure to give a treatment plan – dentists are required
• Inserting a dental implant in the wrong direction, causing nerve damage
• Mercury lodged and left in patient’s gums from fillings
• Misreading x-ray followed by wrong procedure
• Wrongful administration of anesthesia
• Unnecessary delay in treatment
• Infections caused by unsterilized equipment
• Wrong tooth – some dentists have been caught carelessly pulling the wrong tooth or pulling a tooth that did not need to be pulled

Dental malpractice happens when dentists diverge from the dental standard of care they have sworn to uphold and thereby cause injury, undue discomfort and harm to a patient.  “Standard of care” is defined as “the degree of care that a reasonable and prudent dentist would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.”  When dentists step outside those boundaries, trusting patients can be harmed and pursuit of compensation is appropriate.

Contact Our Sacramento Dental Malpractice Attorneys

Our Sacramento lawyers are particularly equipped to represent you or your loved one in your dental malpractice case. Leverage our experience and depth of understanding of California malpractice law to determine whether or not your case has merit after dental experience has gone wrong.

While our many successful outcomes don’t guarantee future results, you can trust that our team is poised to pursue the best possible outcome for you and your family. Contact us today.