Experiencing dental negligence first-hand can be extremely distressing, but learning about the common examples of negligent dental care might help you understand your situation more clearly, and help you work out what the next steps are for you.
If you’d like to get started with your dental negligence claim, please make an enquiry with our team today.
Examples of Dental Negligence: Five Signs Of Dental Malpractice You Need to Know About
Before starting with the dental negligence claims process, it’s important to understand exactly what the signs of dental negligence are. Most people tend to think of physical injuries when considering medical negligence, but there are a number of other examples of dental negligence that can indicate that something has gone wrong.
Here, we’ll take you through five main signs of dental negligence, aiming to give you all the information you need to open your own dental negligence case.
1. Pain and Injury During Treatment
One of the most obvious signs of dental negligence is pain and injury during or after dental treatment. Whilst it’s normal to feel some discomfort and pain after dental work, if the pain doesn’t subside or if it gets worse, this could be an indicator that negligence has occurred. There are a number of reasons why this might happen:
- Inadequate anaesthesia
- Poorly performed or substandard work
- Lack of skill or attention from your dentist
- Cosmetic or restorative dental errors
If your dentist has caused pain and injury for any of these reasons, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced dental negligence. Common injuries that can occur during poor dental treatment include:
- Tooth nerve damage
- Cuts or burns to the lips, cheek, gums and tongue
- Damage to your teeth
However, other injuries can also occur. If you experience unusual pain and visible injuries during or after a dental procedure, it’s important to seek a second opinion. You may also want to consider consulting with a dental negligence specialist like the Dental Law Partnership to start your dental negligence claim.
2. A Lack of Informed Consent
Another potential sign of dental negligence to consider is a failure to gain patient consent. Informed, voluntary consent is a fundamental part of dental care – your dentist has a duty of care to make you fully aware of any risks, side effects and alternative procedures before agreeing to treatment. If your dentist fails to advise you appropriately and something goes wrong, you may be able to claim for dental negligence.
Your dentist also has to get explicit permission from you to continue with treatment, and all consent has to be provided voluntarily. If a patient is unable to consent to treatment, your dentist should not begin work on their teeth.
Only by being fully informed and giving proper consent can you make an empowered decision about your dental health, protecting yourself further from potential dental negligence.
3. The Consequences of Misdiagnosis
One of the most important aspects of adequate dental treatment is correct diagnosis. Failing to diagnose an oral health issue or delaying a diagnosis can have severe consequences – particularly in terms of things like gum disease, throat cancer and oral cancer.
Misdiagnosis can also lead to prolonged pain and more severe health issues. For example, if you have symptoms of tooth decay and it’s not diagnosed properly by a dental professional, you may find that root canal treatment or tooth removal is necessary further down the line, instead of just having a filling fitted. Similarly, failing to detect or misdiagnosing the signs of gingivitis can result in the development of advanced gum diseases and loss of teeth. Failing to detect oral cancer can have life-threatening ramifications.
Misdiagnosis can also lead to unnecessary dental treatments being carried out, which may cause undue pain, stress and expense. If your symptoms persist despite undergoing the advised dental treatment plan, you may want to consider getting a second opinion to ensure your dentist has diagnosed your dental issues properly.
If they haven’t and you’ve been treated for another oral health condition, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim against your dental professional.
4. Improper Treatment and Procedural Errors
Another form of dental negligence to consider is poor dental treatment and procedural errors.
Carrying out unnecessary treatments can cause avoidable pain, inconvenience and financial strain, as well as a failure to treat the original oral health issue the patient sought help for.
Sometimes your dentist will carry out the right treatment but make procedural errors – depending on the mistakes made, these errors could have severe consequences.
In some cases, a dentist might suggest dental procedures that are not medically necessary for the patient. In most situations, this will usually be due to a lack of care or negligence on the part of your dentist.
5. Post-Treatment Complications and Neglect
Post-treatment complications can arise sometimes after a dental procedure (even if it’s been carried out correctly), but the way in which these complications are managed is crucial to your oral health. Proper post-treatment care is vital for recovery and maintaining your long-term oral health, if the correct aftercare advice is not given by your dentist further health issues could arise.
Dental negligence can occur when your dentist fails to provide adequate follow-up care or ignores patient concerns about complications. Common post-treatment issues include:
- Infections
- Persistent pain that doesn’t go away or gets worse
- Swelling
- Improper healing
If these complications are noticed and are not addressed promptly, they can lead to more severe health problems, such as dental abscesses or systemic infections. Failing to provide the appropriate post-treatment care can also undermine the patient’s trust and may result in prolonged discomfort/pain and additional costs if corrective treatments are required.
This means that it’s essential to communicate any post-treatment issues to your dentist and seek a second opinion if you feel that your concerns are not being taken seriously. If something goes wrong because your dentist failed to inform you of the appropriate aftercare steps, you may be able to sue your dentist.
Suspecting Dental Negligence: The Next Steps
If you suspect you may have encountered any of these examples of dental negligence during a dental procedure, you may be able to start the dental negligence claims process. It’s important to note that there is a three-year time limit from the date the negligence started, so we recommend contacting a dental solicitor firm like the Dental Law Partnership as soon as possible.
All our dental claims are carried out on a no-win, no-fee basis,
Whilst we cannot state exactly how much dental negligence compensation you could be awarded during your dental claim, you may be able to find a similar case by viewing our Client Stories page.
If you’d like to get started with a dental negligence compensation claim, please request a callback here.
Source the Right Solicitor for Your Claim
Now you’ve read through this page, you should have a greater knowledge of the most common examples of dental negligence that can occur. If you’ve recently undergone dental treatment and you think there’s a chance you might have experienced negligence, the Dental Law Partnership may be able to help you.
Our expert clinical team is made up of both dentists and lawyers, with many members of our staff having experience in both fields. We believe this puts our services above our peers, and enables us to help you seek justice with a dental negligence claim.
If you’d like to start your dental compensation claim and the negligence occurred within the three-year time limit, we may be able to help you – please contact our expert team on 0800 152 2036 or request a callback today.