As a trained medical professional, your dentist has a duty of care and responsibilities they must adhere to when carrying out dental treatments. If this legal duty of care is breached by your dentist, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim.
The relationship between patient and dentist is founded on trust – a key element of dental work that ensures effective and compassionate care.
However, in some situations, the duty of care in healthcare can drop below current standards, leading to severe consequences for both the dentist and the patient. If your dentist fails to follow their legal duty of care responsibilities, this approach can lead to further oral health issues and physical injuries, affecting the well-being of the patient.
Here, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about your dentist’s duty of care, and the further steps you can take if you believe that negligence has occurred.
If you’d like to move straight to the claims process, please make an enquiry here.
What Are Duty of Care Responsibilities in Dentistry?
Essentially, the term duty of care in the dentistry field refers to the legal and ethical obligations that dental professionals have toward their patients. The aim is to provide a standard of care that ensures their patients’ safety and individual well-being, covering a wide range of practices to protect patients from harm.
Legally, your dentist is governed by current duty of care legislation, such as The Dentists Act 1984. This duty of care act is a UK law that created the General Dental Council (GDC), setting out the responsibilities and standards expected of dentists working within the UK.
Your dentist has a responsibility to prioritise the health and safety of their patients at all times, including both mental health and physical health. Your dentist should also stay informed about any upcoming changes within the dental industry, updating their education through the use of continuous training.
A dentist failing to meet their duty of care needs could lead to further complications and allegations of negligence. As well as harming the patient, your dentist may also face professional complications and legal consequences as a result of dental malpractice.
The Legal and Ethical Responsibilities of Your Dentist
Your dentist has many legal and ethical responsibilities that they must follow to safely practise dentistry within the UK.
Your dentist must follow the obligations below:
- Confidentiality – Patient information must be protected and can only be disclosed with patient consent, unless it is required by the law.
- Clear and effective communication – Clear and effective communication must be used by your dentist, including explaining treatments, diagnoses and potential risks in an easy to understand manner.
- Create a clean and hygienic environment – Your dental surgery should always meet modern health and safety requirements, ensuring all equipment is sterilised appropriately. Rigorous infection prevention and control measures should also be implemented.
- Informed consent – Your dentist must gain voluntary consent from you before carrying out any treatment, which includes informing you of any risks, side effects and alternative procedures available. Patients must fully understand and agree to treatment before it is carried out.
- Record keeping – Your dental practice should keep a complete record of any consultations and procedures carried out, documenting all aspects of patient care. It is recommended that adult patient dental records are kept for a minimum of 11 years in the UK and children’s records should be retained until the 25th birthday or 26th if the child was 17 when treatment ended.
- An emphasis on patient-centric care – Dentists should always prioritise the safety and well-being of patients within their care, including both their mental health and oral health.
If your dentist fails to follow these guidelines, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim.
How to Recognise the Signs of Dental Negligence
Recognising the signs of dental negligence can be difficult for anyone, but especially if this is your first time experiencing negligence. We hope that this next section will provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision about your health and mental well-being.
Here are some common indicators that dental negligence may have occurred:
- Severe pain and discomfort following treatment – Whilst some pain can naturally occur as a result of a dental procedure, severe or persistent pain that doesn’t improve may indicate that something has gone wrong.
- Unexplained infections – If you experience a series of unexplained oral infections after treatment, this could be a sign that dental malpractice has occurred.
- Improper treatment – If your dentist carries out the wrong treatment or leaves you with further oral health issues, you may be able to open a dental negligence claim.
- A lack of informed consent – If you did not consent to a specific procedure, or if your dentist failed to inform you of the side effects and risks of a particular treatment and something went wrong, this is another indicator of negligence.
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose – If your dentist misdiagnoses an issue or fails to diagnose a health condition, the consequence could be severe – particularly if they have failed to notice a life-changing issue such as oral cancer signs.
Your dental negligence case can cover a number of these aspects if you notice more than one indicator of negligence.
But even if your situation isn’t listed here, that doesn’t mean it’s something we can’t help with. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team, who will be happy to help.
When Duty of Care Responsibilities Fail: The Next Steps
If you’ve read through the section above and you’ve decided that you may have suffered from dental negligence, there are several steps you can take to rectify the issue.
Your two main options are:
- Making a complaint against your dentist
- Opening a dental negligence claim
Making a Complaint Against Your Dentist
If you’d like to make a complaint against your dentist, you can contact either the dentist directly or another member of the practice. Every dental surgery should have a copy of their complaints procedure on hand for patients to view when needed – you can request a copy before making your complaint.
If you’d like to take your complaint further, you may want to consider contacting the General Dental Council (CDC) or the Dental Complaints Service (DCS).
It’s important to remember that you have a one year period from the date of the negligent treatment in which to make your complaint. However, you can sue your dentist with a dental negligence claim for up to three years from the date the negligence occurred or from the date you were first made aware of the problem.
This means that if you’d like to open a dental negligence claim against your dentist, it’s important to contact us as soon as possible.
The Legal Option: Opening a Dental Negligence Claim
Your other option is to follow the dental negligence claims process with a dental solicitor such as the Dental Law Partnership.
By suing your dentist, you may be able to claim compensation for the negligence you’ve faced. We’ll take into account your circumstances, the severity of your pain and suffering and any additional factors, before making a decision as to whether we can continue with your claim.
We work on a no-win, no-fee agreement, so even if your claim isn’t successful, you won’t need to pay anything toward your legal fees. We have a prominent record within our field, with many members of our team having experience in both the dental and legal industries.
Please get in touch on 0800 152 2044 to find out more about making a claim.
The Dental Law Partnership: Fighting for Your Rights
We hope that after reading through this page, you have a greater understanding of the duty of care and responsibilities your dentist and dental practice must adhere to. The vast majority of dental procedures are carried out in line with these regulations, but occasionally, negligence does occur.
Making a dental negligence claim against your dentist could help you to get through your ordeal, allowing you to use your compensation to put the past behind you. You can read some of our success stories on our Client Stories page.
To start your dental negligence claim, please request a callback from our expert team here.