The problem in modern dentistry is that the caring and personal small business dental practices that we went to years ago have mostly been bought up by giant, multi-million-dollar entities called dental service organizations, which are sometimes called “DSOs.” These entities go around and buy up the small dental practices and bundle them into one big organization.
These dental service organizations implement policies and procedures, like any other giant business, that are designed to increase efficiency and make the business more money. As a result, the businesses by and large are interested in treating as many patients as possible in a given amount of time. Therefore, the dentists and dental staff members are rushed, and they don’t have the time required to give a patient the careful attention he or she deserves.
Dentistry is losing the personal touch, and it’s truly sad. Accordingly, it’s becoming more and more common for our dental malpractice lawyers to hear stories about how a dentist performed a procedure on the wrong tooth or how a dentist pulled the wrong tooth. Unfortunately, this trend is likely to continue until dentistry goes back to being about the healing arts rather than how much money a giant company can make per hour.
My Dentist Pulled the Wrong Tooth
Dental procedures are never fun. Most people do not like getting stabbed in the gums with anesthetic and having their teeth drilled on or pulled out. Extractions are definitely some of the worst types of procedures because of all the blood and soreness involved. Once the extraction is all said and done, you’re stuck with a bloody taste in your mouth for days; you experience serious soreness and pain; and your face is numb for hours. Also, you’re left with a hole where your tooth used to be, and it’s tough to enjoy a meal.
One of the most common reasons people file a dental malpractice case is because the dentist pulled the wrong tooth. People don’t think this happens, but it happens a lot. When a dentist pulls the wrong tooth, it’s hard for a dentist to give a good explanation for such a blunder. It’s a clear mistake that can’t happen without some sort of dental negligence. Unfortunately, as we talked about above, this type of negligence is becoming more common.
Dentist Pulled Wrong Tooth Lawsuit
As with any dental malpractice lawsuit, the key to a lawsuit involving a dentist that pulled the wrong tooth is to show that the dentist breached the standard of care. Essentially, this means that the dentist failed to perform at the minimum acceptable level for a dentist.
If your dentist pulled the wrong tooth, the key to the case is to show that the dentist did, in fact, pull the wrong tooth. If you can show that, it’s an uphill battle for the dentist to win the case. Although some types of dental malpractice cases can be argued from both sides, it’s quite difficult for a dentist to claim that he or she didn’t make a mistake after extracting the wrong tooth. This is textbook negligence, and it doesn’t take an expert in dentistry to understand how ridiculous it is. It’s an obvious mistake to all of us.
Dentist Pulled Wrong Tooth Settlement
When a dentist pulls the wrong tooth, the patient loses a good tooth and suffers physically and financially. The pain of the unnecessary procedure is something the patient should never have been forced to endure. Moreover, the patient should never have had to pay to have the wrong tooth extracted. The loss of a healthy tooth is a tragedy because any substitute is going to require multiple procedures, and it’s not going to function as well as the natural tooth. Furthermore, a dental implant or some other substitute is going to cost a lot of money, and it’s going to take a lot of time away from the patient. Therefore, the patient should be reimbursed for those past medical bills, future medical bills, any missed work, the value of the lost tooth, and pain and suffering.