Dental Malpractice
A person’s smile is one of his or her most important traits, and your dentist is there to ensure that your pearly whites keep on shining. Of course, your mouth is there for more than just cosmetic purposes. In fact, having healthy and clean teeth and gums is vitally important to being a healthy individual overall. That’s why regular dental checkups are so important, as is receiving treatment for any dental issues that might arise.
While we hope to only have to see the dentist for regular checkups, sometimes we need to see them for something more. It may be to have a cavity filled or to have a crown put on a broken tooth. In some cases, it may be necessary to see a dentist or oral surgeon to have wisdom teeth taken out or another invasive procedure conducted on our mouths.
In these instances, as is the case with any other medical professionals, dentists are held to the high standard of care that has been set forth by their community. In conducting these procedures, they must ensure that they are offering the best possible care to their patients. When dentists fail to do this, or when they are negligent in their actions, they are committing malpractice.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
It’s important to note that any error that a medical professional might make is not automatically medical malpractice. Like any other professional in any other field, medical professionals make mistakes; absolute perfection cannot be expected. However, when a medical professional makes an error that’s due to negligence or does so by failing to rise to the standard that their medical community holds, then that constitutes medical malpractice.
What Forms of Dental Malpractice Are There?
Due to the specifics of the dental field, the possible forms of malpractice that exist within it are different than they are in other fields. However, some are the same:
- Misdiagnosis: In order to a dentist to treat a dental ailment that you might have, they need to be able to properly diagnose it. If they’re negligent in examining your condition and a dental issue that you’re having is allow to linger and to become more severe, than in some cases this could be considered malpractice:
- Anesthesia Errors: There are some dental procedures that require a patient to go under anesthesia. When this is the case, a patient’s overall medical condition must be taken into consideration, as well as any medication that patient might be taking. Too much or too little anesthesia can create problems, as can potential drug interactions.
- Botched Dental Procedures: Dental surgery is just like any other form of surgery, and great care must be taken while it’s being conducted. If a dental surgeon is careless, reckless or otherwise negligent while performing dental surgery, then a patient’s life and health can be put at risk.
This is, of course, just an overview of the few different kinds of dental malpractice that are most common. There are others. If you believe that you’ve suffered from dental malpractice, then you should get in touch with a qualified lawyer as soon as possible.
Consult the Dental Malpractice Attorneys at Heavens Law
At Heavens Law, our team of dental malpractice attorneys has a great deal of experience handling these kinds of cases. Therefore, if you believe that you yourself are a victim, then you should call 1-800-HEAV-LAW to receive a free consultation. One of our dental malpractice attorneys will listen to the facts of your case and suggest the best course of action for getting the compensation and damages that are due to you.
