I developed a gum boil shortly thereafter. I have had a root canal in the tooth for ten years. If it is likely his actions that caused it, what course can I take to get him to take responsibility for treatment since I do not have dental insurance?
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#1 by amber h on March 1, 2010 - 8:03 am
It is very unlikely that your dentist did anything in replaceing the crown that would have caused an infection. Why did you have to have the crown replaced? sometimes people get decay around the crown and that can cause an infection. If the decay occures below the gumline the dentist cant always see it. Also, its possible that you cracked the tooth under the crown. That is always an issue with rootcanaled teeth and it can happen when the temp crown is on. When that happens it can allow bacteria down into the root so that it can cause infection.
But, main point here, is that baring the dentist doing something terrible, you getting an infection is an unfortunate situation but not something that he/she would be responsible for. You can see if they will give you some antibiotics and it might clear up.
Also, i dont know if you are a female, but they have found that women are often more sensitive to metals in their mouth, so maybe if your crown has metal under it, it could be causeing some of the problem.
#2 by LittleMe on March 1, 2010 - 2:41 pm
I am sorry, but it always makes my blood boil to hear someone want to blame their dentist for their dental problems and to expect their dentist to pay for the treatment they need.
There is always a risk of a tooth developing problems every time it is worked on. You usually never know when it is going to happen and to what extent the damage will be. The tooth could have had a crack in it that was made bigger by the vibration of the drill. Bacteria could have then gotten into the crack and caused the tooth to develop an abcess. Root canals do fail. It is a fact of dentistry. I have seen it happen numerous times.
Sorry, but there is no course of action that you can take. Even if you tried to force him to “take responsibility”, you would have to take it to the state dental board, and trust me, it is not an easy thing to prove neglegence against a dentist. I have seen people who swore that their dentist “messed their tooth up” and have lost when they tried to force him to repair the damage. In most cases, the dentist had some type of evidence, including your x-rays and clinical record, to back his case up.
Don’t be so quick to assume that he was the cause for your troubles. Think about this, what if a heart surgeon performed a triple bypass on a patient and then 2 weeks later they died. Is it the doctors fault that they died, or perhaps was the heart just too damaged to be repaired??
#3 by susandor on March 1, 2010 - 7:14 pm
Any time you have work done on a tooth you risk the chance of having dormant bacteria activated.
How would you prove that it was the fault of your dentist?
I have troubles with my teeth as well, I don’t blame the dentist but I certainly do everything in my power to help my kids never have the problems I have.
In fact I have a situation much like yours. I had a tooth capped and immediately had problems with abscesses. Turns out the root of the tooth is cracked…..I can’t prove what caused that, but the abscesses started right after I got the temporary crown……couldn’t even bite down a week later to set the permanent crown. Now the tooth has to be pulled.
I can’t blame the dentist……..how do I know for a fact that the root wasn’t already cracked and the problem just stirred up because of the work on that tooth.
Wish I knew for sure but blaming the dentist isn’t going to change anything.
#4 by qtip on March 15, 2010 - 1:28 am
Are you 3 all serious right now?
Amber H – what do you mean the dentist might have missed decay under the gumline or a crack under the crown – shouldn’t the dentist have noticed them in the xrays? Don’t excuse the dentist by dismissing this as “always an issue with rootcanaled teeth”. What prevents a dentist from taking extra precautions to make sure they aren’t dealing with issues like that in the first place?
LittleMe – Why does your “blood boil” – when it’s only natural for a patient to question failed work? It may or may not be the dentist’s fault – but how dare you minimize the loss of this person’s tooth as just a “fact of dentistry”! If the tooth was indeed cracked – and accidentally made bigger by the drill. Why is that okay? Especially when the dentist knew full well that bacteria seeping through a crack would eventually cause bone loss and other future complications? And – what’s so wrong with a dentist defending his failed work- one would hope he could prove that no mistakes were made – for the sake of everyone involved!
And Susandor – This is not about “blaming” the dentist – it’s about accountability. Like LittleMe suggests – if the dentist has done no wrong, then there’s nothing to worry about! But don’t just give them a pass simply because you feel you can’t “change” anything! Never mind the fact that, as with any profession, not all of them are skilled or even honest. Moreover, because they are only human – it really is up to us – that we, as patients, look out for ourselves – otherwise it will be at our expense – in every way!