Can I sue for not only to be reimbursed but extra money for pain and anxiety? I have been in pain for a month
April 18th, 2010
Ann M asked:
A dentist talked me into replacing old silver fillings with white ones..he said the old ones were pulling away and decay may have started. They did not hurt but I thought better be safe than sorry. He filled them and they hurt for a week or so and I thought that they were just tender..three weeks later I could not eat, drink cold or hot bevarages or food on those teeth…I returned to a previous dentist and he took exrays and showed me stripes of grey between the white teeth and the white composite…he had to do a root canal on one of the filled teeth and when he opened it up found that the previous dentist’s work the substance that formed a grey stripe was uncured??? AS in the dentist had not waited long enough for it to cure or his light bulb was weak (a device that cures the filler)….so all five teeth that he worked on ALL have stripes and the dentist said that all the teeth would have to be redone? There most probably is decay starting in again…Can I sue for moneys and pain?
Jessica
A dentist talked me into replacing old silver fillings with white ones..he said the old ones were pulling away and decay may have started. They did not hurt but I thought better be safe than sorry. He filled them and they hurt for a week or so and I thought that they were just tender..three weeks later I could not eat, drink cold or hot bevarages or food on those teeth…I returned to a previous dentist and he took exrays and showed me stripes of grey between the white teeth and the white composite…he had to do a root canal on one of the filled teeth and when he opened it up found that the previous dentist’s work the substance that formed a grey stripe was uncured??? AS in the dentist had not waited long enough for it to cure or his light bulb was weak (a device that cures the filler)….so all five teeth that he worked on ALL have stripes and the dentist said that all the teeth would have to be redone? There most probably is decay starting in again…Can I sue for moneys and pain?
Jessica
Categories: Dental | Tags: Decay, Root Canal, Teeth White
Mary
If you think that people should be paid for pain and suffering.
Samantha
I’D HAVE THE WORK REDONE. YOU’D PROBABLY NEVER WIN.
Howardy
you might if you can document your pain.
example – you went to a doctor during this time and complained, and they believed you and prescribed you pain medication.
Addison
the quick answer is unlikely. usually, patients sign a consent form regarding treatment. but this is not a ironclad thing for a dentist to do whatever.
replacing restorations is a common practice. many people think silver fillings are ugly and what them replace, however, the primary reason (and probably the only reason to replace) is when there is decay underneath. so the dentist is right to do that.
as you said, composites (white fillings) need to be incrementally cured as they are being inserted. however, there are liners placed underneath the white filling which may look like an uncured part of the composite, but actually is not. this may be what the new dentist saw on the xray.
post-op sensitivity is common with composites. usually, adjusting the biting surface of them, relieves the problem, but, unfortunately for you, that was not the case.
bottom line is yes you can take the dentist to court and receive some compensation. not for why he wanted you to replace the fillings, but how he did them. it’s important that your new dentist documents everything he saw, xrays, and what he did very well. this will be very important later.
the first thing, i’d do is contact the licensing board and the ADA in your state and report what happened. then i’d speak with your new dentist and ask him/her about the white fillings you got and if he/she felt that it was the fillings and not the original decay underneath the original silver fillings that caused a root canal. many times a root canal is indicated w/o any pain. it could be a low-grade infection that you didn’t know was there. then i’d call your old dentist and tell him what happened and maybe schedule a consult with him. he should at the very least do that, esp knowing you went somewhere else b/c of pain. if you don’t get a good result or answer from him then, i’d visit a lawyer and see if you have a case.
i’m not a expert of the law, but this is quite common in dentistry to replace fillings b/c of decay. and you never know, maybe the white fillings needed just an adjustment and it was the new dentist who wanted money, by doing a root canal. cause certainly doing a root canal will take away the sensitivity, w/o doing an adjustment.
sorry for the winded email. good luck and take care.
ttg
Jerry
You could probably try a civil suit but first get all the paperwork you signed prior to the procedure, it’s possible you signed away all your rights (or you might be stuck with arbitration). As for pain and suffering, it just depends on how people in your community react to things like this. I had my silver fillings removed and replaced with white for cosmetic reasons. If I was in your shoes I would be furious too as it is obvious this doctor is incompetent. Have you reported it to the Better Business Burea in your state? Make sure you file a grievance with the American Dental Association so that it is on his/her record. If you can, get a local news paper or TV station to do a story. Get it publicly known what a fraud he is. But, as I mentioned, try to get copies of your entire dental file and have a lawyer review them to see if you have a case. Good luck. I’ll be thinking of you.
Laura
I think you’ve got a case worth discussing with a consumer advocate organisation:
1. Silver fillings do not “pull away”, so there was no reason to replace them on this supposed basis.
2. White fillings can and do sometimes pull away. This is the likely cause of your post-op sensitivity. You do not get this type of problems with silver fillings.
3. The “stripes of grey” under the composite does NOT indicate uncured composite. Composite will appear the same whether it is cured OR uncured. Sometimes dentists use linings like glass ionomer cements under a composite, and these will appear differently to a composite on an Xray.
4. Rather than starting an RCT on one of the teeth, it may have been possible to replace it with a silver filling and your pain may have gone away.
5. If a filling is properly cleaned out of decay before placing a filling, then sealed properly with either a composite or silver filling, then decay will not start under either type. I would not rush in and replace the other fillings because of the “grey stripe”. I would only replace them if you have ongoing sensitivity. And then I would suggest you have silver fillings back in place.